Staff recommends the Planning Board forward to the City Council a recommendation to conditionally approve the preliminary plat of Howard Billings Industrial Subdivision, adopt the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report, and deny the variance request.

On May 1, 2023, Stahly Engineering & Associates for SLH Industries LLC, applied for preliminary major plat approval for Howard Billings Industrial Subdivision. The proposed subdivision creates 40 lots for commercial development. The subject property is generally located west of Mullowney Lane and south of South Frontage Road. The property is zoned Heavy Commercial (CX), builders will follow the CX zoning when developing the lots.

VARIANCES REQUESTED
The applicant is requesting a variance from the subdivision regulations, Section 23-406.A.1, Streets and Roads, relation to undeveloped areas.Staff has recommended denial of the variance. More information can be found in Attachment A of this staff report.

PROPOSED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Pursuant to Section 76-3-608(4), MCA, the following conditions are recommended to reasonably minimize potential adverse impacts identified within the Findings of Fact.

1. To protect public health and safety, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will submit all drawings and specifications for water systems, sewer systems and stormwater systems to the City of Billings Engineering Department for review and approval prior to installation.
2. To protect public health and safety and minimize traffic conflicts, prior to final plat approval, City Engineering has requested the developer directly line up their Holiday Lane road with the existing Holiday Lane on the east side of Mullowney. This shall be depicted correctly on the Final Plat.
3. To protect public health and safety and to minimize the possibility of traffic conflicts, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will place a no access strip on lots that have a lot line in common with the road edges of Mullowney Lane and South Frontage Road. Lot 2, Block 5 and Lot 1, Block 1, shall have a no access strip place on it from Mullowney Lane going west for 100 feet. Lot 17, Block 1, and Lot 1, Block 3 shall have a no access strip placed on them from South Frontage Road going south 100 feet.
4. To protect public health and safety and minimize the impacts on local services, the subdivider shall provide connectivity to an existing trail and neighboring subdivision by installing a pedestrian bridge across Hogan’s Slough. This bridge will connect the existing trail located in QFC subdivision to this proposed subdivision with a 10-foot-wide paved surface that will extend from their new internal street to the existing 10 foot wide paved trail in QFC subdivision. The connection shall be depicted on the final plat and the SIA shall include language describing the bridge and pedestrian connection.
   *Note, This condition reflects staffs recommendation of denial for the variance. If the Planning Board approves the variance, this condition of approval will no longer apply.
5. To protect public health and safety, prior to final plat, the applicant will coordinate with the USPS to locate a central box unit for the subdivision and provide enough space for the mail delivery person to safely stop there and deliver the mail.
6. Minor changes may be made in the SIA and final documents, as requested by the Planning, Legal or Public Works Departments to clarify the documents and bring them into the standard acceptable format.
7. The final plat shall comply with all requirements of the City of Billings Subdivision Regulations, rules, policies, and resolutions of the City of Billings, and the laws and Administrative Rules of the State of Montana.

 PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• Pre-application meeting March 16, 2023
• Preliminary plat application submitted to Planning Division on May 1, 2023
• Departmental review meeting May 18, 2023
• Preliminary plat resubmittal May 25, 2023
• Planning Board plat review June 13, 2023
• Planning Board public hearing June 27, 2023
• Preliminary plat to City Council July 24, 2023
• 60 working-day preliminary plat review period ends July 26, 2023

 

There are no stakeholder responses at this time. Stakeholder input will be received at a public hearing scheduled for this subdivision on June 27, 2023.

Planning Board plat review meeting June 13, 2023
Staff gave a presentation about the proposed plat and requested variance and presented the staff recommendations. Staff then reviewed the proposed conditions of approval. After the presentation Planning Board President Cook called for questions and discussion from the members of the Board. President Cook asked if the access points to South Frontage Road and Mullowney Lane will be a controlled intersection. Staff answered the intersections will have stop signs.  Board member Woods asked if the silo foundation shown on the proposed plat needs to be removed to align the proposed Holiday Avenue to correctly line up with the existing Holiday Avenue across Mullowney Lane. Staff referred this question to the applicants' agent. It was confirmed the silo foundation would be removed. A question was asked to clarify the variance request.  Staff explained that Billings subdivision regulations require a connection from proposed development to undeveloped land that is adjacent.  Staff explained that the third lot in the QFC Subdivision adjacent to this proposed subdivision is undeveloped and the applicant is required to connect at this point.  Staff is proposing a pedestrian bridge connection as the alternate to a vehicle bridge. This bridge would provide connection to an existing paved 10' path. City Engineering prefers a pedestrian bridge in this case rather than a vehicle bridge in this instance due to lack of proposed connectivity. The QFC subdivision has internal roads and there is no proposed road in the right of way to the west. Board member Stahley asked about street width if there will be parking on both sides of the roads inside the proposed subdivision? Staff responded that the roads inside this proposed subdivision are wider, specifically 40', as this is a commercial development and there will be parking on both sides of the road.
There were no other questions for staff from the board.

Matt Smith, Stahley Engineering & Associates, Engineer, 3440 Stonebrook Drive, Billings, MT - Matt Smith represents applicant/developer SLH Industrial LLC. Their concern with placing a bridge over Hogan’s Slough is a potential flooding hazard and having pedestrians walk through a commercial subdivision isn't desired.  Board member Ronquillo asked how wide is Hogan’s Slough? Mr. Smith estimates 20 to 25 feet across. Matt said the bridge will need to be ADA accessible and bridges are typically 2 feet above free board. Board member Woods asked for clarification on Lot 2, Block 5 on the proposed plat. It appears to be two lots within the one lot. Mr. Smith stated, a boundary line relocation survey has been submitted to remove what is presently a lot line within Lot 2, Block 5. When that exempt plat is complete the line will no longer be there. The applicants' agent also stated the foundation is going to be removed, so there will be no problem with aligning the roads.

A public hearing for Howard Billings Industrial Subdivision will be held during the June 27, 2023 planning board meeting. This application will be heard by City Council on July 24, 2023.

In accordance with state law, the City Council has 60 working days to act upon this major preliminary plan. The 60 working day review period for the proposed subdivision ends on July 26, 2023. State and City subdivision regulations also require that preliminary plats be reviewed using specific criteria, as stated within this report. The City may not unreasonably restrict an owner's ability to develop land if the subdivider provides evidence that any identified adverse effects can be mitigated. Within the 60 working day review period, the City Council is required to:
1. Approve;
2. Conditionally Approve; or
3. Deny the Preliminary Plan

This plat will have no fiscal impacts on the City/County Planning Division.

One of the purposes of the City’s subdivision review process is to identify potential negative effects of property being subdivided. Negative effects that are identified become the subdivider’s responsibility to mitigate.  Various City departments, private service/utility providers and the affected school district/s, have reviewed this application and provided input on effects and mitigation.  The Findings of Fact, which are presented as an attachment, discuss potential negative impacts of the subdivision and conditions of approval are recommended as measures to further mitigate any impacts. In this case, there were found to be minimal impacts from this proposed subdivision.