The Planning Board forwards 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 the 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 and the Planning Board have 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 the Planning Boards recommendation of denial for the variance. If the City Council 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 re-submittal 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

 

A public hearing for Howard Billings Industrial Subdivision was held at the June 27, 2023, planning board meeting.  Staff gave a brief presentation about the proposed subdivision. The applicant for this subdivision has asked for a variance from the requirement of making a connection to undeveloped land, Billings subdivision regulations Section 23-406.A.1, Streets and Roads. The parcel to the west is not developed, land to the south is developed and there is no possibility of connecting. There are existing roads to the north, South Frontage Road, and east, Mullowney Lane. The subdivision will make connections to both Mullowney Lane and the South Frontage Road. One of the requirements of a subdivision variance request is to provide an alternate solution, but the applicant did not offer an alternative to the requirement of making a connection to undeveloped land to the west. The subdivision to the west is QFC subdivision. Hogan's Slough separates this proposed subdivision and the QFC subdivision. The Planning Board has recommended denial of the variance request along with conditional approval of the subdivision. Denial of the variance requires the developer create a pedestrian and bicycle connection to an existing path in the QFC subdivision. Along the east edge of QFC subdivision, next to Hogan's Slough there is an existing 10-foot wide, paved, pedestrian/bike path that goes south to Elysian Road. By connecting to this trail it will provide another way to get north from Elysian Road and not have to be in streets or on trails that are alongside arterial streets. It will provide a connection to an existing trail. Should the new subdivision have businesses in it, and employees in the subdivisions to the south, the employees would be able to walk or ride a bike to work. This connection would allow families in the future to ride on a trail to the north to connect to South Frontage Road and businesses in the area. This connection would also provide a future connection to the proposed trail along South Frontage Road, which this subdivision will be building part of that trail. Within the subdivision there will be sidewalks installed and the paved surface of the roads will be 40 feet back of curb to back or curb. A subdivision with commercial uses will have lower traffic volume compared to major arterial streets. This connection to the existing trail in QFC subdivision will be a safer connection that avoids having to ride alongside arterial streets. It will also eliminate having to cross arterial streets should you have to use the trail along Elysian Road and then need to cross Elysian Road to connect with the trail going north along Mullowney Lane.  

Planning Board President Dennis Cook called for questions and discussion from the members of the Board. Board member Woods asked regarding the trail connection from the west, specifically where it would be a good location to make the connection from this subdivision to the existing trail in QFC subdivision. Staff suggested they use the proposed 20-foot wide sanitary sewer easement shown in Lot 11 Block 1.  Internal Streets and sidewalks will be used for a north and east connection for pedestrians/cyclists. Board member Nordel asked regarding Hogan’s Slough and was there an environmental study done on the slough for this subdivision. Matt Smith with Stahly Engineering and Associates, agent for the applicant, said the site slopes from northwest to southeast at a very minimum slope. Stahly considered a pond for drainage to Hogan’s Slough, but it was not feasible due to the lack of slope. So they are proposing all water go from the northwest to the southeast to a proposed detention basin in the southeast corner by Mullowney Lane. He said no environmental study was done for the Slough.

Public Hearing
Planning Board President Dennis Cook opened the public hearing and asked if there is anyone wishing to speak in favor or against the Howard Billings Industrial Subdivision. There was no one wishing to speak for or against the proposed subdivision.
President Cook closed the public hearing and called for a motion.

Motion
Board member Stephenson made a motion and Board member Woods seconded the motion to 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.
Discussion
President Cook called for discussion on the motion.  There was none.

The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote.

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.