County Applies Heightened Scrutiny to Family Property Transfers
 | Author:
Linda Kent, MT43 News Staff Reporter
MT43 News Correspondent |
County Applies Heightened Scrutiny to Family Property Transfers
Linda Kent
MT43 News Staff Reporter
Broadwater County Commissioners denied two requests for family property transfers during their March 6 meeting, citing concerns about recent court decisions and the resulting potential liability for the commission.
A family transfer, by state law, allows individuals to grant pieces of a larger property to a spouse, parent or child once during the lifetime of each recipient. For example, a person with three children could divide an existing piece of property into three smaller parcels and grant one to each child. While the transfers must abide by existing land covenants, the divisions are exempted by law from the county’s planning and review process for subdivision approval.
In short, the regulation could provide a loophole to avoid the costs and oversight typically required of a land developer intending to create a subdivision for any purpose.
Under oath, the landowners proposing the transfers and their representatives both told the commission they were not intending to evade subdivision rules.
Speaking broadly about the law late into the discussion, Broadwater County Commission Chairman Darrell Folkvord said, “My contention is that this statute is being abused. It was intended for farmers and ranchers to try to keep their families on the farm.”
Recent court rulings, Folkvord asserted, “leave us no way to review what the impacts will be” to water, public safety, soil, no build zones, roads, and surrounding land owners when land is subdivided through family transfer.
Commissioner Lindsay Richtmyer concurred.
“I think the intentions are good,” Richtmyer stated in reference to a proposal from the Cookson Family to place ownership of three proposed tracts in Lazy HM Estates into the hands of adult children. “But I think there’s a more comprehensive way to do this.”
A proposal from the Wood Family to subdivide and transfer a parcel in the River View Subdivision also received close scrutiny, with commissioners questioning the frequency of changes to the subdivision’s covenants. The most recent change was recorded a few days prior to Mark Wood’s proposed transfer of a tract to his wife, as was a quit-claim deed removing Elizabeth Wood from the existing parcel and naming her as the recipient of the proposed new tract.
“Family transfers are becoming more common,” Richtmyer said. “It is legal. But there are still questions we are responsible for asking.”
Responding to a series of questions on the topic from Deputy County Attorney Kaylan Minor, Mark Wood responded that he didn’t realize he had options other than to remove his wife through the quit-claim process, and then name her as the beneficiary of the transfer. “I was under the impression that’s the way it had to be done.”
The commissioners’ denial of the family transfer exceptions to the planning board review means that both the Wood and Cookson families will need to revise and resubmit their proposals if they wish to move forward.
Also during the March 6 Meeting
● Commissioners reluctantly agreed to pursue an agreement with the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) to remove the old Toston Bridge.
“We’ve exhausted every resource available that I know of,” Toston resident Bryl Newman told commissioners about attempts to find grant funding to restore the historic bridge to a point where it could provide off-highway access across the Missouri River.
Folkvord and Newman worked closely with representatives from both Montana’s U.S. Senators’ offices to identify potential grant funding for the $7-10 million that would be needed to repair or replace the bridge. Those attempts failed, Folkvord said, when it came to cost-benefit analysis compared to other projects.
Toston resident Franklin Slifka asked the commission whether the commissioners could use the funding needed to demolish the bridge to shore up the piers below the bridge enough for the bridge to be usable. Folkvord explained that the wooden pilings on which the piers sit are a graver concern. Slifka also emphasized safety concerns for farmers and ranchers who now need to use the Highway 287 bridge to cross the river for access to fields.
“As neat of a bridge as it is, it’s 104 years old,” County Public Works Director T.J. Graveley said. “It’s outlived expectations. It’s a very historic, cool-looking bridge. But as we saw last summer, a lot of bridges went down. MDT is very adamant about getting these bridges out of service.”
Acknowledging that restoring the bridge to service may not be a possibility, Toston-area resident John Ferrat asked the commission to “try to find some way to preserve some portion of the bridge” as a monument to the history of Toston and the Crow Creek Valley. Commissioners agreed with his recommendation.
Folkvord said that removal of the bridge would not begin until after the agreement is signed but would likely occur in about a year.
● Commissioners approved a contract with Rinker Materials to provide concrete beams for a project to rebuild the west Old Town Road bridge near Three Forks. The materials will cost approximately $330,000. While the project takes place in Gallatin County, Folkvord stated, nearly all of the cost is covered by $1.875 million in grants from the Montana Coal Endowment Program (MCEP) and MDT. Folkvord added that Gallatin County is funding the rebuilding of the east bridge.
● The commission adopted a resolution placing annual weight limits on several county roads between March 15 and May 31. Graveley told the commission that the roads listed were the same ones identified in previous years for weight restrictions.
Roads impacted are:
Filson Road from Hwy 289 to Beaver Creek Road
Rolling Glen Ranch Road
Lone Mountain Road from Hossfeld Road to Hunsaker Corrals
Muddy Lane from Johnson Loop to Hwy 437
Ferrat Lane from Hwy 285 to Muddy Lane
Ray Creek Road
Flynn Lane from Dry Hollow Road to Nelson Road
● Commissioners delayed action on a request to trade parcels between the Darlinton Minor and Rahn subdivisions and reduce the boundaries of one tract inside the boundary of the Darlinton subdivision. Commissioners and County Deputy Attorney Kaylan Minor expressed concerns about the property trade, which would place a section of Price Road completely within parcels zoned for agriculture. Property owner Ken Dykema said he, too, was unsure what issues that change would have. The commission will revisit the proposal once it is resubmitted.
● Commissioners denied a request from developer Steve Kavanagh to extend the deadline to April 30 for taking action on the proposed Rolling Glen Ranch Estates. County Development and Planning Director Nicole Brown told the commission that the subdivision had originally been submitted to the commission in March of 2023 and that developers had already requested and received several extensions of the commission review deadline. Commissioners will take action on the subdivision at their March 20 meeting.
● Rep. Jane Gillette (HD64) presented the commission with information about an upcoming Community Responsiveness grant available through the Montana Community Foundation. The grant prioritizes four areas: basic needs and short-term assistance, community assessment building, health and wellness, and restorative and emergency response. The grant application must be made by a non-governmental agency, but one could partner with the county.
● Jeff Langlinais and Peter Rice were appointed to three-year terms on the county’s compensation board. Rice is a current member of the board and Langlinais was the only other applicant for open board positions.
