The applicant is requesting a zone change request from Residential 6,000 (R-60) to Community Commercial (CC) on the East ½ of Lots 22-24, Block 272, Billings Original Town located at 2215 6th Avenue North. This is the current location of a small residential home that is rented. The applicants are George & Dorothy Wetstein and Joyce Lunder is the agent. A pre-application neighborhood meeting was held at the North Park Picnic Shelter on June 29, 2009. The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on August 4, 2009, and is forwarding a recommendation of approval on a 3-0 vote. The City Council held a public hearing and approved the first reading of the zone change on August 24, 2009.

State law at MCA 76-2-304 requires that all zone changes be reviewed in accordance with 12 criteria. Using the 12 criteria to determine the appropriateness of the zone change request, the City Council may:

• Approve the zone change request;
• Deny the zone change request;
• Allow withdrawal of the application; or
• Delay action for up to thirty (30) days
   

The proposed zone change should have little effect on the City’s tax base.

The Zoning Commission is forwarding a recommendation of approval to the City Council for Zone Change #856 and adoption of the 12 Zoning Commission Determinations on a 3-0 vote.