Staff recommends that the City Council approve the Consulting Agreement with Dowl to complete an update to the 2006 Billings Heights Neighborhood Plan and authorize the Mayor's signature.

The primary objective of this project is to provide a comprehensive update to the BillingsHeights Neighborhood Plan (adopted in 2006) and align its mission with the current and future needs of the City of Billings and Yellowstone County. This updated plan should: (1) Promote a growth plan that includes a compatible and serviceable development pattern for residential and commercial uses and consider the services available by the City of Billings and Yellowstone County. Growth patterns and uses will differ between the jurisdictions but coordination and alignment will be a focus; (2) focus on public participation and engagement; (3) evaluate and update existing goals, policies, and implementation strategies; and (4) integrate a comprehensive transportation analysis into the planning process.

The project has multiple funding sources and will have two significant components, the first being the neighborhood plan and the second being the transportation analysis. Component 1 is funded by the City of Billings and component 2 is funded by the local Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) dollars. The existing area is approximately 28 square miles and includes land located in the City of Billings and Yellowstone County. This plan will need to consider and guide growth and development appropriately based on available infrastructure and services, environmental constraints, etc. 

Public participation and stakeholder engagement is a large component of any planning effort. This update will include a robust outreach plan to ensure as much community engagement as possible. This will include a series of community workshops, open houses, and focus group discussions. Open house meetings will be recorded and shared through a dedicated project website. In addition, the website will facilitate online surveys, mapping or other tools and utilize social media platforms to gather public opinion and increase engagement. Involvement of elected officials, community members, landowners, the development community, and neighborhood task force members will all be part of the effort.

City Council may:

• Approve the consulting agreement with Dowl to initiate the update to the Heights Neighborhood Plan and authorize the Mayor to sign the agreement; or,
• Not Approve the consulting agreement with Dowl, therefore delaying the update to the Heights Neighborhood Plan. Council has supported this update and staff has integrated this effort into its work and coordination with the MPO and other planning efforts at this time so moving ahead aligns with many current goals.

The cost of the Heights Neighborhood Plan contract is for an amount not to exceed $120,000. The costs are detailed in Exhibit A of the consultant contract. The funding of this project is through two sources. The first is $45,000 of the Planning Division's FY24 reserve budget funds, the second is $75,000 from the Billings Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization's Federal PL (planning) funds.

The initiation of the contract for updating the Billings Heights Neighborhood Plan marks the initial phase towards modernizing the 2006 plan. Following the City Council's directive to annually update one neighborhood plan, Heights residents and many stakeholders, in collaboration with Dowl, will commence the review of the 2006 plan and initiate the process of aligning it with the current needs of the Heights community. It is expected that this endeavor will span at least one year to finalize.