Item #3 -Motion/Recommendation to City Council.  City Zone Change #941 – 2724 Shiloh Road, Nicole Cromwell, Zoning Coordinator – A zone change request from Residential 9,600 (R-96) to Residential Professional (RP) on Lot 2A1 of Blue Meadow Acreage Tracts, a 16,517 square foot parcel of land. The applicant conducted a pre-application neighborhood meeting on July 27, 2015 at 2429 Mission Way. Tax ID: C01755
 

The Planning Division recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 10 criteria for Zone Change 941.

OWNER: Patrick, Sarah, and Bruce Parker
AGENT: Patrick Parker
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Lot 2A1, Blue Meadow Acreage Tracts
ADDRESS: 2724 Shiloh Road
CURRENT ZONING: R-96
EXISTING LAND USE: Single family dwelling
PROPOSED USE: Same with Professional Office for Beartooth Design
SIZE OF PARCEL: 16,517 square feet

None.

Subject Property: The property requested a zone change along with lots 3, 4, and 5 in 1988 from R-96 to Neighborhood Commercial (NC). The requested was denied.

Surrounding Property: The City and County have considered 19 zone change applications to change zoning from residential to commercial in this area since 1988 and have approved 15 of those requests. Two requests were denied and 2 were withdrawn. The city recently re-zoned Billings Urban Fire Service property on Shiloh Road south of Parkhill Drive from R-70 to RP (2011) and property at 2526 Shiloh Road from R-96 to RP (2014).

NORTH:	Zoning: R-96 Land Use: City owned vacant land
SOUTH:	Zoning: R-96 Land Use: Single family homes
EAST:	Zoning: R-96 Land Use: St John's Lutheran Retirement Community
WEST:	Zoning: R-96 Land Use: Single family dwellings

The applicant is requesting a zone change on this property to facilitate the remodeling of the existing home to include a professional office space on the ground floor. The agent and one of the owners, Patrick Parker, owns Beartooth Design, and wants to convert the single family dwelling to a live/work building. Mr. Parker could operate his business as a home occupation in the existing structure, but the limitations for home occupations would not accommodate the amount of space he needs for the business. 

The surrounding zoning is R-96 and is developed for large lot, single family homes to the south and west. To the north is a property owned by the City Public Works Department acquired for the Shiloh Road and Rimrock Road reconstruction projects. To the east is St John's Lutheran Retirement Community. Shiloh Road was reconstructed to include a 4 to 5 lane arterial street with limited access to adjacent properties. At this location, there is no access to travel north on Shiloh Road. To access the north bound lanes of Shiloh Road, drivers must go south to one of the intersections that allow access to the north or to the roundabout at Grand Avenue. In addition, only south bound traffic may access the subject property. The Shiloh Road and Rimrock Road intersection is a traffic signal controlled intersection. Traffic volume on this section of Shiloh Road is about 12,000 vehicle trips per day and the intersections of Grand and Shiloh, and Rimrock and Shiloh range from 14,000 to 15,000 vehicle trips per day. This volume of traffic in some situations may make maintaining or sustaining a single-family residential use more challenging.

The proposed zoning and use is not expected to have any impact on the traffic volume on Shiloh Road. The West Billings Neighborhood Plan adopted a goal of retaining retail and commercial centers at the intersections of arterial streets and encouraging non-retail, office and multi-family uses along arterial streets between those intersections. The proposed zoning of RP is intended to accommodate limited commercial and professional offices as would be compatible with adjoining residential districts. The 2008 Growth Policy encourages more housing and business choices within each neighborhood while ensuring those land uses are compatible with existing neighborhoods. The property is located within an existing and developing residential area but has access to a busy arterial street. The property, if zoned RP, would have to comply with the development standards for the North Shiloh Corridor Overlay zone and Section 27-612(e) – the “Neighborhood Manners” section of the zoning regulations that addresses potential conflicts between residential uses and commercial uses. The most restrictive requirement would govern the site development for specific characteristics such as noise generation, solid waste storage, building design, landscaping and screening.

The RP zone requires a maximum building height of 34 feet and a front property line minimum setback of 20 feet. The current structure meets these required minimum regulations for the RP zoning. The RP zoning also requires a maximum lot coverage of 50% (foot print of any roofed structures). Single family dwellings are allowed in the RP zone, but not two-family or multi-family dwellings. Each dwelling unit must have at least 6,000 square feet of lot area. The property is large enough to meet these standards. When part of the dwelling is remodeled for the professional office space, off street parking requirements will need to be met including a paved and properly drained parking lot for the use of the customers and the residents in the living space of the dwelling.

The applicant conducted a pre-application neighborhood meeting on July 27, 2015 at the Lillis Chapel at 2429 Mission Way on the east side of Shiloh Road. Four surrounding property owners attended the meeting and asked Mr. Parker about his plans for upgrading the building and the lot. Mr. Parker explained the planned upgrades to the building and the landscaping as well as any future possibilities for additional businesses. The meeting notes and attendance list are included as an attachment. The Planning Division did not receive any comments or concerns from surrounding property owners or city staff.

The West Billings Neighborhood Plan adopted by the City in 2001 states the purpose of the plan is to guide the long-term growth of West Billings to ensure land is conserved and to avoid leapfrog development. A preferred land use map was developed locating and encouraging the development of neighborhood and community commercial centers at selected arterial street intersections. To support this “node” of commercial activity, non-retail businesses and higher density housing would be encouraged along these arterial streets between the commercial nodes. The proposed zoning meets these objectives of the West Billings Neighborhood Plan. The 2008 Growth Policy encourages the compatibility of adjacent zoning to new zoning especially in established neighborhoods. The proposed zoning is compatible with the adjacent zoning and existing land uses. In addition, the North Shiloh Corridor Overlay District and Section 27-612(e) of the zoning code requires additional screening and buffering of any new commercial uses from the directly adjacent residential neighborhoods.
 
The Planning Division has reviewed this application and is recommending approval based on the attached ten (10) criteria for zone changes. The subject property is not located at the intersection of arterial streets but is proposed for a mixed use of the existing building for a professional office with living space in the basement area. The street carries a modicum of average daily traffic and the proposed use should not have an impact on the street carrying capacity. There are single family uses to the south and west. The retirement community across Shiloh Road is more than 150 feet separated from this property and there should be no impact from the proposed RP zone. The uses allowed within the RP zoning are compatible with the surrounding zoning and neighborhood character. Any new development on the property requires compliance with the new zoning and the ability to meet site development requirements and traffic safety standards. The 2008 Growth Policy and the West Billings Neighborhood Plan encourage predictable land use decisions that are consistent with neighborhood character and land use patterns. The existing use and proposed zoning are consistent with this neighborhood and land use pattern.
 

The Planning Division recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 10 criteria for Zone Change 941.