Item #1: County Zone Change 687 – Planned Development – Barrett Road – A zone change request from Residential 7,000 (R-70) to Planned Development with underlying zoning of RMF-R (PD-RMF-R) on the northern 10.77 acres of C/S 840, Parcel 1, a 20.77 acre parcel of land generally located east of the Kiwanis Trail bike path and south of Barrett Road. The PD specifies height limitations, buffer yard requirements, provisions for amenities and limits the total number of dwelling units to one hundred (100). A pre-application neighborhood meeting was conducted on December 26, 2017, at the Country Inn and Suites, 231 Main Street. A Preliminary Review meeting was held on Monday, February 5, 2018 at the Billings Library. Presented by Nicole Cromwell, Zoning Coordinator

Planning staff is recommending approval based on the proposed findings of the 11 review criteria for Zone Change 687.

OWNER: William Schultz, Trustee and CK Land, LLC
AGENT: Scott Aspenlieder. P.E. - Performance Engineering
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Parcel 1 of C/S 840 - the northern 10.77 acres
ADDRESS: Barrett Road east of the Kiwanis Bike Trail
CURRENT ZONING: Residential 7,000 (R-70)
EXISTING LAND USE: Agricultural Field
PROPOSED USE: Residential Multi-family Planned Development
SIZE OF PARCEL: 10.77 acres (northern portion of C/S 840 Parcel 1)

None.

Subject Property: The property zoning is the original zoning (R-70) from 1973, when the County first adopted jurisdictional zoning for this area of Billings Heights. No applications to change the zoning have been received prior to this application.

Surrounding Property: Several applications to change zoning in this area of Billings Heights have been proposed over the past 45 years - both as city zone changes or county zone changes.

• A county zone change was submitted in 1979 for the corner property at Mary Street and Bench Boulevard (southeast corner) to change from R-70 to Community Commercial (CC). The application was withdrawn. This property remains vacant and is now owned by the MT Department of Transportation.
• The eastern half of the property where the Heights Walmart is located (1649 Main Street) was submitted for a county zone change to Highway Commercial (HC) from Residential 6,000 (R-60) in 1974. The County denied the zone change. The property was later annexed and a city zone change from HC and R-60 to Planned Development with underlying zoning of CC was approved in 2000.
• In 1978 and 1979, the County approved zone changes from Public and R-70 to Neighborhood Commercial (NC) on the northeast corner of Hawthorne Lane and Wicks Lane. This is where the 3Gs convenience store is located.
• The City approved a zone change for the southeast corner of Hawthorne Lane and Wicks Lane from R-70 to Residential 5,000 (R-50) in 2005. Another zone change for the western portion of this property was submitted in 2015 to change to Residential Multi-family-Restricted (RMF-R). This application received negative comments from the surrounding property owners and the Heights Task Force and the City allowed the application to be withdrawn.
• The property on the southeast corner of Wicks Lane and Bench Boulevard (King Place Subdivision) has been involved in 3 zone change applications. The first zone change was submitted in 1976 was a county application to change the zoning from R-70 to CC. The County denied the request. The property was annexed and a city zone change to NC and Public zoning was submitted in 1999. The City allowed withdrawal of the application. In 2005, a zone change from R-70 to NC and RMF-R was approved. This corner has primarily been developed for townhomes but Beartooth Bank owns the vacant 1.5 acres at the intersection.
• A county zone change at 1817 Bitterroot Drive to change from R-70 to R-60 was allowed to be withdrawn in 1984 after a recommendation of denial from Planning staff. The small 1/2-acre property was proposed for a multi-family dwelling although all the surrounding lots were developed for single or two-family dwellings.
• The Bitterroot Heights Subdivision north of Mary Street received a city zone change from R-70 to R-70-R in 2005, to eliminate the possibility of any two-family attached dwellings in this large subdivision.

NORTH:	Zoning: R-70 (County) Land Use: Low density single family residences
SOUTH:	Zoning: R-70 Land Use: Agricultural field and single family residences and town homes
EAST:	Zoning: R-70 Land Use: Agricultural fields
WEST:	Zoning: R-70 Land Use: Holling Drain, Kiwanis Bike Trail, Medicine Crow Playing Fields

The applicant is requesting a zone change to Planned Development with underlying zoning of RMF-R (PD-RMF-R) to allow the construction of attached dwellings or apartments and to provide additional site amenities and design not otherwise required by a "standard" zoning district. The applicant has conducted 2 meetings with the neighborhood and the Heights Task Force. Planning staff held a Preliminary Review meeting at the Billings Library on February 5, 2018. A Preliminary Review meeting is required for every Planned Development zone change. Each of these meetings was well attended. The proposed master site plan and Planned Development agreement have been refined and revised based on input from the neighbors, the Heights Task Force and the planning staff.

The Planned Development (PD) final draft limits the total number of dwellings on the 10.77 acres to 100 units. The current zoning of R-70 would allow up to 96 dwelling units (2 units for each 9,600 square feet of lot area). The incremental increase in density over the current zoning is negligible. The construction type - more than 2 attached dwellings - is not allowed under the current R-70 zoning. The proposed PD will limit the number of attached dwellings to 6 in one building (6-plex). The PD proposes each building also provide architectural relief such as dormers, attached garages, variations in color schemes and building materials. The PD also specifies that each multi-unit building with 3 or more attached units be limited to 1 building story and no structure can exceed a 24-foot maximum height. Two off-street parking spaces will be required for each dwelling unit - 33% more than required by the City's parking code. Additional off-street parking will be provided for visitors.

The PD requires the developer to install a boulevard sidewalk along Barrett Road with accessible crosswalks at both private road intersections. The master site plan shows a layout of internal private roads with a 1-acre common open space area centrally located in the 10.77 acre parcel. This will be a private park developed and maintained by the property owner and will include a "dog park" area. In addition, the PD mandates a 35-foot landscaped green belt along the Barrett Road frontage. One tree for each 2 dwelling units in a building will be planted in the building's front yard. For example, a 6-unit building will require 3 trees planted in the front yard. The PD also specifies a Master Landscaping Plan be submitted and approved by the Planning staff at the time of subdivision or Master Site Plan submittal. This will insure the requirements of the PD agreement are met before any building permit is approved. 

There has been considerable public comment regarding the proposed development and all written comments (including emails) are attached to this report. The largest concern voiced by the immediate neighborhood is the traffic on Barrett Road and Hawthorne Lane. Medicine Crow Middle School at the intersection of Barrett Road and Bench Boulevard first opened for students in the fall of 2016. The current enrollment at Medicine Crow is 692 students and combined with Bitterroot Elementary to the south equals about 1,100 students going to and from this area each school day. Most students arrive by car or on foot. Some middle school students use MET Transit and some students arrive by school bus. These students are let off on the west side of Bench Boulevard at the Barrett Road intersection. There is no crossing guard at the Barrett Road and Bench Boulevard intersection, although there is a marked crosswalk. The middle school traffic has generated a new and likely more hazardous traffic pattern on Bench Boulevard, Barrett Road, Hawthorne Lane and Wicks Lane. Addressing these current traffic issues identified by the neighborhood residents is the responsibility of the school district in partnership with the City and County public works and engineering staff.

The mixture of City and County jurisdiction for streets and roads in this area has created a discontinuity of construction levels. The property on the north side of Barrett Road from the intersection with Bench Blvd to the Kiwanis Bike Trail crossing is within the City limits but has no access to Barrett Road due to the Lake Elmo Drain ditch that runs along the north side of the street. The City's Engineering Division did not require the school district to put a sidewalk on the north side of Barrett Road when the middle school was proposed. Students do walk on the north side of Barrett Road even in winter conditions. There is no pedestrian crossing on Barrett Road between the Kiwanis Bike Trail and the intersection with Bench Boulevard - a 1/4-mile distance. Students likely cross Barrett Road at any convenient location within this 1/4-mile. East of the Kiwanis Bike Trail, Barrett Road and Hawthorne Lane are County roads and consist of two 10-foot travel lanes (1 each direction), some graveled shoulder area (1.5 to 2 ft), but no curb, gutter, sidewalk or similar urban street standards. Last year, the City and County elected officials, administrators along with City and County staff met with the surrounding neighbors to discuss the alternatives for improving traffic safety on Barrett Road. No clear solution came from the meeting or has been proposed at this time.

Contribution of traffic from this development - either as a single or two-family development under the current R-70 zoning or the proposed PD zoning - can only be estimated at this time. The City and County do not require a Traffic Impact Study (TIS) at the time of a zoning application. This TIS will be required at the time of subdivision or master site plan review prior to any building permit or construction for access and utilities. Traffic generated by single family or two-family residential developments averages between 10 and 13 vehicle trips per day per dwelling. This includes all trips such as postal service, garbage service, deliveries, other service calls as well as trips by the residents themselves. In contrast, a multi-family development is estimated to generate between 6 and 8 new vehicle trips per day per dwelling unit depending on the density of the development. The estimated traffic generation for the proposed PD development of 100 units will be 600 to 800 new vehicle trips per day at full build out. If the property were to develop under the existing zoning and at the maximum allowed density, new traffic generated would be between 960 and 1,250 trips per day. The developer will need to mitigate any of the impacts from this new traffic onto Barrett Road. During construction of the development, truck traffic, construction crews, City inspectors and similar types of traffic will dominate the area. This is a short term traffic impact that can be controlled and mitigated through City monitoring.

If the zone change is approved, the applicant proposes to develop the property within the city limits. All City site development standards for roads, sidewalks, utilities, and new street intersections will have to be met. At a minimum, this will include the full street improvement of Barrett Road along the entire frontage of the property similar to the street improvements for the Medicine Crow Middle School on Barrett Road to the west. A TIS will be required and submitted for approval by the City Traffic Engineer. This type of study is done for most large subdivisions and commercial developments. These studies often require a developer to pay their equitable share for any off-site traffic improvements needed in the future such as a traffic signal at a nearby intersection, a turning lane installed or improved, completion of pedestrian sidewalks in the future and similar improvements. This contribution is in addition to building Barrett Road along the length of the property frontage. The City collects and keeps any required contributions in a separate account. When enough contributions are made, the City will add these street and traffic improvements to its Capital Improvement Program list and the construction or improvement will be completed.

The property is within the Billings Heights Water District so public water will be supplied through the District. Public sewer lines are within 300 feet of the property on Barrett Road. Both utility systems have the capacity to serve the proposed development. No negative comments concerning the development were received from other public agencies including public safety (sheriff, police, fire), public schools, City or County public works, or engineering. The City Fire Marshal, Mike Spini, commented the development will require 2 full accesses: "This proposed development will require two road access points off of Barrett Road to accommodate vehicular access for emergency services. The access points will need to align with the existing streets (W. Echo Dr. and Echo Dr.). Additional comments will be provided during the Master Site Plan review process."

The surrounding neighborhoods are not densely developed and most of the area to the south and east has been used for agricultural fields until recently. Sartorie Farms to the east will be phasing out their agricultural activities and developing the land for new residential subdivisions under the R-70 zoning. The first phase of this farmland conversion has already started just north of Kyhl Lane. The neighborhood north of Barrett Road is a very low density county residential subdivision. There are 40 developed lots in this subdivision and most houses were built in the 1970s and 1980s. Thirteen lots were developed in the 1990s or 2000s but only one house was built on this acreage in the 1960s. The smallest lot is just over a 1/2-acre and the largest parcel is 2 acres, and the entire subdivision covers just over 52 acres of land. To the northeast and northwest, are much denser residential subdivisions within the city limits also in the R-70 zoning district. These mostly single family residential subdivisions average about 4.5 to 6 dwellings per acre of land. To the southwest and southeast there are more city residential subdivisions with an average density of about 6.5 to 8 dwellings per acre. The more recent developments in the City in this area of the Heights have been more dense than older subdivisions due to the increasing price of land and land development costs.

The 2006 Billings Heights Neighborhood Plan and the 2016 Billings Growth Policy both support development that is adjacent to existing city limits where services can be available in an efficient and effective manner. The Heights Neighborhood Plan adopted a preferred land use plan that designated this area as a "medium density" residential area for future growth - including development density from 6 to 10 dwelling units per acre. The 2016 Growth Policy emphasized the need to provide for a variety of housing choices throughout the community including the standard single family detached or attached dwelling, apartments in all combinations, mixed use buildings, manufactured and modular dwellings as well as accessory dwellings. Some of these housing options are under-represented in this area of Billings Heights including attached dwellings and apartments. There has been a concentration of apartments developed along Lincoln Lane in the past 10 years while the remaining area east of Main Street has some scattered multi-family apartment developments. Some developments have been approved but not constructed, and some apartments are age or income restricted. It appears the Planned Development is in conformance with these adopted plans and policies.

The adopted Growth Policy for Yellowstone County (2008) has several goals related to encouraging development that is compatible with existing neighborhoods and consistent with adjacent city zoning and rural county development. This property is within the Limits of Annexation for the City, so it is challenged to create consistency and compatibility across both urban and rural developments. The proposed Planned Development has design and site development requirements that are intended to create consistency and will provide buffering and separation where necessary.

Staff recommends approval and adoption of the proposed findings of the 11 criteria for Zone Change 687.