County OKs project; gets mineral rights

By NICK GEVOCK, Chronicle Staff Writer

Gallatin County commissioners assumed ownership of half the mineral rights on a Bozeman Pass property slated for coalbed methane exploration when they approved a 26-lot subdivision Tuesday.

The board unanimously approved the Jackson Creek Hills subdivision, an upscale project located half a mile north of Interstate 90 near Malmborg School.

As part of the approval, developer SICO Montana gave its 50 percent share of the mineral rights to the county with a nonbinding understanding that the county will never drill for minerals there.

"It looks like a gift," said attorney Susan Swimley, representing the developer. "But the intent is that the county does not develop the mineral rights."

Since homeowners in the Bozeman Pass area vehemently oppose drilling and the county is looking to regulate and limit coalbed methane drilling there, this is one of the best ways to do it, County Attorney Marty Lambert said.

"It's as close to a guarantee that there will not be mineral development in this subdivision," he said.

But Commissioner John Vincent said the county's takeover of the mineral rights does not guarantee that future commissions won't want to generate money by drilling on the land. And that possibility will likely increase as the county budget continues to be strained by the demand for local services, he added.

"This is as tight as it can be, but nothing is a guarantee," Vincent said. "A future County Commission could come under quite a bit of pressure to go after that source of revenue."

Aside from the gas drilling concerns, all three commissioners said although the subdivision was well planned, they'd rather not see development in such a key wildlife area.

Commissioner Bill Murdock said he originally looked at the project with a "jaundiced eye."

But the project went through careful review by the Bridger Canyon Planning and Zoning Commission, and subsequent changes to the number of lots and home locations made it better, he said.

Murdock also said he wouldn't vote to approve the subdivision if it wasn't in a zoning district.

"I can't look anybody in the eye and say this subdivision's good for wildlife -- it isn't," Murdock said. "But you can mitigate it."

Commissioner Jennifer Smith Mitchell said that although everybody enjoys looking at the open pastures along Jackson Creek from the Interstate, the area has progressively filled in with homes in recent years.

"I don't think any of us wanted to see development in the Jackson Creek area," she said. "There's no way of keeping it as pristine as we all remember it."

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