County Zone Change 692 – 3404 Old Hardin Road - A zone change from Residential 9,600 (R-96) to Residential Manufactured Home (RMH) on the westerly 9.5 acres of the W ½ W ½ SE NW ¼ Section 20, Township 1 North, Range 27 East, generally located at 3404 Old Hardin Road. A pre-application neighborhood meeting was held on September 13, 2018, at the Lockwood School, 1932 US Highway 87 East. Presented by Karen Husman, Planner I

Planning staff recommends approval of Zone Change 692 and adoption of the findings of the 11 criteria for this zone change.

OWNER: Lockwood Group, LLC
AGENT: Houser Engineering
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: westerly 9.5 acres of the W ½ W ½ SE NW ¼ Section 20, Township 1 North, Range 27 East
SIZE OF PARCEL: 9.5 acres
EXISTING LAND USE: Agricultural 
PROPOSED LAND USE: Residential 
EXISTING ZONING: R-96
PROPOSED ZONING: RMH  

None.

SUBJECT PROPERTY	Zone Change	DATE	FOR	APPROVED (Y/N)	ADDITIONAL DATA
None
SIMILAR PROPERTY	Zone Change	DATE	FOR	APPROVED (Y/N)	ADDITIONAL DATA
CS 1284, TR 1	311	9/8/81	CC to HC	Y	vacant lot west of S Bar S
1920 - 1960 Old Hardin Rd	367	11/27/84	NC to CC	Y	Lockwood IGA & mixed uses
1840 Old Hardin Rd	572	10/26/04	R-150 to CC	Y	Lockwood Mini Storage
2032 Old Hardin Rd	600	1/30/2007	CC to HC	Y	S Bar S Expansion

NORTH: Zoning: RMH
Land Use: Manufactured homes on single lots
SOUTH: Zoning:  R-96
Land Use: Single family residential
EAST: Zoning: R-96
Land Use: Manufactured home park
WEST: Zoning: A-1
Land Use: Residential and Agricultural

The current zoning, R-96, has been in effect since 1973 when the county adopted jurisdictional zoning around the City of Billings. The applicant is requesting a zone change to Residential Manufactured Home (RMH). The property is adjacent to low density residential and agricultural uses. There is an existing manufactured home park to the east, and RMH zoning to the north. It is in line with the existing growth in this area and would be compatible with surrounding uses.  The proposed zoning would allow predictable land uses.
 
A neighborhood meeting was conducted by the applicant on September 13, 2018, at 5:00 p.m. at the Lockwood Middle School. Justin Houser, the agent for the owner, explained the zone change request. There were seven attendees at the meeting.  Details of the neighborhood meeting are included in the attachments.
 
The County adopted the Lockwood Growth Policy in May 2016. The land use for this area was not predicted to change except to allow an increases in residential density up to 6 dwelling units per acre. The RMH zone can allow this number of dwelling units depending on the configuration of the subdivision. The existing zoning is a lower density of about 3 to 4 dwellings per acre. The 2016 update to the Lockwood Growth Policy allows density increases due to the expansion of access to public water and sewer. The property is located adjacent to existing RMH zoning to the north and an existing manufactured home park to the east.

Planning staff has reviewed this application based on the statutory criteria for zone changes per MCA 76-2-304 and County Zoning Regulations (27-1507.d). The property is adjacent to lower density residential and an existing manufactured home park. It is in line with the existing growth in this area and will be compatible with surrounding residential uses.  The proposed zoning allows predictable land use at a slightly higher density. 

Planning Staff is forwarding a recommendation of approval for Zone Change 692 and adoption of the findings of the 11 review criteria.