(A) After the Planning Board makes its recommendation, the Town Council shall hold a public meeting on the subdivision application.
(B) All comments and documents regarding the subdivision shall be submitted to the Subdivision Administrator, rather than to the Town Council directly, to be forwarded to the Town Council.
(C) Upon objection made at its meeting, the Town Council shall determine whether public comments or documents presented for consideration at the Town Council’s public meeting constitute either:
(1) Information, or analysis of information, that was presented at the Planning Board hearing on the subdivision application that the public has had a reasonable opportunity to examine, and on which the public has had a reasonable opportunity to comment, in which case the Town Council shall proceed to its decision whether to approve, conditionally approve, or deny the proposed subdivision; or
(2) New information, or analysis of information, that has never been submitted as evidence or considered by the Planning Board at a hearing on the subdivision application, in which case the Town Council shall proceed as set forth in division (D) below.
(D) If the Town Council determines that public comments or documents presented at the meeting constitute new information, or an analysis of information, regarding the subdivision application that has never been submitted as evidence or considered by the Planning Board at the public hearing on the subdivision application, the Town Council shall determine whether the public comments or documents are relevant and credible with regard to the Town Council’s decision, pursuant to divisions (E) and (F) below.
(1) If the Town Council determines the information, or analysis of information, is either not relevant or not credible, then the Town Council shall approve, conditionally approve, or deny the proposed subdivision without basing its decision on the new information or analysis of information.
(2) If the Town Council determines the new information, or analysis of information, is relevant and credible, then the Town Council shall direct the Planning Board to schedule a subsequent public hearing pursuant to division (G) below.
(3) At the subsequent hearing, the Planning Board shall consider only the new information, or analysis of information, that may have an impact on the findings and conclusions that the Town Council will rely upon in making its decision on the proposed subdivision.
(E) New information, or analysis of information, is considered to be relevant if it may have an impact on the findings and conclusions that the Town Council will rely upon in making its decision on the proposed subdivision.
(F) New information, or analysis of information, is considered to be credible if it is based on one or more of the following:
(1) Physical facts or evidence;
(2) Supported personal observations;
(3) Evidence provided by a person with professional competency in the subject matter; or
(4) Scientific data supported by documentation.
(G) If a subsequent public hearing is held pursuant to division (F) above, it must be held within 45 days of the Town Council’s determination to schedule a subsequent hearing. The Planning Board shall consider only the new information, or analysis of information, that may have an impact on the findings and conclusions that the Town Council will rely upon in making its decision on the proposed subdivision.
(1) Notice of the time, date, and location of the subsequent hearing shall be given by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county not less than 15 days prior to the date of the subsequent hearing.
(2) At least 15 days prior to the date of the subsequent hearing, notice of the subsequent hearing shall be given by certified mail to the subdivider, each adjoining landowner to the land included in the preliminary plat, and each purchaser under contract for deed of property immediately adjoining the land included in the preliminary plat.
(3) The Town Council shall require that notice be posted at a conspicuous place on the site of the proposed subdivision.
(H) If a subsequent public hearing is held, the 60-working day review period is suspended as of the date of the Town Council’s decision to schedule a subsequent hearing. The 60-working day review period resumes on the date of the Town Council’s next scheduled public meeting for which proper notice for the public meeting on the subdivision application can be provided.
(I) The Town Council may not approve, or conditionally approve, a subdivision application and preliminary plat unless the proposed subdivision:
(1) Provides easements for the location and installation of any planned utilities;
(2) Provides legal and physical access to each parcel within the subdivision, and the notation of that access on the applicable plat and any instrument transferring the parcel;
(3) Assures that all required public or private improvements will be installed before final plat approval, or that their installation after final plat approval will be guaranteed, as provided by § 154.05 of these regulations;
(4) Assures that the requirements of MCA § 76-3-504(1)(j) regarding the disclosure and disposition of water rights, as set forth in § 154.08(S), have been considered and will be accomplished before the final plat is submitted;
(5) Assures that the requirements of MCA § 76-3-504(1)(k) regarding watercourse and irrigation easements, as set forth in § 154.08(R), have been considered and will be accomplished before the final plat is submitted; and
(6) Provides for the appropriate park dedication or cash-in-lieu.
(J) In approving, conditionally approving, or denying a subdivision application and preliminary plat, the Town Council shall consider division (A) above, and whether the proposed subdivision complies with:
(1) These regulations, including, but not limited to, the standards set forth in § 154.08;
(2) Applicable zoning regulations;
(3) Other applicable regulations;
(4) The MSPA, including, but not limited to, the following impacts:
(a) Impact on agriculture;
(b) Impact on agricultural water user facilities;
(c) Impact on local services;
(d) Impact on the natural environment;
(e) Impact on wildlife and wildlife habitat; and
(f) Impact on public health and safety.
(5) Proposed mitigation.
(K) In making its decision to approve, conditionally approve, or deny a proposed subdivision, the Town Council may consider and weigh the following, as applicable:
(1) The subdivision application and preliminary plat;
(2) The environmental assessment;
(3) The summary of probable impacts and mitigation;
(4) An officially adopted growth policy;
(5) Comments, evidence, and discussions at the public hearing;
(6) The Subdivision Administrator’s staff report and recommendations;
(7) The Planning Board recommendation; and
(8) Any additional information authorized by law.
(L) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Town Council may not consider any information regarding the subdivision application that is presented after the final public hearing (which may include a subsequent hearing, if any) when making its decision to approve, conditionally approve, or deny the proposed subdivision.
(M) Water and sanitation information provided in the application, and public comment given about this information during the review process, may be used as a basis for a conditional approval or denial of a subdivision only if the Town Council finds that information provided in the application, or submitted during public comment, indicates the proposal does not comply with previously adopted subdivision, zoning, floodplain, or other regulations.
(1) For a proposed subdivision that will create one or more parcels containing less than 20 acres, the subdivider shall obtain approval by the DEQ as a condition of approval of the final plat. This approval applies to the development of lots at the time of the approval, and is no guarantee that a source of water or a location for a septic system or drain fields will be available when the lots are actually developed.
(2) For a proposed subdivision that will create one or more parcels containing 20 acres or more, the subdivider shall demonstrate that there is an adequate water source, and at least one area for a septic system and a replacement drain field for each lot. This demonstration to the local reviewing authority is to evaluate the ability to develop lots at the platting stage, and is no guarantee that a source of water, or a location for a septic system or drain fields, will be available when the lots are actually developed.
(3) The Town Council shall collect public comments submitted regarding water and sanitation information, and shall make any comments submitted, or a summary of the comments submitted, available to the subdivider within 30 days after conditional approval or approval of the subdivision application and preliminary plat.
(4) The subdivider shall, as part of the subdivider’s application for sanitation approval, forward the comments or the summary provided by the Town Council to the:
(a) Reviewing authority provided in MCA Title 76, Chapter 4, for subdivisions that will create one or more parcels containing less than 20 acres; and
(b) Local health department or board of health for proposed subdivisions that will create one or more parcels containing 20 acres or more, and less than 160 acres.
(N) In rendering its decision to approve, conditionally approve, or deny the proposed subdivision, the Town Council shall issue written findings of fact that discuss and weigh the proposed subdivision’s compliance with the preceding subsections.
(1) When the Town Council denies or conditionally approves the proposed subdivision, it shall send the subdivider a letter with the appropriate signature, and make the letter available to the public. The letter shall:
(a) Contain information regarding the appeal process for the denial or imposition of conditions;
(b) Identify the regulations and statutes that are used in reaching the decision to approve, deny, or impose conditions, and explain how they apply to the decision;
(c) Provide the facts and conclusions that the Town Council relied upon in making its decision, and reference documents, testimony, or other materials that form the basis of the decision;
(d) Provide the conditions that apply to the preliminary plat approval and that must be satisfied before the final plat may be approved; and
(e) Set forth the time limit for approval, pursuant to division (O) below.
(O) Upon approval or conditional approval of the preliminary plat, the Town Council shall provide the subdivider with a dated and signed statement of approval. The approval shall be in force for no more than three calendar years.
(1) At least 30 days prior to the expiration of the preliminary plat approval, the Town Council may, at its discretion, and at the written request of the subdivider, extend its approval for a period of one additional year.
(2) The Town Council may extend the approval for more than one year if a longer approval period is included as a specific condition of a written subdivision improvements agreement between the Town Council and the subdivider, provided for in § 154.05.
(3) After the application and preliminary plat are approved, the Town Council may not impose any additional conditions as a prerequisite to final plat approval unless the preliminary plat approval expires, at which time a new application shall be required.
(4) The Town Council may withdraw approval or conditional approval of an application and preliminary plat if it determines that information provided by the subdivider, and upon which the approval or conditional approval was based, is inaccurate.
(Prior Code, § 11-4-17)