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Commission conditionally approves Krystal Springs Estates preliminary plat after developers add livestock covenant
Summary
After debate over HOA language that initially allowed two cows and two horses on 1.8‑acre lots, developers agreed to a covenant requiring three continuous acres to keep livestock; the commission granted conditional preliminary plat approval 4‑0 with that requirement added to conditions.
The Anaconda‑Deer Lodge County Commission granted conditional preliminary plat approval for the 29‑lot Krystal Springs Estates subdivision after the developer agreed to revise homeowners’ covenants governing livestock.
Planning Director Carl Hamming presented the subdivision and a recommended set of conditions for preliminary approval. Commissioner Ed Beaudette raised objections to draft HOA language that would permit two cows and two horses on lots averaging about 1.8 acres, arguing the provision could lead to incompatible residential‑scale livestock kept in close proximity to neighboring properties. The developer’s agent, Ken Jenkins, said the covenants were revised so that livestock would be allowed only if a homeowner also owned three continuous acres (effectively requiring purchasers to hold adjoining lots to meet that threshold). Jenkins said animals would also be required to be penned and not allowed to graze open pasture on single lots.
Beaudette pressed that any HOA changes should be enforceable and requested the condition be added to the county’s preliminary‑approval conditions. County Attorney Morgan Smith and Planning Director Hamming clarified that preliminary plat approval is conditional and that the final plat and final HOA documents will be reviewed by the county before lots can be legally recorded and sold. Chair Kevin Hart, who grew up in the West Valley, said modest livestock uses are common in the area and supported the developer’s proposed three‑acre limitation. The commission approved preliminary plat approval with the added condition requiring three continuous acres for livestock, 4‑0.
Planning staff noted final plat approval will still require that all listed conditions be satisfied, including infrastructure and irrigation connections. The county will review the final HOA covenants alongside the final plat to confirm the livestock restriction and other conditions are enforceable before new lot records are created.
