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Planning staff revokes sufficiency for Western Montana Estates minor subdivision over binder discrepancies
Summary
Broadwater County planning staff told the Planning Board it would revoke sufficiency for the Western Montana Estates minor subdivision because the applicant’s binders and checklist did not match the county table of contents; staff will return materials, send a written list of deficiencies, and restart the review clock when corrected binders are resubmitted.
At a Broadwater County Planning Board meeting, planning staff announced it was revoking sufficiency for the Western Montana Estates minor subdivision application after board members found inconsistent numbering and missing tabs across the board’s review binders.
The board’s staff member, Nicole, said the application was submitted on 01/27/2025 but did not reach sufficiency until 05/26/2026; under Montana practice described in the discussion, the regulations in effect when sufficiency is obtained apply. Nicole told the board that some binders showed 41 tabs while others showed 42 and that the materials the applicant used referenced an older supplement rather than the adopted table of contents. "Each of the binders have to match identically to the table of contents," Nicole said, describing why she would revoke sufficiency and return binders to the applicant for correction.
Board members flagged several specific problems: misplaced or missing items such as the land-ownership/warranty deed, community-impact documentation, and a planning/plating certificate. Members also noted an erroneous vehicle-trip calculation in the applicant’s traffic tab: the application used a factor of 5 trips per lot where county practice uses 8, but staff said even with the correct factor the project would remain far below the county’s transportation-impact threshold of 250 vehicle trips per day and therefore would not trigger a required traffic study.
Committee members raised concerns about the developer’s proposed covenants, which bar businesses and mobile homes; one member said that restriction could limit affordability in Townsend and asked staff to request clarification and a breakdown of the homeowners-association fee and its uses.
Nicole said she would prepare and mail a letter documenting the binder errors and return the binders to the applicant (referred to in the record as Jane) so she could resubmit corrected materials. Staff explained that revoking sufficiency stops the statutory review clock; when correct binders are resubmitted, the sufficiency review will restart at day one, then move into the 35-working-day review period for staff recommendation.
Nicole also told the board that the Broadwater County Commissioners were scheduled the next day to consider formally adopting amended subdivision supplements; if adopted, those changes (including a revised Supplement 4/table of contents) would need to be reflected in any resubmitted binders.
No formal motion was required to revoke sufficiency, the staff said. The applicant was permitted to take the binders that day and to correct and refile the application materials. The board did not take a final vote on the subdivision itself; next steps are dependent on the applicant’s resubmission and any formal adoption of supplements by the county commissioners.
