While the ski development was coming together on the mountain, the meadow was a flourish of activity, and in 1971, the Meadow Village Subdivision became a reality with the Sweetgrass Hills Subdivision following one year later. The creation of Meadow Village and Sweetgrass Hills subdivisions included originating declarations, often referred to as covenants, and the requirement that an owners association be formed to oversee the fledgling subdivisions as well as the lands that made up the new Big Sky of Montana. The Big Sky as we know it today did not exist: there was no zoning, no plan, no infrastructure, no post office, no water district, no paved roads, and no central wastewater treatment plant. Subdivision declarations played an important role as did BSOA to provide uniformity, structure, and rules to an otherwise remote and rural area.
