This is a special review request to locate a drive through service for a pharmacy adjacent to a residential zone in a proposed 57,000 square foot building in a Community Commercial (CC) zone on Lot 1, Block 1, Bishop Fox Subdivision, an 8.197 acre parcel of land. The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on January 3, 2017, and is forwarding a recommendation of conditional approval.

Special Review applications are reviewed using City Code criteria referenced in the Alternatives Analyzed section of this memo. Special Reviews do not require an ordinance for approval, are not zone changes on property; rather, are tied to specific uses that are allowed in a given zoning district but are subject to a review by the City prior to the use being allowed. Special Reviews, unlike zone changes, may be conditioned to mitigate possible impacts from the use on the subject property or surrounding properties.
 

City Council may:

• Approve the request
• Conditionally approve the request
• Deny the request
• Allow the applicant to withdraw the request
• Delay action on the request for up to 30 days

APPLICATION DATA
OWNER: Bishop Fox Company, Ted Lovec
AGENT: CTA Architects & Engineers, Ron Isackson
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Lot 1, Block 1, Bishop Fox Subdivision
ADDRESS: None assigned
CURRENT ZONING: CC
EXISTING LAND USE: Vacant - agricultural land
PROPOSED USE: Anchor grocery store with drive-thru pharmacy window, with
multiple small lot commercial businesses
SIZE OF PARCEL: 8.195 acres

The Planning Division reviewed the application and recommended conditional approval to the Zoning Commission. The Zoning Commission concurred with the recommendation. 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 2016 Growth Policy, and 3) the application 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 the zoning regulations adopted by the City Council have designated all CC zoning districts can have a drive through service adjacent to a residential zone as long as they go through the special review process. There are requirements for landscaping and screening from residential uses next to commercial uses within the zoning regulations.

The application meets criteria from the second requirement as it is consistent with some of the objectives of the 2016 Growth Policy:
Essential Investments: Infill development and development near existing City infrastructure may be the most cost effective.
The proposed special review will promote development of a commercial service area where none currently exists on land that has been zoned appropriately for this commercial use and has easy access to City services and infrastructure. This will provide additional services to residents within the neighborhood and throughout West Billings.
Strong Neighborhoods and Essential Investments: Neighborhoods that are safe and attractive and provide essential services are much desired.
The proposed development of this vacant land will provide walkable services to the immediately adjacent neighbors. Conditions of approval will be proposed to ensure this development does not impact these same neighbors with excessive noise, light and other intrusions.
Prosperity: A diversity of available jobs can ensure a strong Billings’ economy.
Successful businesses that provide local jobs benefit the community. The proposed special review will support a new businesses, provide employment opportunities at this location, and benefit the community with needed local services.

The application also meets the third criteria in that it is compatible with surrounding land uses in the area. This site is in a developing area of Billings, with mainly residential development occurring at this time. Everyday services are not yet available and the proposed development will bring these services closer to this residential population. The overall development will include a grocery store, a pharmacy, a gasoline service station as well as several other service businesses to the 8+ acre site. The proposed drive through service window for the pharmacy within the grocery store is the reason a special review is required. It is anticipated there will be minimal impacts from the proposed location of the drive through service window that need to be mitigated. The conditions recommended with the special review should mitigate impacts on the site and the surrounding properties.

RECOMMENDATION
The Zoning Commission is forwarding a recommendation of Conditional Approval with the following recommended conditions:
1. The special review approval is limited to Lot 1, Block 1, Bishop Fox Subdivision generally located north of Grand Avenue, on the east side of 54th St West.
2. The special review is for the construction and operation of a drive through service window on the southeast corner of the proposed grocery store on the north end of the site. No other use is intended or implied.
3. The drive through service window will not be open 24-hours a day. Hours of operation will be submitted for approval at the time of building permit application. Hours of operation should not occur before 6 am or after 10 pm on a daily basis.
4. Any outdoor announcement system associated with the drive through service window shall not be audible at any property line.
5. The landscaping along the north property line and the northerly 360 feet of the east property line shall consist of the trees, shrubs and pedestrian sidewalk as shown on the submitted site plan (L101).
6. For safety purposes and to minimize light impacts to neighboring properties, bollard style lighting shall be placed intermittently along the pedestrian sidewalk in the landscaped perimeter buffer yard.
7. Accessibility ramps and appropriate signage shall be placed wherever necessary for safe pedestrian crossing of internal driveways.
8. No internally illuminated signage will be placed on any wall parallel to the north or east property lines.
9. Short term bicycle parking shall be installed along the south elevation of the proposed store at a location determined appropriate by the architect and developer. The short term bicycle parking shall provide space for up to 8 bicycles. This parking will encourage cyclists to access the store itself rather than use the drive through window as well as support neighborhood access to the store using multiple transportation options. The architect and developer will follow the City of Billings Off-Street Bicycle Parking Guidelines for selection of hardware and placement of the parking racks.
10. 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.
11. 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.
 

If the special review is approved and the property develops, value will be added to the City's tax base. City permit fees and assessments for access to public utilities will pay for these services. The development will pay its fair share of the cost of adjacent street improvements including contributing to the cost of Grand Avenue and 54th St West improvements. If the special review is not approved, the property may remain undeveloped until a new buyer and developer is secured by the owner.

This is a special review request to allow a drive through window service on the southeast corner of a new retail grocery store and pharmacy in the north half of Lot 1, Block 1 of Bishop Fox Subdivision. The site is located on the northeast corner of the intersection of 54th St West and Grand Avenue. The property was re-zoned and annexed 10 years ago and is not yet developed. The special review is required whenever a drive through service is located adjacent to a residential zone. There is residential zoning to the north and east of the subject property. The overall site plan shows multiple commercial buildings on the property, but the special review application is only required for the drive through
associated with the anchor building.

The surrounding neighborhoods to the north and east are recently developed but there are subdivision fences in place already along the north property line. Fences along the east property line are not yet in place. During the subdivision of these neighborhoods, pedestrian access points were designated so there will be walking access for these neighbors to the new commercial businesses and services. In addition, the new Fire Station to the west of the development will share a drive approach off 54th St West. The drive approach accommodates visitors to the Fire Station - fire apparatus has a separate dedicated drive approach.

Grand Avenue and 54th St West are both principal arterial streets. This section of Grand Avenue is scheduled for arterial street improvements in the next 2 years. As part of this project, a signal will be installed at the intersection of 54th St West. There will be 3 access points for this property - 1 off Grand Avenue with a deceleration lane for west bound traffic and 2 off 54th St West. Grand Avenue carries about 10,000 vehicle trips per day just west of Shiloh Road. Between Shiloh Road and 66th St West, the traffic volume drops off significantly. This will likely change when the Ben Steele Middle School at 56th St West and Grand Avenue opens in the fall of 2017. There are no traffic counts available for 54th St West north of Grand Avenue up to Rimrock Road. Traffic counts on Rimrock Road near the intersection with 54th St Street West traffic volume is about 5,100 vehicles per day.
 

The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on January 3, 2017, and received the staff report and recommendation as well as testimony from the applicant's agent, Dayton Rush of CTA Architects and Engineers. The Zoning Commission also received testimony from Charlie Hamwey, agent for Bishop Fox Company, Connie Nicely of 1526 Silver Run Trail, and Jenny McGahan of 1548 Silver Run Trail.
Mr. Rush testified the application was fairly straight forward and the designers were sensitive to the adjacent residences by providing the required screening and wide buffer yards with trees, shrubs and grass. The proposed walkway in the north and east buffer yards will run between the elevated berm plantings and the 6-foot screening fence. Mr. Rush stated the applicant is in agreement with the proposed conditions of approval. Mr. Rush stated additional analysis of traffic impacts will happen after the zoning process is complete.

Mr. Hamwey testified he is the real estate agent for the owner and seller of the property, Bishop Fox Company. He stated the owner and buyer have worked for about a year with site planning and he believes the project will be a gem for the west end of Billings. He stated the engineering and design work being done by Sanderson Stewart for the Grand Avenue and 54th St West improvements will be well done and compliments the proposed site design.

Connie Nicely of 1526 Silver Run Trail testified she was concerned with the proposed walkway and screening fence that will run right outside her front door. She pointed out the location of her home and front door on one of the pictures. Ms. Nicely was concerned about the safety and security of her home. She stated the walkway will be hidden by the screening fence. She stated she was concerned with lighting and noise from the new development. She questioned why the drive through was located on the east corner of the building closest to the residential area. In response to a question from Commissioner Larson, Ms. Nicely stated she was aware of the zoning of the adjacent property when she purchased her dwelling.

Jenny McGahan of 1548 Silver Run Trail testified she was concerned with people who might be using the walking path right outside their back yard. She was also concerned with people who would be using the walking path and the security of her property. She stated she was concerned with truck noise and lighting. She stated she was concerned whether the screening fence will be a safe and secure barrier or not. She stated the future development of a 24-hour gas station would add to this security concern. She agreed with Ms. Nicely the drive through window should be on the west side of building. She was concerned the landscaping would not be enough to supress the sound of trucks coming to the property.
 
In response to the concerns expressed, Mr. Rush stated the installed landscaping will be more mature than subdivision landscaping. He stated the minimum caliper of canopy trees would be 2 inches and the minimum height of evergreen trees would be 6 feet at time of planting. He stated the fence along the east property line will likely match or be consistent with the existing fence on the north property line. He stated shrubs will be interspersed with the trees and then mulch and grass as ground cover. He stated the developer would like the landscaping to mature as soon as possible since this is a benefit to the property.

The public hearing was closed and Commissioner Dennis Ulvestad made a motion to recommend conditional approval. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Michael Larson. Mr. Larson stated the walkway and buffer area is a great feature of this plan. He stated he has lived near another similar location and he frequently used the walkway to access the services. He stated there was never a security issue. Chairman Dan Wagner complemented the design of the buffer yard with the trees, shrubs and walkway. He stated this should not become a security issue for the adjacent residences but a benefit to everyone. The Commission voted 5-0 in favor of the motion.

The Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies is discussed in the Alternatives Analyzed section above.