City Special Review 945 – 545 S 18th St West – A special review request to locate an all beverage license with gaming in a new 3,500 square foot building in a Controlled Industrial (CI) zone, on Lot 3B, Block 2 of Trillium Sub Amended, a 1.431-acre parcel of land generally located at 545 S 18th St West. Tax ID: A28494  

 

The Planning Division is recommending conditional approval.
 

OWNER: Jones Enterprises LLC
AGENT: Jerry Jones
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: To allow an All Beverage License with Gaming
ADDRESS: 545 South 18th Street West
CURRENT ZONING: Controlled Industrial (CI)
EXISTING LAND USE: Storage Area / Raw Land
PROPOSED USE: Casino
SIZE OF PARCEL: 1.431 Acres

None

Special Review 822, All Beverage License with Gaming – 1731 King Avenue West, Suite 1, was conditionally approved on 07-27-2006 and is currently the Copper Creek Casino
Special Review 725, Beer and Wine with Gaming – 1806 King Avenue West was conditionally approved on 08-29-2002
Special Review 726, All Beverage License without Gaming – 1824 King Avenue West was conditionally approved 08-29-2002

NORTH:	Zoning: CI Land Use: Jones Enterprises LLC
SOUTH:	Zoning: CI Land Use: CEI Electrical Contractors
EAST:	Zoning: CI Land Use: Albertsons Distribution Center
WEST:	Zoning:CI Land Use: UPS parking yard

This is a request to allow the construction of a new building for a casino with an all beverage license.  The property is approximately 1.4 acres and is located north of the intersection of King Avenue West and South 18^th Street West.  The subject property is surrounded mostly by industrial uses with some commercial uses also in the area.  All surrounding properties are also zoned Controlled Industrial like the subject property. Directly surrounding the property is CEI Electrical Contractors to the south, Jones Enterprises to the north, the UPS parking yard to the west, and the Albertsons Distribution Center to the east.  Farther south of the subject property is a Charter warehouse. South and west across King Avenue West are Texas Road House, Hu Hot Mongolian Grill and Spring Hill Suites Marriot. Featherlite trailer sales is located east of the Spring Hills Suites Marriot.  South and west of the subject property also is an O’Reilly Auto parts warehouse and retail store.
 
The casino at 1731 King Avenue West, Suite 1, has been in that location since 2006 after receiving a special review approval.  At that time, the business in the largest building at 1731 King Avenue West was Carries Quilts and Iron.  That business closed and the property was purchased and remodeled in 2011 for a change in use to Word of Life Fellowship Church.  According to City of Billings zoning code Section 27-612 (a) (1), there must be a 600-foot separation from an eating and drinking establishment with on premise consumption of alcohol and a church, school, or from a public park that contains a children’s play area.  When the Word of Life Fellowship Church moved into the building, there were two eating and drinking establishments within 600 feet of the property line with on premise consumption of alcohol.  Hu Hot Mongolian Grill is about 91.5 feet from the church, property line to property line, and Texas Road house is about 389 feet, property line to property line.  The building that Copper Creek Casino occupies at 1731 King Avenue West, Suite 1, was also purchased by the church and is on the same parcel of land as the Word of Life Fellowship Church. There is no property line separation between them, but there is approximately 54-feet of parking and drive lane between them.  The three businesses that are required to have a 600-foot separation from the church were all in place before the church was in the area.
 
This application does not meet one of the requirements of Section 27-612 (a)(1) BMC which is the required separation of 600 feet between property lines from an eating and drinking establishment with on premise consumption of alcohol from any building that is predominantly used as a church or school, or from a public park that contains a children’s play area.  The 600-foot separation is between property lines.  Measuring from the southwest corner of the subject property to the northwest corner of the Word of Life Fellowship Church property, the distance is approximately 284 feet.

In Section 27-612 (a) (1) BMC there are some exceptions that may be considered to allow the City Council to waive the separation requirement.  The exceptions include: An Arterial Street separates the properties; A building or buildings obstruct the view between the separate uses; and there is no direct physical access that exists between the two uses. One criterion that may be applied in this case by the City Council in consideration of waiving the 600-foot separation is, "A building or buildings obstruct the view between the separate uses."  The proposed structure will sit on the subject property to the west of the lot, near the frontage of South 18^th Street West.  The property to the south is occupied by CEI Electrical Contractors.  This business property is enclosed by a chain-link fence with 3 strands of barbed wire along the top of the fence.  There are trucks and heavy equipment parked around the perimeter of the fenced property, which obscures visibility to the south when the equipment is located there.  South of CEI Electrical Contractors is the main building of the Word of Life Fellowship Church.  The church occupies approximately one third of the building at the southern end, which fronts King Avenue West.  The back two thirds of the building is leased by Charter Communications and is used as warehouse space.  From the church entry parking area off of King Avenue West, it is not possible to see the subject property of this special review where the new casino would be located.  The church building itself blocks the views north and the wall enclosed outdoor patio on the west of the church building also blocks views to the north.
 
A second criterion for consideration of a waiver of the 600-foot distance is "No direct physical access that exists between the two uses."  There are no sidewalks on South 18^th Street West from the subject property to the church property that connect the two properties.  There are also chain link fences with barbed wire separating the two properties.  Therefore, this application meets two of the three exceptions for the waiver of the 600-foot separation requirement, and the Council may consider waiving the separation requirement.

Section 27-612 of the Billings, Montana City Code (BMCC) requires a 600-foot separation of an eating or drinking establishment that has on premise consumption of alcohol from any building that is predominantly used as a church or school, or from a public park that contains a children’s play area. The BMCC is more restrictive than the State Law (MCA 16-3-306) requiring a similar separation distance. The City requirement measures the distance from property line to property line and the state requirement measures from entrance door to entrance door, provided both locations are on the same street.
 
The current location of Copper Creek casino is a leased space. The building is owned by the Word of Life Fellowship Church and the lease will not be renewed.  The casino needs to relocate by June 2017.  The new location to the north will be within the same area the casino currently operates and enable it to continue to provide the services to the same neighborhood it has in since 2006.
 
The Planning Division has reviewed this application and is recommending conditional approval. Before a recommendation of approval or conditional approval can be made, each special review request must demonstrate conformance with three primary criteria: 1) the application complies with all parts of the Unified Zoning Regulations, 2) the application is consistent with the objectives and purposes of the Unified Zoning Regulations and the 2008 Growth Policy, and 3) is compatible with surrounding land uses and is otherwise screened and separated from adjacent land to minimize adverse impacts. This application conforms to the first criteria, in so far, that it is in a district that allows a casino with an all beverage license. The proposed building, landscaping, solid waste storage will meet the code requirements for this zone.  New landscaping will be installed around the building and along the street frontage. The property will have access off of South 18^th Street West.
 
The proposal is consistent with some goals of the 2008 Growth Policy, encouraging compatible uses and avoiding leapfrog development beyond City services. The proposal also is in line with City's Infill Development Policy as it would utilize a vacant lot already accessible to most City services. Planning staff is recommending conditions for this special review based on the approval criteria for special review uses. The building will be located near the front of the lot near South 18^th Street West where it will not be visible from the parking area and entry to the church building and the application is conforming to the purposes of the regulations and the 2008 Growth Policy.
 

The Planning Division recommends conditional approval.
 
PROPOSED CONDITIONS

1. The special review is limited to Lot 3B, Block 2, of Amended Plat of Lot 2A, Block 2, Trillium Subdivision, generally located at 545 South 18^th Street West.
2. The special review approval is for the construction of a 3,500 square foot building for a casino with an all beverage license with gaming. No other use or development configuration is intended or implied by this approval.
3. Any expansion of the proposed building greater than 10 percent of what is shown on the submitted site plan will require an additional special review approval.
4. All exterior lighting, including security lighting, shall have full cut-off shields so no part of the fixture or lens projects below the cut-off shield. The maximum height of any light pole in the outdoor areas shall be 20 feet above grade.
5. No construction or demolition activity will occur before 7 am or after 8 pm daily.
6. New trees shall not be any tree with the scientific genus name of Populus or any of its subspecies including any variety of aspens. Also no Salix (willows), Acer negundo (Box Elder) or Ulmus (Elms). 
7. Any centralized solid waste storage shall be enclosed by a wall on 3 sides and a closing gate or gates. The wall and gates for the solid waste storage shall be similar or complimentary in color to the adjacent buildings and shall be sight-obscuring. The wall and gates shall be tall enough that no part of the interior dumpster(s) are visible from the outside.
8. The site will be developed in substantial conformance with the submitted site plan, including landscaping, parking and building locations.
9. Any outdoor announcement system shall be operated so it is not audible beyond the property lines.
10. The owner is allowed to have background music and un-amplified, live entertainment on the outdoor patio. Amplified, live entertainment is not allowed at any time.
11. These conditions of special review approval shall run with the land described in this authorization and shall apply to all current and subsequent owners, operators, managers, lease holders, heirs and assigns.
12. The proposed development shall comply with all other limitations of Section 27-613 of the Unified Zoning Regulations concerning special review uses, and all other City of Billings regulations and ordinances that apply.
     
    **NOTE**     Approval of this Special Review does not constitute approval of a building permit, sign permit or fence permit. Compliance with all applicable local codes will be reviewed at the building permit level. This application is for a Special Review as noted above and no other request is being considered with this application. The Planning Division points out that the use and development of the property must be in accordance with the submitted site plan.

Zoning Commission Action 
The City Zoning Commission shall make a recommendation to the City Council to:
 
1.       Deny the application for a special review use.
2.       Grant the application for a special review use.
3.       Conditionally grant the application for a special review use.
4.       Delay action on the application for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days.
5.       Give reasons for the recommendation.
 
Before approving a special review use, the Zoning Commission shall find that the contemplated use:

1.       Complies with all requirements of this Article (27-1500);
2.       Is consistent with the objectives and purposes of Chapter 27 and the Comprehensive Plan;
3.       Is compatible with surrounding land uses or is otherwise screened and separated from adjacent land in such a way as to minimize adverse effects.
 
Further the Zoning Commission shall consider and may impose modifications or conditions concerning, but not limited to the following:
 
1.       Street and road capacity;
2.       Ingress and egress to adjoining streets;
3.       Off-street parking;
4.       Fencing, screening and landscaping;
5.       Building bulk and location;
6.       Usable open space;
7.       Signs and lighting; and/or
8.       Noise, vibration, air pollution and similar environmental influences.