City Zone Change #948 – 1690 Rimrock Road – A zone change request from Public (P) to Residential Professional (RP) on Lots 1 & 2, Block 4, Rocky Village Subdivision, 2^nd Filing, a 2 acre parcel of land. A pre-application neighborhood meeting was held at the subject property on July 25, 2016. Presented by Nicole Cromwell, Zoning Coordinator

The Planning Division recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 10 criteria.

OWNER: Matt Larsen - for Rockrim Professional Center
AGENT: David Mitchell
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Lots 1 & 2, Block 4 of Rocky Village Subdivision, 2nd Filing
ADDRESS: 1690 Rimrock Road
CURRENT ZONING: Public (P)
EXISTING LAND USE: Professional Offices
PROPOSED USE: Same
SIZE OF PARCEL: 2 acres

None.

Subject Property: The property received a special review approval in 1986, to build a dental office building in the Public zone. Previous zoning regulations allowed some use by special review approval in the Public zone. Since 1997, the zoning regulations have allowed medically related professional offices in the Public zone, but other professions such as real estate, insurance, law offices, and financial offices are not allowed. Since the original approval to allow a dental office in 1986, the property owners attempted 3 additional special reviews to allow other professional offices and expand the buildings. Two of the 3 requests were denied (1988 & 1989) and the 3rd request was approved in 1992 for expansion to include medical offices.
 
Surrounding Property: The Rocky Mountain College campus and school buildings are in the Public zone and have been since 1972. Rocky Mountain College in partnership with CTA developed the property south of Poly Drive from 13th St West to 17th St West in a Planned Development zone that includes single-family, multi-family, townhomes, recreational uses, commercial business and professional offices. Several changes to the underlying zoning, special reviews for some uses and variances have been granted in this Planned Development zone.

NORTH:	Zoning: R-96 Land Use: Single family dwellings
SOUTH:	Zoning: Public Land Use: RMC Campus
EAST:	Zoning: Public Land Use: RMC Campus (Vacant Lot 3, Block 4)
WEST:	Zoning: R-96 Land Use: Single family dwellings

This is an application to change the zoning of a developed parcel of land at the intersection of 17th St West and Rimrock Road from Public to Residential Professional (RP). The property was developed approximately 30 years ago with an office building for dentists. Subsequently, the City approved an expansion to include additional offices for medical practices. The current Public zone does not allow other professional offices such as law practices, real estate, financial services, or other typical 9 to 5 businesses. The proposed RP zoning will expand the current number of allowed uses to secure the financial viability of the existing office buildings. The proposed RP zoning does not allow any retail establishments.
The surrounding zoning is either Residential 9,600 (R-96) for single family homes or Public for the RMC Campus. At the intersection of Poly Drive and 17th St West to the south of the subject property, the City has approved zone changes from R-96 to RP and NC to accommodate new development of professional offices including the Morledge Eye Center, a plastic surgeon practice, and law offices. The Poly Conoco on the southwest corner of this intersection is still in an R-96 zone and is considered a legal non-conforming use.

Rimrock Road and 17th St West are both classified as arterial streets and serve as connectors between residential areas and other parts of the City and County. Rimrock Road carries about 12,000 vehicle trips per day and 17th St West carries about 7,000 vehicles per day. These approximate numbers are based on a 3-year rolling average. Vehicle trips represent 1 vehicle in either direction of travel during a 24-hour period. Increases in travel on both streets have been steady throughout the last 10 years, increasing about 2% every year. Improvements to Rimrock Road have been made as well as minor improvements to the intersection of 17th St West.

The property is developed as a unit ownership building and until recently all units have been occupied with medical or dental offices. Two units are currently not occupied. The property owners conducted a pre-application neighborhood meeting on July 25, 2016, at the subject property. No objections to the proposed zone change were raised by the surrounding owners. The Planning staff did not receive any comments from the surrounding property owners in response to the mailed notice of the public hearings.
 
Planning staff is recommending approval and adoption of the proposed findings of the 10 criteria for this zone change. The proposed zoning is in conformance with the recently adopted 2016 Growth Policy for Billings by encouraging and sustaining development within the City limits, providing essential services within neighborhoods, and promoting prosperity through the retention and expansion of a diversity of careers and jobs in the local economy. The proposed zoning will promote the health and general welfare by sustaining an existing professional office building in its current location and gives consideration to the character of the area and the suitability of the property for the existing and proposed uses.
 

The Planning Division recommends approval and adoption of the proposed findings of the 10 criteria for Zone Change 948.