Item #1.  Motion/Recommendation to BOCC.   (Rescheduled from October 13, 2015).  County Zone Change #668 – East of Highway 87 N and West of Plateau Road, Dave Green, Planner II.  The applicant is requesting a zone change request from Agriculture-Open Space (A-1) and Residential 15,000 (R-150) to Residential 9,600 (R-96) on Tracts 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A1, 6A, 7A, 8A, 9, 10A, 10B, 11 and 12B, and unplatted portions of land described as the SW1/4NW1/4 and the NW1/4SW1/4 of Section 2, Township 1 North, Range 26 East, a 222.83 acre parcel of land generally located east of Highway 87 North and west of Plateau Road. 
 
The applicants conducted a pre-application neighborhood meeting on August 31, 2015, at 1412 Sagebrush Road and the meeting attendance list and notes are included in Attachment B.
 

The Planning staff is forwarding a recommendation of Approval based on the 11 criteria for zone changes.
 

OWNER: Production Consulting, LLC
AGENT:Scott Aspenlieder
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Tracts 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A1, 6A, 7A, 8A, 9, 10A, 10B, 11 and 12B and an unplatted portions of land described as the SW1/4NW1/4 and the NW1/4SW1/4 of Section 2, Township 1 North, Range 26 East
ADDRESS: Located east of Highway 87 North and west of Plateau Road
CURRENT ZONING: Agriculture Open (A-1) and Residential 15,000 (R-150)
EXISTING LAND USE: Vacant Land
PROPOSED USE: Residential Development
SIZE OF PARCEL: 222.83 acres

The applicants have conducted a Pre-Application Meeting for a major subdivision on the property and have submitted for Subdivision Application Completeness and Sufficiency Review but have not moved forward with an application submittal at this time.

Surrounding Properties – There have been 9 similar zone change requests in this area of Yellowstone County since 1974. Three of these applications have been denied and 6 have been approved. One application was for a zone change from R-96 to HC and the remaining applications were from residential zoning to Community Commercial (CC). Most of these zone changes were for property close to the intersection of Highway 87 North, Main Street, and Highway 312.
Special Review #105 – A special review to allow commercial recreation – Magic City Motorcycle Club – to use the property for motorcycling and snowmobiling was approved by the County Board of Adjustment (BOA) on November 14, 1980.
Special Review #110 – A special review to add outdoor lighting for the commercial recreation was denied by the County BOA on April 10, 1981.
Special Review #119 – A special review to add outdoor lighting for the commercial recreation was denied by the County BOA on May 14, 1982.
Special Review #130 – A special review to add outdoor lighting for the commercial recreation was denied by the County BOA on May 13, 1983.
 

NORTH:	Zoning: A-1 and Outside Zoning  Land Use: Vacant Land
SOUTH:	Zoning: A-1 / Residential 9600 (R-96) Land Use: Single Family Homes / Vacant Land
EAST:	Zoning: A-1 / R-150 Land Use: Single Family Homes / Vacant Land
WEST:	Zoning: A-1 Land Use: Vacant Land

The subject property is located west off of Bitterroot Drive and south of Plateau Road which is approximately 1.2 miles north of Highway 312. All of the surrounding properties are zoned for residential and agricultural uses and some properties have been developed for very low density single family homes.  The current zoning, R-150 and A-1, was in effect since 1973 when the county adopted jurisdictional zoning around the City of Billings. There is currently a home with some out buildings on one of the parcels proposed for this zone change. 
 
The applicant intents to develop the properties into a large residential subdivision that, with the current submittal, would include 167 lots that could change with time and market conditions, but the zoning would still only allow for residential development.   The applicant states he intends to make this development similar to the ones in the surrounding area.  He also claims that they will be extending the County Water District of Billings Heights (CWDBH) to this property to enable the home owners to have yards and to beautify the area with a community water supply.
 
A neighborhood meeting was conducted by the applicant on August 31, 2015, at 1412 Sagebrush Road, which is one of the subject properties of this proposed zone change. Five surrounding property owners attended the meeting. The meeting notes indicate concerns with water and where the water lines would be placed.  Another concern was access to the subdivision.  The minutes of meeting are included as Attachment B. The Planning Division has not received any comments from surrounding property owners at this time.
 
Planning staff has reviewed this application and is forwarding a recommendation of approval for the proposed zone change based on the 11 criteria for zone changes. The property is adjacent to low density residential uses and agricultural uses. It is in line with the existing growth in this area and would be compatible with what is already there.  The proposed zoning would bring predictable land use with it so the surrounding neighbors will know that it can only be used for residential uses.
 

Approval of Zone Change #668 and adoption of the 11 criteria for this zone change.