Commissioners conditionally approve Orange Shops lease/rent building; DEQ report required

Yellowstone County Commissioners on June 19 unanimously approved a conditional permit for a building-for-lease-or-rent proposed by Orange Shops in the Cowboy Country Subdivision in Neibauer.

Dave Green of the county planning department described the proposal as a set of shop units located off 70 Second Street with limited plumbing: two public restrooms for the site and four units with private bathrooms. The remainder of the units will be dry storage or work bays with electricity only. Green said the subdivision already includes storm drainage and a 30,000-gallon dry hydrant for fire protection and that the proposal meets the five criteria for buildings for lease or rent under county rules. "There are 5 criteria for buildings for lease or rent, and they do meet those 5 criteria," Green said.

Green told commissioners the developer must obtain Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) approval for the storm drainage work and must provide the DEQ report to county public works when it is received. When asked about weed control, Green said the original subdivision approval included a weed mitigation plan that the project must follow and that no separate weed plan or supplemental improvement agreement is required for this application.

Commissioner Jones moved to conditionally approve the Orange Shops application and adopt the staff findings; the motion was seconded and the board voted in favor. The approval is conditioned on submission of the DEQ report to county public works, per the staff recommendation.

The county will record the DEQ findings when provided and monitor compliance with the subdivision's existing mitigation measures as the project proceeds.