County Zone Change #684: The applicant is requesting a zone change request from Agriculture-Open Space (A-1) to Agriculture Suburban (A-S) on Lots 1 and 2 of Whitehorse Subdivision, 1st Filing and from A-1 to Community Commercial (CC) on Lot 4 of Whitehorse Subdivision, 1st Filing. Lots 1 and 2 equal a 36.7-acre parcel of land and Lot 4 is an 11.8-acre parcel of land. Lot 3 of Whitehorse Subdivision, 1st Filing, a 21.8-acre parcel of land, will remain in the A-1 zoning district. Lot 3 was originally included in the proposed zone change.  A pre-application neighborhood meeting was held on September 22, 2017, at 7100 Commercial Avenue – Performance Engineering offices.  Presented by: Karen Husman, Planner I

Planning staff recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 11 criteria for Zone Change 684.

OWNER:                                 Nexco, LLC 
AGENT:                                  Scott Aspenlieder
LEGAL DESCRIPTION:            Whitehorse Subdivision - except for Lot 3
ADDRESS:                             NW Corner of Hesper Rd. & 48th St. W
SIZE OF PARCEL:                  70.23 acres
EXISTING LAND USE:             Agricultural
PROPOSED LAND USE:        Residential and Commercial
EXISTING ZONING:                 A-1
PROPOSED ZONING:             A-S and CC

Whitehorse Subdivision (approved and recorded); Whitehorse Subdivision, 2nd Filing (pending and under review) 

Subject Property – None
 
Surrounding Property - The County has approved a number of zone change requests in the immediate area. Most of those request were to change from A-1 to Agriculture Suburban (A-S) zoning to facilitate development of large lot residential subdivisions. The property at 4745 Hesper Road - the northeast corner of S 48th Street West and Hesper Road - applied for a zone change to CC in 1997 but was denied. A subsequent zone change for CC zoning was approved for this property in 2013. A pending zone change, Zone Change 685 to change from A-1 zoning to a Planned Development zone with underlying Neighborhood Commercial (PD-NC) zoning, will also be heard by the Zoning Commission at this hearing, December 11, 2017. 

NORTH:   Zoning:       R-150 & A-S
                  Land Use:   Residential
SOUTH:    Zoning:       A-1 & A-S
                  Land Use:   Residential/Agricultural
EAST:       Zoning:       A-1 & CC
                 Land Use:   Residential/Agricultural/Commercial
WEST:      Zoning: A-1
                 Land Use:   Agricultural

The subject property is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Hesper Road and S 48th Street West. Both streets are considered principal arterial streets. The city limits are to the north at the intersection of King Avenue West and 48th Street West. The property is ½ mile south of the city limits and is outside the Long Range Urban Planning Area for the City of Billings. The current zoning, A-1, was in effect since 1973 when the County adopted jurisdictional zoning around the City of Billings. A pre-application neighborhood meeting was held on September 22, 2017, at 7100 Commercial Avenue – Performance Engineering offices.  Three residents attended the meeting, their concerns were;

1. How will traffic concerns be addressed?

Traffic will be addressed during the subdivision process. This will reveal if any traffic mitigation measures are needed form the development.

2. Will there be a height restriction to 1-story for the Community Commercial zoned area?

The developer will comply with the Yellowstone County Zoning Regulations for height restrictions on the CC zone area.

3. How will light pollution be addressed in the CC zone?

The developer will comply with the Yellowstone County Zoning Regulations for light pollution for the CC zone area.

The City and County adopted the West Billings Neighborhood Plan for this area in 2001. The preferred land use for this area was for residential development. Many of the arterial street intersections were preferred for small to medium sized commercial developments that would serve the surrounding residential areas. South 48th Street West and Hesper Road was not identified as one of those commercial nodes, however the area is near existing city limits and may serve as a commercial node in the future. In 2013 a zone change was approved for the northeast corner of the intersection, changing the parcel from A-1 to CC, and has since been developed into mini-storage units.  There are significant gravel resources in the area along with agricultural lands. The existing gravel mine to the east is complete and may develop for other commercial or residential uses in the future.
 
Potential uses on the subject property in the proposed CC zone include mini-storage, retail, commercial office space, restaurants (with or without alcohol service), and multi-family uses. Most of these uses would require annexation for provision of public utilities. The current zoning allows single family dwellings and agricultural uses.   

Planning staff has reviewed this application and is forwarding a recommendation of approval for the proposed zone change based on the 11 criteria for zone changes. The property is adjacent to low density residential uses and one commercial use. It is in line with the existing growth in this area and would be compatible with adjacent uses. The proposed zoning would bring predictable land use so the surrounding neighbors will be assured of compatible new developments in the future.