Item #3 - City Zone Change #945 – 2512 Shiloh Road – A zone change request from Residential 9,600 (R-96) to Residential Professional (RP) on Lot 4A2 of Blue Meadow Acreage Tracts, a 1.06 acre parcel of land. The applicant conducted a pre-application neighborhood meeting on November 16, 2015 at the King of Glory Church at 4125 Grand Avenue. Tax ID: C01757. Presented by: Nicole Cromwell, Zoning Coordinator
 

The Planning Division recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 10 criteria for Zone Change 945.

OWNER: Kincaid Land, LLC (Gene Culver)
AGENT: Pat Davies, P.E., Sanderson Stewart
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Lot 4A2, Blue Meadow Acreage Tracts
ADDRESS: 2512 Shiloh Road
CURRENT ZONING: R-96
EXISTING LAND USE: Single family dwelling
PROPOSED USE: Same with Professional Office space
SIZE OF PARCEL: 1.06 acres

None.

Subject Property: The property was developed in the County with a single family home in 1960. The property was subsequently annexed to the city for public services in 1985. There have been no requests for zone changes or variances on the subject property. 

Surrounding Property: The City and County have considered 21 zone change applications to change zoning from residential to commercial in this area since 1988 and have approved 17 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 Two requests were denied and 2 were withdrawn.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), property at 2526 Shiloh Road from R-96 to RP (2014), and property at 2724 Shiloh Road to RP in November, 2015. The property at 2526 Shiloh Road is directly adjacent to the north of the subject property.

NORTH:	Zoning: RP Land Use: 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: The Woodlands Townhomes (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 for the owner, Kincaid Land, LLC. The owner wishes to convert a portion of the existing split level home for use as office space. Mr. Gene Culver, principle owner of Kincaid Land, LLC, could operate his business as a home occupation in the existing structure, but the limitations for home occupations would require Mr. Culver to reside at this location as well as restrictions on employees and signage that make a home occupation impractical for the owner.

The surrounding zoning is R-96 to the south, east and west. The property to the north is zoned RP and is currently vacant. The owner to the north intends to develop a new 2-unit professional office space. The zone change to RP for this northern lot was approved by the City Council in 2014. Lots east across Shiloh Road are developed for the St. John's Lutheran Retirement Community and include care cottages, a chapel, a hospice unit as well as a nursing home. Property to the south across the High Ditch is developed for single family homes. These lots were created and developed in the 1970s outside the city limits. These parcels were annexed in 1985 for access to city services. West of the subject property is a newly developing townhome project with single family dwellings. 

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 10,000 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 November 16, 2015, at the King of Glory Church at 4125 Grand Avenue. Six surrounding property owners attended the meeting and asked questions regarding other properties that might be zoned RP in the future on Shiloh Road, height restrictions, use limitations and spot zoning. 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. 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 945.