Supervisors modify road requirement, uphold other conditions in Butterfly Valley parcel split appeal

The Plumas County Board of Supervisors on May 26 reviewed an appeal of the zoning administrator’s April 8 approval of tentative parcel map TPM 12-23/2403, a proposal to split a roughly 39.6‑acre Butterfly Valley parcel into two approximately 19.7‑acre lots. Planning Director Tracy Ferguson explained the approval had included six conditions; the appellants challenged condition 3 (requiring private road improvements to a Class 9 standard) and condition 5 (a notice or deed restriction because the access exceeds statutory dead‑end length limits).

Ferguson and county engineering staff said the county’s general plan and Plumas County Code tie rural‑residential subdivisions to a Class 9 road classification, which calls for a 20‑foot surfaced travelway and heavy load capacity. Public Works Director Thurman and engineer Evan Hasssey told supervisors the existing county‑maintained segment of Butterfly Valley Road does not meet the Class 9 standard in several segments and that bringing the entire county and private sections to Class 9 would be expensive and disruptive.

Appellants Brett Marty and other residents said the private cost and environmental impact of constructing a Class 9 road would be prohibitive, would require cutting mature forest and hundreds of trees, and would fall unfairly on a small group of property owners whose private road is shared by about 30 homes. They said the requested split is largely to provide separate legal identities and addresses for two households that have occupied the parcel for decades, improving emergency response and insurability.

County staff and Cal Fire representatives emphasized the safety rationale for the length limitations on dead‑end roads and the role of minimum fire‑safe regulations at building permit review. Ferguson said condition 5 was intended to notify present and future owners that further development could be denied under state minimum fire‑safe codes because the road exceeds the 0.5‑mile dead‑end limit established for certain parcel sizes.

After public testimony and board discussion, supervisors concluded that strict enforcement of a Class 9 requirement would be unreasonable given the county’s inability to bring its own segment up to that standard and the cost and environmental impacts on private property. The board voted to deny the appeal on the whole but granted a modification: per California Government Code section 66411.1 the board found it reasonable to require Class 11 (a fire‑safe driveway standard with narrower width, turnouts and load specifications) rather than Class 9 for the off‑site and on‑site private road segments necessary to serve the two new parcels. The board also directed staff to ensure the parcel map or deed bears a clear notice about the dead‑end road limitations (Condition 5) so future buyers are informed.

The board instructed county counsel and planning staff to prepare written findings and a revised decision reflecting the change; staff said the formal document will be prepared and filed within the statutory timeframe. The action allows the final map to proceed provided the applicants satisfy the revised Condition 3 (Class 11 improvements and a maintenance agreement approved by Public Works and Planning) and the other existing conditions of approval.

The decision balances local implementation of state fire‑safety standards and practical constraints on road construction in the steep, forested Butterfly Valley area. The board’s change does not exempt future building permits from meeting state minimum fire‑safe regulations, and staff noted a building permit for new construction could still be denied if the applicable fire standards cannot be met.