Help Shape Park County’s Future: Subdivision Regulations & Community Planning
PCEC has been following Park County’s effort to update its subdivision regulations, which have not been updated in sixteen years and need to reflect current state law.
Subdivision regulations are the tool the county uses to evaluate the creation of newly divided lots. The subdivision process helps inform decisions about the location of homes, roads, wells, septic systems, and other infrastructure. Having clear rules around these issues is what helps us protect rivers, wildlife and agricultural lands, and account for the long-term costs of new development on roads and services. They also require developers to address safety, including safe secondary access.
As stated in the Park County Growth Policy:
“The goal of our local subdivision regulations should be to balance growth and creation of new lots, with protection of the public health and safety of residents and visitors as well as protection of the ‘tranquility, beautiful scenery and unique way of life that attracts people here to call Park County home.’”
Weigh in on the draft subdivision regulations
You can review the draft subdivision regulations here. The County is accepting written comments on the draft through October 15.
We appreciate the County’s work and have reviewed the draft. A few ideas to consider when you write your own comments:
1. Consider cumulative impacts
When reviewing new subdivisions, encourage the county to look at the cumulative effects they could have and how multiple developments can affect water, wildlife, agriculture, roads, public services, public safety, and the broader community.
2. Promote cluster development
Support tools that encourage thoughtful clustered development that will preserve open space, agricultural lands, riparian areas, wetlands and wildlife habitat.
3. Steer development away from hazardous areas
Direct development away from floodplains, steep slopes, unstable ground, and forested areas prone to wildfire. Protecting public health and safety should be a key consideration.
4. Improve planning tools and predictability
Support the creation and use of additional tools - such as wildlife corridor maps, future land-use maps, and zoning - that make the subdivision review process more effective, transparent, and predictable.
5. Update the Park County Growth Policy
Encourage the county to prioritize updating its Growth Policy. The Growth Policy provides the broader community vision that should be the basis to help guide subdivision regulations and decisions about how and where Park County grows.
Personal, specific and respectful comments carry the most weight.
What happens next?
After the written comment period ends, the Planning Board will schedule a public hearing and will review the written public comments. Community members will have the opportunity to attend the hearing and provide additional public comment.
Following the Planning Board’s review, the process will continue to the County Commissioners.
Another Planning Tool: Citizen-Initiated Zoning Districts
PCEC has also been following a separate planning process. The County has drafted a standard process to help local residents create Citizen-Initiated Zoning Districts (CIZDs) in their neighborhoods. Listening sessions are now scheduled for the public to provide feedback on the tool.
Montana law has allowed residents the ability to initiate zoning districts since 1953, and Montana is one of the few states with a tool like this. A CIZD is a flexible, community-driven tool that gives residents control over whether to establish a district and what it should include. Neighbors in the Suce Creek area recently used a CIZD to protect the agricultural and rural qualities of their community - but it was a big lift for residents. The County's new standard process and template is intended to make it easier for landowners to use zoning to help protect their property rights, and the landscape around them.
Listening sessions are now scheduled for the Draft Citizen-Initiated Zoning District (CIZD) Process. As we shared previously, the County has drafted a standardized process to help community members establish CIZDs in their neighborhoods.
We encourage you to attend a listening session to learn more about the process and the template developed by Planning Department staff. We applaud the County for moving this forward, and PCEC plans to attend these sessions to listen, learn, and participate in the conversation. We hope you will join us.
All sessions are from 6:00–8:00 pm:
October 7: Gardiner High School
October 14: Emigrant Hall
October 19: Park County Fairgrounds
October 21: Shields Valley Community Center, Clyde Park
Thank you for staying engaged in the important planning decisions shaping Park County.