The current zoning regulations adopted for the City date from May of 1972 – 45 years ago, and the County zoning regulations were adopted in November of 1973. In 1997, the City and County joined these separate but very similar zoning codes to create a single set of unified zoning regulations. Over the past several decades, the code has been amended, added to, and the City & County have not always agreed to adopt the same amendments to the zoning code. This has opened up fractures in the existing code. The document now spans more than 450 pages and represents volume-wise at least 1/3 of the entire current City Code.

Over the decades, the policies and goals of the City and County have changed considerably but the essential tools the community uses to implement new goals and policies have remained essentially un-changed. It is time to address revising the zoning code to reflect where Billings and the zoning jurisdiction of Yellowstone County is now and where it is going. Staff believes this entire code update process will take between 1.5 years and 2.5 years to be completed. Planning staff as well as the development community and the residents of Billings and Yellowstone County have identified several weaknesses in the current unified zoning regulations:

• Eleven residential zoning districts, not including any Planned Development zones or the agricultural zones. Many of these districts vary only slightly from one another because of minor lot size differences or allowances for one or two units.
• Lot size, lot coverage, and setback requirements that have resulted in the need for many variances for existing development in some of the most stable neighborhoods in Billings.
• Overly restrictive setback requirements for commercial development that sacrifices buildable space for new or expanding businesses.
• Lack of consistency of commercial sign requirements across multiple commercial zoning districts and issues of scale, height, and separation in relation to neighborhoods, and motorized and pedestrian traffic.
• Landscaping regulations that are not consistent across zoning districts and do not adequately address the public realm or the differences in city and county development context.
• The code does not address the aesthetical and architectural elements of residential and commercial construction to support infill as well as new development that fits into existing neighborhoods.

The Planning Division staff is requesting the Yellowstone County Board of Planning take 3 action steps to begin the process of updating the zoning code for the City of Billings and Yellowstone County:

- First, initiate an amendment to separate the City from the County zoning regulations. This will facilitate a smoother updating process since not all of the existing code applies in both jurisdictions. In addition, the County and City may need to address wholly separate issues in regard to land use, e.g. agricultural land and low density development is a primary concern for the County. It is likely some of the overarching amendments to the zoning code will be adopted by both jurisdictions. The committee and the governing bodies will consider re-unification at the end of the 2-year update process.

- Second, staff is requesting the Planning Board initiate the overhaul of both the City and County zoning regulations. Staff, in consultation with the development community, neighborhoods and residents, is proposing the new zoning code should:

• Be easy to use, administer, and enforce
• Be well-organized, indexed, and cross-referenced
• Use clear, precise, and contemporary language
• Be internally consistent
• Produce predictable, desired results
• Balance flexibility and predictability
• Support the vision and goals expressed in the Billings’ 2016 Growth Policy, the 2016 Lockwood Growth Policy and the 2008 Yellowstone County Growth Policy (updated)

- Third, the Planning staff is requesting the Board create an ad hoc Steering Committee to consist of 11 to 15 members with 2 or 3 of those members appointed from the ranks of the Board membership. One of the Board appointees should serve as the chairperson and be the primary liaison with Planning staff. Other members of the ad hoc committee should be chosen from the following list of stakeholder groups. The Board may discuss committee membership at this meeting and may make final recommendations at its meeting on June 27: 

• Board of County Commissioners - request the BOCC to nominate 1
• City Council – Request the Council to nominate 1
• County Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustment – choose 1 or 2
• City Zoning Commission and Board of Adjustment – choose 1 or 2
• Development Professionals – choose 2 or 3 - Engineers, Architects, Landscape Architects, Realtors, Contractors, Home Builders
• Neighborhood Task Forces, Healthy by Design Coalition (RiverStone Health), TrailNet, Business owners, residents of the City & County - choose 2 or 3
• Other?

The proposed revisions to the zoning code will take Planning staff and the Steering Committee approximately 2 years to complete. In addition, Planning staff will work with the committee to recruit and hire planning consultant(s) to assist in areas where additional professional support is needed, including legal drafting, graphic design, public outreach and other areas. The total cost of consultant fees throughout the 2 year process could be approximately $120,000.

Planning staff recommends the Planning Board:
1) Initiate the zoning amendment to separate the City and County zoning code;
2) Initiate the overhaul of the City and County zoning codes; and
3) Discuss and consider action at this meeting to create an ad hoc steering committee and appoint 2-3 Board members to the new committee and appoint one of these as the chairperson. The Board may wish to discuss its Board appointments at this meeting, as well as consider other committee members from the community, and take formal action on this item at this meeting or its June 27 meeting.

The chairperson of the new steering committee can work with Planning staff to set a regular ad hoc committee meeting date & time, contact the proposed slate of members, and generally direct and assist the committee with its ambitious work load. The proposed time line for the zoning code update is attached to this memo.