NEW SUBDIVISION LAW - SB 20 8 



By Bill Cunningham 



For years the subdivision of land 

 in Montana has been governed by a 

 confusing, antiquated 19th Century 

 Plat Law. The ambiguous language 

 in this law (Title 11, Chapter 6, 

 RCM 1947) has made enforcement 

 difficult and has resulted in wide- 

 ly differing interpretations thru- 

 out the state. 



Recognizing the inadequacy of the 

 present law to cope with specula- 

 tive land development, several 

 subdivision bills were introduced 

 during the 4 3rd Montana Legisla- 

 ture. The most important of these 

 was SB 208, drafted by the Dept. 

 of Intergovernmental Relations 

 and HB 341 which was initiated by 

 the Montana Association of Conser- 

 vation Districts. Both bills 

 began with a 40-acre subdivision 

 ,parcel definition. 



After considerable citizen inter- 

 est and legislative maneuvering, 

 the two bills were consolidated. 

 A greatly revised version of 

 SB 20 8 was signed into law v/ith 

 administration backing and HB 341 

 was held over until 1974. 



Perhaps the greatest disappoint- 

 ment was losing the 40-acre par- 

 cel definition. The bill passed 

 with a subdivision definition of 

 two or more parcels, any of which 

 is ten acres or less. 



Any subdivision with parcels of 

 10 acres or less, regardless of 

 the method of description is cov- 

 ered by the new law. This will 

 eliminate loopholes such as the 

 widespread practice of avoiding 

 the platting requirement with a 

 "metes and bounds" description. 



There are several exceptions to 

 the definition of subdivision 

 such as a gift or sale to any 



member of the landowner's 

 immediate family or a lease 

 agreement for agricultural 

 purposes. 



A key feature of SB 208 is the 

 requirement that every local 

 governing body adopt subdivision 

 regulations, which must include 

 an environmental assessment, 

 before July 1, 1974. If such 

 regulations fail to meet minimum 

 requirements, the Department of 

 Intergovernmental Relations must 

 establish regulations to be en- 

 forced by the local governing 

 body. 



One of the more significant 

 features of the new law, which 

 takes effect on July 1, 1973, is 

 the requirement that the subdivider 

 submit an environmental assessment 

 of water, topography, vegetation, 

 soils, wildlife, and local service 

 needs early in the game before 

 the decisions and foundations are 

 set in concrete. This require- 

 ment should help close the gap 

 between the availability of 

 natural resource information and 

 the use of that information for 

 subdivision planning. 



SB 208 has excellent potential 

 which can only be fully realized 

 through the active interest and 

 participation of the Conservation 

 Districts working in cooperation 

 with the county commissioners. 

 If SB 208 results in a greater 

 use of the Conservation Districts 

 important soil, water and vege- 

 tation data, many serious land 

 development problems will be 

 avoided. 



NOTE 



Please send all remittances for 

 MACD and SWCDMI to: 



Gladys Hippe, Treasurer 



Box 98 



Froid, Montana 59226 



