Chouteau County Courthouse
1308 Franklin Street
Fort Benton, Montana
Chouteau County Planning/Development Regulations
The Planning Department works with the County Commissioners, County boards
and County departments to promote responsible development, growth, and land
uses in Chouteau County.
Tasks assigned to the Planning Department include:
•
Growth Policy implementation
•
Administration of County Development Regulations
•
Administration of County Subdivision Regulations
•
Certificate of survey review
COUNTY GROWTH POLICY - The County's growth policy provides guidance for
long range, non-regulatory planning in the County and also establishes a framework
for working on more detailed shorter-range planning. You can download a copy of
the Growth Policy here.
DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS - The purpose of these regulations is to implement
the land use goals and objectives set forth in the County Growth Policy. You can
download a copy of the regulations here.
PERMIT- A Development Permit is required under the Development Regulations for
many types of land use changes. Please contact the Planning Department for more
details. You can download a copy of the development permit application here.
SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS- The County regulates the division of land through
the administration of these regulations which are designed to promote public health,
safety and welfare. You can download a copy of the regulations here.
DRAFT SUBDIVISION REGULATIONS – The County is working on updating its
Subdivision Regulations to comply with the statutory changes made by the 2023
Legislature. The only changes being proposed are those required by state statute.
The Design and Improvement Standards will remain the same as in the current
Subdivision Regulations. You can download the draft Subdivision Regulations here.
CERTIFICATE OF SURVEYS AND EXEMPTIONS- The County administrates the
creation and filing of surveys and the use of exemptions from subdivision review,
such as boundary line relocations and family transfers of land. Updated forms for
certificates of survey and exemptions can be downloaded here.
FEES: APPLICATION AND REVIEW- In order to assist in covering the costs of
reviewing applications, advertising, holding public hearings, or other expenses
incidental to the approval of a development permit or a subdivision application, a
property owner or a subdivider has to provide a non-refundable fee at the time of
application. You can download a current fee schedule here.
AIRPORT AFFECTED AREA REGULATIONS - The Airport Affected Area Regulations are
meant to maintain and improve airport safety at the Fort Benton and Big Sandy Airports.
They primarily affect projects where tall structures will be constructed such as cellular
communication towers. The adopted regulations only affect those areas surrounding the
airports that are located within the County’s jurisdiction. You can download a copy of the
adopted regulations here.
Please contact the Chouteau County Planning Office if you have questions:
(406) 622-3035 or 406-495-6153 or email: jgrebenc@greatwesteng.com