Grandview Boundary Relocation Raises Hackles
 | Author:
Nancy Marks
Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor |
Grandview Boundary Relocation Raises Hackles
MT 43 News Staff
What began as a seemingly simple boundary relocation between two adjoining property owners turned into a real hornets’ nest at the Aug. 16 County Commissioners’ meeting.
Mandy Vandenacre Hanser and John Bittner sought to change part of their common boundary to “create a more suitable access” to Hanser’s property. It involved a lot in the Grandview Manor Subdivision owned by Bittner and a lot outside the subdivision owned by Hanser. The area is west of Highway 287 north of Townsend.
The proposal met with stiff opposition during the commission meeting, primarily from residents of the subdivision. They claimed generally that the relocation infringed on their own property rights and violated the covenants of the subdivision.
Following the public comments, County Attorney Cory Swanson cited state law that appeared applicable to the situation. He said it placed a burden on the applicants to demonstrate legal compliance, which could include getting consent from other landowners. He said he did not think the applicants had met that burden. He recommended that the commission table the request. He suggested that the applicants have a lot of work to do before coming back to the commission. On motion of Commissioner Darrel Folkvord, the commission voted to table it, leaving the door open for the applicants to try again.
The commissioners listened while many Grand View Manor homeowners aired complaints about how previous county commissions gave the okay over the years for Hanser’s parents, John and Donna Vandenacre, to form Grand View Manor Phases 1 and 2 without adequately registering easements for access. Homeowners also brought up issues about being blocked out of their property.
Hanser’s 5-acre lot adjoins 200 acres owned by her parents.
Debra Buck, subdivision homeowner for 13 years, originally had a Highway 287 address. When the subdivision was formed, she received another address. The proposed boundary relocation would close access to their driveway plus if the addresses for the three houses on the driveway were changed, this would be her third address change, she complained.
Homeowner Justin Meissner said this was the third time the Vandenacres have tried to gain access to their properties that adjoin the subdivision. “Vandenacres subdivided this land they owned without retaining access to their adjoining land. This is not a (Grandview homeowner) problem,” he said.
Meissner and his wife Melissa both spoke to their subdivision covenants which indicate no plats within the subdivision may be subdivided. They also said the roads in the subdivision are maintained by the homeowners association and would not sustain traffic from an adjoining subdivision on their subdivision’s private roads.
Homeowner Kitt Peppard maintained if the exemption were approved, the decision would violate Grandview Manor Subdivision covenants. He said, “The elephant in the room here is that the Vandenacres want to gain access to the 200 acres they own. Mr. Bittner had no right to agree to this and we don’t intend to stand for it.”
Manser countered by saying she had only wanted to build a home on her own acreage but could not even get electrical power without an address. She approached Bittner to make the property line change so she could apply for an address. “I only want at some point to build a home. I have no idea how the rumor got started that we would develop a subdivision on the 200 acres. We only want a 30-foot driveway. Developing another subdivision would involve a 60-foot driveway. I have no intention of blocking the Bucks’ driveway.” Her mother Donna Vandenacre echoed the same view. “This has been a sad thing for the community to get everyone riled up about us developing another subdivision,” she said.
