No action is required by the City Council. This is an informational session to review the draft of a zoning update to meet the requirements of SB 245 adopted by the state in 2023.

In 2023, the Montana legislature passed several laws regarding local land use and zoning provisions. One of those new laws, SB 245, requires cities of 5,000 or more in population to allow, by right, multi-unit developments in all commercial and mixed-use zoning districts. The law includes definitions and restrictions on required off-street parking for multi-unit developments. Planning staff has drafted a zoning code amendment to align our local code with the state law requirement. The law is already in effect, and the city must comply. SB245 is attached to this memo along with the draft ordinance. Planning staff will process the zoning code amendment through the City Zoning Commission, including public notice to interested parties, legal ads and information on our webpage. 

Planning staff has provided copies of the draft amendment to the City Zoning Commission, the Home Builders Association, the Billings Association of Realtors, commercial real estate professionals and multifamily developers within the community. The City Zoning Commission formally initiated the amendment on April 2, 2024, at their regular monthly meeting. As per Section 27-1628.B.1 (BMCC) the Zoning Commission, the City Council or the City/County Planning Board may initiate a text amendment to the zoning code. Initiation of a text amendment is not an "approval" of the drafted amendment. Initiation of the amendment allows the planning staff to finalize the draft and prepare for the public process of review by the public. Public hearings with the Zoning Commission and ultimately, the City Council will be held to review and refine the draft if necessary. The City Council makes the decision to approve or not the proposed amendment. The amendment will effect all commercial and mixed-use zone districts.
 

No action is required by the Council at this time. The amendment will go through the normal public hearing procedures by the Zoning Commission with a recommendation to the City Council at a future date.

There could be a minor effect on the Planning Division budget if the amendment is adopted. The Planning Division may pay for the incorporation of the amendment into the official City Code, as administered by Municode, the city's official codification company. However, these code updates with Municode benefit and affect the entire City and community so it  would be more consistent to have the General Fund cover any Municode Update costs instead of the Division that simply administers the code section.