East Bench Overlook
Fresh gravel road through green pasture at East Bench Overlook

Build-Ready Infrastructure, Included with Every Lot

Grid power, a private road with engineered bridges, a DNRC-authorized domestic well NOI, a DEQ-approved septic design, and a recorded plat. The subdivision-level work is done, so you can focus on designing and building your home.

Your Domestic Groundwater NOI

Every lot conveys with a DNRC-authorized Notice of Intent to Appropriate Groundwater (NOI) for domestic use: state authorization to drill your own well. From closing, a buyer can line up a licensed driller without any further DNRC authorization, then file Form 602 to complete the water right after the well is drilled. New NOIs are very difficult to obtain under Montana's 2026 regulations, which makes each one a valuable included asset.

Test wells on the property reached water in the Fort Union Formation at 130 to 150 feet. Formal yield testing is underway to confirm sustainable yield.

The well must be completed and water put to beneficial use by February 9, 2031.

Technical note: each lot's domestic water authorization is a DNRC-authorized Notice of Intent to Appropriate Groundwater (NOI), which is state authorization to drill a domestic well and develop a water right. An NOI is not itself a water right (MCA 85-2-102(32)(b)). Domestic use only. The well must be completed and water put to beneficial use by February 9, 2031.

Septic Design Done, Per Lot

Every lot has a DEQ-approved onsite wastewater design with primary and secondary (reserve) drainfield areas already located and sized for the approved design on file. Soil testing, percolation, mixing-zone analysis, and DEQ sign-off are complete at the subdivision level.

Lots 2, 3, and 4 are approved for standard absorption-trench drainfields. Lot 5 is approved for a shallow-capped drainfield (the soils call for it). Lot 1 is approved for a Level 2 advanced treatment unit, a higher-end nitrogen-reducing system with an ongoing operations-and-maintenance contract.

Each lot's primary and reserve drainfield areas are shown on the recorded site plan. Houses, outbuildings, and paved surfaces get sited around them, and landscaping within the drainfield zones stays shallow-rooted to protect the system.

Reference: DEQ Certificate of Subdivision Approval, E.Q. #24-1245 (PDF). The state approval with the per-lot septic and stormwater conditions.

Grid Power, Already Installed

Reliable grid power from Beartooth Electric Cooperative is installed to the subdivision and paid for. No off-grid compromises, no $45,000-to-$65,000 solar-and-battery system to plan and maintain. When you are ready to build, you contact BEC for transformer placement and meter installation.

Beartooth Electric Cooperative

Year-Round Access on a Private Road

Pleasant Drive is a private gravel road within a 60-foot easement, built to Carbon County standards. It starts at the entrance bridge off East Bench Road and ends at a cul-de-sac, carrying year-round traffic to every lot in the subdivision.

Two engineered bridges serve the subdivision, both built and paid for. The first is the entrance bridge off East Bench Road. It carries Pleasant Drive across the drainage at the subdivision entry and is the access route for all five lots. The second bridge is near the cul-de-sac, on Easement A, and crosses over to Lots 2 and 3; only those two lots use it, and then only for the last stretch of driveway to their parcels.

Both bridges are engineered structures designed for residential traffic and emergency vehicle access, and neither requires any further construction or financing from a buyer.

Approved, Recorded, Ready to Build

No rezoning. No subdivision hearings. The hard regulatory work is done. Graham Subdivision South was approved by the Carbon County Commission in October 2025 and the plat was recorded in November 2025 (Plat No. 2557).

Lot boundaries are surveyed. Building envelopes are approved. From closing, you go straight to a standard Carbon County building permit for your home (no subdivision or rezoning step in between).

Protective Covenants, No HOA or Dues

Covenants run with the land and are directly enforceable by any owner. There is no homeowners association, no dues, and no design-review board, plus a defined road-maintenance structure for the shared private road. The Declarant reserves the right to form an owners' association later if owners want one.

The intent is simple: protect the character of the bench and the value of what you're building, without a design-review board second-guessing every decision.

  • Residential use only; home office permitted
  • 1,200 SF minimum finished, heated, habitable dwelling
  • Guest house permitted up to 1,200 SF interior living area, subject to the lot's Approved Building Area and Carbon County rules
  • Horses and livestock permitted on lots of five or more acres
  • Five lots, no further subdivision. Recorded and enforceable.
  • Natural materials and earth-tone palette; shielded, dark-sky exterior lighting

Covenants recorded June 2026 (Carbon County Doc No. 407864). Download the full recorded covenants (PDF).

The Value of Included Infrastructure

What a buyer would typically spend to bring raw land to the same level of readiness that East Bench Overlook delivers on day one.

Domestic well NOI

Application, engineering, legal fees

Raw land $15k - $25k+
East Bench Overlook Included

Grid power extension

Or $45k - $65k for off-grid solar/battery

Raw land $20k - $65k
East Bench Overlook Included

Road construction

Gravel road to county standards

Raw land $30k - $75k
East Bench Overlook Included

Engineered bridges (2)

Design, permitting, construction

Raw land $40k - $80k
East Bench Overlook Included

Subdivision plat & approval

Survey, engineering, county review (12-24 mo)

Raw land $25k - $50k
East Bench Overlook Included

Environmental & geotech review

DEQ review, soil analysis, building envelope

Raw land $10k - $20k
East Bench Overlook Included

Estimated Total

Raw land $140k - $315k
East Bench Overlook $0 additional

Cost estimates are based on typical Carbon County and south-central Montana pricing. Actual costs vary by site and conditions. The point is directional: this infrastructure is expensive and time-consuming to develop on your own.

Ready to Build, Not Just Buy

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