On August 1, 2017, Sanderson Stewart, agent for Gary Oakland and Marvin Hessler, owners, applied for preliminary major plat approval for Copper Ridge Subdivision, 7th Filing. The proposed subdivision creates 92 new lots for single-family residential development. The subject property is generally located on the north side of Rimrock Road, east and west of 70th Street West, and west of the existing Copper Ridge Subdivision. Four large parcels of this filing are west of 70th Street West. The property is zoned Residential-7000 (R-70) and Residential-5000 (R-50).

At the September 26, 2017 public hearing for the preliminary plat, the applicant asked for a 30-day delay. The applicants indicated to the Yellowstone County Board of Planning at the meeting that they would like to modify the plat layout to add more lots within this filing. This type of change to the preliminary plat necessitated a re-review of the proposal and a new plat review and public hearing before the Board of Planning. The Board reviewed the revised plat on October 10 and conducted a public hearing on October 24, 2017.

In accordance with state law, the City Council has 60 working days to act upon this major preliminary plat. The 60 working day review period, with the 30 day delay, for the proposed plat ends on December 11, 2017. State and City subdivision regulations also require that preliminary plats be reviewed using specific criteria, as stated within this report. The City may not unreasonably restrict an owner's ability to develop land if the subdivider provides evidence that any identified adverse effects can be mitigated.

Within the 60 working day review period, the City Council is required to:

1. Approve;

2. Conditionally Approve; or

3. Deny the Preliminary Plat

If the City Council approves the preliminary plat, the subject property may further develop under private ownership, resulting in additional tax revenues.

VARIANCES REQUESTED
No variance has been requested.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• A pre-application meeting was held on July 13, 2017 to discuss the proposal.
• The preliminary plat application was submitted to the Planning Division on August 1, 2017.
• A departmental review meeting was conducted on August 17, 2017.
• The preliminary plat was resubmitted with revisions based on department reviews on August 24, 2017.
• The Planning Board reviewed the plat on September 12, 2017.
• The Planning Board conducted a public hearing on September 26. After a request from the applicant at the meeting, the Board voted to allow for a 30-day delay on processing the preliminary plat.
• The Planning Board reviewed the revised plat on October 11, 2017.
• The Planning Board conducted a public hearing on October 24, 2017, and forwarded a recommendation of conditional approval to the City Council.
• The City Council will consider the preliminary plat on November 13, 2017.
• The 60 working-day preliminary plat review period, with the 30-day delay, ends December 11, 2017.

PLAT INFORMATION

General location: North of Rimrock Road and east and west of 70th Street West

Legal Description: Certificate of Survey 2465, Parcel 2A Amended and COS 1871 Parcel 1

Owner/Subdivider: Gary Oakland and Marvin Hessler

Engineer and Surveyor: Sanderson Stewart

Existing Zoning: R-70 and R-50

Existing land use: Vacant / Farmland

Proposed land use: Single-family residential

Gross and Net area: 116.18 acres; 108.4 acres

Proposed number of lots: 92

Lot size: Max: 25 acres

Min: 7,077 square feet

Parkland requirements: Parkland dedication requirements for this proposed plat is 1.7319 acres. The applicants are proposing to do a cash-in-lieu contribution for parkland.

Staff gave a brief presentation to the Planning Board at the public hearing on October 24.  Board President asked if there were any questions for staff.  There was one question regarding whether the County zoning boundary must to move for this land to be zoned i the City?  Staff responded that the County zoning boundary does not need to move to have zoning outside of it. The City may annex land and zone land even if it is beyond the County established zoning jurisdictional boundary.  There were no other questions for staff.   The public hearing was opened for public comment. Mr. Gary Oakland offered to answer any questions that the board may have regarding the proposed subdivision.  There were no questions from the board for Mr. Oakland.

A motion was made to recommend conditional approval with the Findings of Fact to the City Council, the motion was seconded.  The Planning Board voted unanimously to approve the motion.

Consistency with the 2016 Growth Policy, the Transportation Plan 2014 Update, and Billings Area Bikeways and Trail Master Plan are discussed within the Findings of Fact.