On the northwest edge of Belgrade, east of Collins Road and south of Weaver Road, sits a subdivision with an approved preliminary plat, millions of dollars of sewer pipe in the ground and three construction phases ready to start. It still can't start. Stone Creek is waiting on the City of Belgrade to get state permission to deliver water to the land. Until that arrives, its 322 single-family lots and 100 multifamily lots exist only on paper.
Buyers comparing Belgrade with Bozeman often treat the open ground around Belgrade as a promise of steady new supply. Stone Creek shows the condition attached to that promise, and the same condition appears in nearly every new development file the city has reviewed this year.
An Approved Plat Is a Promise With a Condition Attached
The Belgrade City Council approved Stone Creek's preliminary plat in May 2023. The plan covers 170.81 acres: 322 single-family lots, 100 multifamily lots, one commercial lot, parks, open space and a network of running trails. The Belgrade News reported that the project could add more than 3,200 residents. The property, once slated for a gravel pit until public opposition stopped it, was annexed into the city in 2025.
What holds the project back is a "place of use" change. Under Montana law, every water right specifies where the water can be put to beneficial use. Belgrade's existing rights don't cover the Stone Creek ground, so the city has to apply to the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, known as DNRC, to expand them. Project engineer Ethan Cote told the council on July 6, 2026, that this step is "completely out of the control of the developer."
The money side shows how one permit can stall a whole project. John Rosa, who manages landowner West Town Holdings LLC, described about $14 million in wastewater improvements the project needs, including a lift station. Investors want assurance that the spending will turn into lot sales, and lots can't be sold under the plan until the city issues a will-serve letter for water. Rosa said $7 million in force main improvements are already installed and the lift station will cost about $5.8 million more. He also said the work would have cost less if it could have started sooner.
"I could have had it in a year ago. I wanted it in a year ago. I just want my subdivision to go; I'd love to get building." John Rosa, speaking to the Belgrade City Council on July 6, 2026
Preliminary plats in Montana are valid for three years, so Stone Creek's approval was running out. The developers asked for a three-year extension. On the advice of the city planning office and city attorney's office, the council voted unanimously for one year instead. City Attorney Kyla Murray told councilmembers that "the one year seemed a more appropriate time frame and more consistent with what we have been doing across the board with developers," citing Belgrade's rapid growth.
What the City Filed on September 23
In July, Cote estimated the city was "probably several months away" from DNRC approval. The formal application is now on file. DNRC received application 41H 30174078 from the City of Belgrade on September 23, 2026. It covers four water rights with priority dates from 1928 to 1985. The city proposes to add two wells, Well No. 8 and Well No. 9, as primary points of diversion and to expand the place of use "to include a larger service area for the City of Belgrade municipal water system."
Two of those rights are older claims, each permitting up to 1,000 gallons per minute of year-round municipal use from a well. The other two, a 1979 provisional permit and a 1985 water reservation, are listed as unperfected rights filed for municipal use from groundwater wells.
DNRC's notice spells out the remaining steps:
- DNRC has to deem the application correct and complete. As of the notice, it had not, so the clock had not started.
- Within 60 days of that point, or 120 days if no preapplication meeting was held, DNRC issues a draft preliminary determination to grant or deny.
- If the draft favors approval, it is published in the local newspaper and sent to water users who may be affected. They get 30 days to comment.
- If the preliminary determination still favors approval after comments, it is published again, and affected parties get 30 days to file objections.
Belgrade's March 9, 2026 workshop minutes describe a preapplication process that was being revised to address DNRC comments. That points toward the shorter 60-day track, but no date can be set until DNRC accepts the application as complete. Stone Creek's one-year extension, granted in July 2026, has to cover the completeness review, both public notice periods and any objections. Developers will also need time to build once a will-serve letter is issued.
The Same Condition Shows Up in Every New File
Stone Creek gets the headlines because it is the largest project held up. The city's other 2026 development decisions carry versions of the same water condition.
| Project | Scale | Water and sewer condition |
|---|---|---|
| Stone Creek, east of Collins Rd. | 322 single-family lots, 100 multifamily lots | Stalled pending DNRC place-of-use change; one-year plat extension in July 2026 |
| Foundry Major Subdivision | 104.47 acres, 556 residential lots, about 138 apartments | Preliminary plat approved Feb. 17, 2026, subject to city and DEQ approval of water and sewer extensions |
| 40-acre RC Properties tract, near McMillan Lane | About 230 units under Mixed Residential zoning | Annexed July 2026; developer must search for and convey water rights to the city |
| Walking Bear, 1733 E. Baseline Rd. | Five lots | Staff report of Sept. 28, 2026 ties water allocation to DEQ review |
Foundry's approval also reserves the city's right to deny wastewater connections that would exceed the development plan approved by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. For the RC Properties tract, City Manager Neil Cardwell described conveying water rights as the city's standard policy, meant to ensure "appropriate water rights are also transferred for long-term support of the growth." He also said "there's a lot of utility work and discussions" ahead before that land can be served.
The most revealing language appears in the smallest project. The Walking Bear staff report advises the subdivider that DEQ "may enact additional requirements for the City of Belgrade should its public water system (PWS) operate outside of its capacity and permit requirements." It says those requirements could affect proposed or approved developments "as well as those actively under construction but not yet completed." It also warns that the subdivider may have to build and fund additional groundwater sources and storage to meet the subdivision's demand.
These are standard conditions, and including one in a staff report doesn't mean DEQ intends to act. Still, the city now puts in writing to developers that water capacity can affect a project at any stage. A buyer under contract on a home in a phase that isn't finished yet is relying on that system too.
Two Wells Carry a Lot of Weight
The September application names Wells 8 and 9 as the new diversion points, so the city's expansion depends on them working. Well 9 has had problems. The March 9, 2026 workshop minutes report that drilling was finished but the well was producing sand and running at reduced production. Staff then expected construction to wrap up and the well to be commissioned by the end of summer.
At a late-June council meeting, acting public works director Jason Murphy reported that the Well 9 pump and concrete pad were in place. Commissioning was scheduled for July 8–9, with a calibration specialist traveling from Kansas to finalize controls, and a generator was expected in mid-August. Murphy also said water levels at Well 5 had risen about 10 feet but were still roughly 20 feet below the installed static line. No public record we reviewed confirms that the July commissioning took place. The schedule is documented. The result hasn't been reported.
Reading Belgrade's Price Gap Through the Pipeline
The 2026 Gallatin Valley Housing Report, released April 29, 2026, gives the clearest picture of how Belgrade and Bozeman differ. As KBZK reported, Gallatin County issued permits for 1,622 housing units in 2025. Bozeman accounted for 1,056, mostly multifamily. Belgrade had 154, leaning toward single-family homes. In the same report, Bozeman's median home price was about $800,000 and Belgrade's was just under $600,000. Those figures reflect 2025 and should be read as context for the year, not as current conditions.
The gap of roughly $200,000 is why many buyers look at Belgrade in the first place. Belgrade's single-family permit activity in 2025 helps explain the gap, and the subdivisions in the table above are where future single-family supply would come from. Their lot counts show how many homes could be built. When those homes actually get built depends on a DNRC application that hadn't been deemed complete as of late September, a well whose commissioning hasn't been confirmed, and DEQ capacity reviews that apply to every phase.
In practical terms, the date a large Belgrade subdivision delivers homes is set by when the city can legally and physically serve it with water. A buyer weighing a resale home now against waiting for a new phase is really comparing a home that exists with a phase that has to clear each of those steps first.
Questions Buyers Ask About Belgrade's New Phases
Does an approved preliminary plat mean homes are coming soon? No. Stone Creek's plat was approved in May 2023, and as of the July 2026 council meeting construction hadn't started on any of its 10 phases. A preliminary plat is valid for three years, and the city can grant extensions. In 2026, Belgrade granted one-year extensions.
What is a will-serve letter, and why does it matter to a buyer? It is the city's commitment to provide water service to a development. Rosa told the council that his project's revenue depends on receiving one. Asking whether a phase has its utility commitments in place is a reasonable question before signing a contract on a new home in a phase that isn't finished.
Where can I track the city's water application? DNRC posts application status documents online under number 41H 30174078. Questions go to the DNRC Water Resources Regional Office at 2273 Boot Hill Court in Bozeman, 406-586-3136. Belgrade council and planning agendas are also published on the city's website.
Water rights, wells and will-serve letters are the everyday work of our rural specialists at Small Dog Realty, and they matter just as much inside Belgrade's city limits. If you own in Belgrade and want to know what your home is worth in a market where new supply depends on water approvals, ask us for a home valuation. We'll walk you through the pipeline subdivision by subdivision.
