Barrett Road, LLC, submitted a petition to annex land they own using the provisions of Section 7-2-4600, MCA. The subject property is Tract 1-A of Amended Tract 1 of Corrected Certificate of Survey No. 840, 2nd Amended, totaling approximately 12.053 gross acres. The property is zoned Planned Development with an underlying zoning of Residential Multi-Family Restricted (RMF-R) and is currently vacant. The parcel is located east of Kiwanis Trail and southeast of the intersection of Barrett Road and West Echo Drive. The owners are requesting annexation in order to begin developing the property in the City in conformance with the existing zoning.

The property is located within the annexation petition area of the City's Limits of Annexation Map and appears to meet some of the City's criteria in its Annexation Policy. The City is able to serve the property and further analysis and discussion is provided in the Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies section of this memo.

City Council may:

• Approve the petition; or,
• Deny the petition.

Council's action on the petition on annex property has no direct impact on the Planning Division budget.

The subject property totals about 12.053 gross acres. It is located south of Barrett Road and east of the Kiwanis Trail. It is in an area of County that the City included in its Limits of Annexation Map for future annexation and adjacent to the already existing city limits. Water is provided by County Water District of Billings Heights and not by the City of Billings Public Works.  The annexation petition process is scheduled as follows:

• On August 23, 2019, the annexation petition was submitted to the Planning Division by the owner's agent.
• On October 28, 2019 the City Council will conduct the public hearing for the annexation and may take action on the request.
• On October 28, if the City Council approves the annexation resolution, a public hearing and first reading of an ordinance to include the property in City Council Ward II will be conducted.
• On November 12, 2019, the City Council will conduct the second and final reading for the ordinance expanding the Ward II boundary.

Annexation by petition does not require notification of adjoining landowners; however, it does require that the City Council conduct a public hearing and post the property with information on the annexation petition and public hearing. Notice of the public hearing was posted on the property on October 4 and published in the Yellowstone County News on October 11th and October 19th, 2019. The Planning Division has not received any inquiries about this petition at the time this memo was prepared.

Although MCA, Sections 7-2-4400 through 4407 does not require a public services plan, it is the City’s custom to have staff prepare a brief analysis of predicted impacts to services and facilities. The proposed annexation complies with the adopted Annexation Policy criteria as follows:

1. The area is located within the City's Annexation Petition Area on its Limits of Annexation Map.
2. The City is able to provide adequate city services within a time period mutually agreed to by the property owners requesting annexation and the City.
3. Existing or proposed public improvements within the area to be annexed will meet City standards.
4. All property owners within the area to be annexed must sign a Waiver of Right to Protest future Special Improvement Districts. 
5. If annexed, any proposed land use will comply with the zoning. The property is currently zoned Planned Development. Any development of the property would comply with the zoning regulations.

Departmental Response: City and County Departments were given the opportunity to comment on this annexation. City departments responded favorably and detailed responses are provided below. The County Public Works Department did not respond to this annexation request. 

• Water: This property is intended to be served by the County Water District of Billings Heights. A 12 inch water line is located in Barrett Road.

• Sewer: The property will be served by an existing sanitary sewer line that is located in Barrett Road. An extension of this line will be required for this property to receive public sewer service.

• Storm water: All of the storm water runoff from this property will need to meet the City of Billings requirements for storm water management. Any future development will follow the City of Billings storm water regulations.

• Transportation: The subject property fronts Barrett Road. The developer will be required to identify and mitigate all traffic impacts at the time of development review.

• Fire Stations: The subject property is currently served by the Billings Fire Department through the Billings Urban Fire Service Area and the Billings Fire Department will continue to serve the property upon annexation. The Billings Fire Department stated that as this and other annexations are built out, additional fire department resources will be needed. The nearest fire station is Station #6, located at 1601 St. Andrews, about 2 road miles west of the subject property.

• Parks: The subject property is to be developed with residential uses. Parks has not provided comments on whether an existing PMD in the area will need to be expanded. If the property develops as a subdivision parkland will be dedicated or the City will receive a cash-in-lieu contribution.

• School facilities: The subject property would be served by Bitterroot Elementary School, Medicine Crow Middle School and Skyview High School. No concerns were expressed by the School District.

General City Services: These are the City services that are provided to all residents and businesses in the City, such as police and fire protection, street and storm drain maintenance, and garbage collection and disposal. The service providers that responded did not object to the annexation of this property, however the Fire Department in its comments above did note its concerns as additional property is annexed into the City.

• Transit: MET transit system currently operates Route 16, 17, and 18. All routes are approximately .3 miles from the property boundary. 

• Police: The Police Department staff stated the area is in an already established patrol area.

• Public Utilities: The Public Works-- Distribution and Collection Division had no concerns with the annexation request.

• Public Works -Street and Traffic Division: The Street and Traffic Division stated that it has no concerns with serving the property.

• Public Works-Solid Waste: The Solid Waste Division had no concerns with annexing the property, but pointed out that State Law allows the property owner to choose what garbage hauler may service the property after it is in the City. 

• Ambulance Service: The City does not provide ambulance service, however it does dictate the level of service provided by American Medical Response (AMR). By City ordinance, 90% of ambulance calls must be answered within 8 minutes. This property may be within the area of acceptable response time.

• Legal and Finance: General Fund services, such as the Legal and Finance Departments should not be negatively impacted by this annexation.

• Other Departments: City/County services including Library, Planning, and Environmental Health are only slightly affected by the annexation since they will continue to serve the property whether it is in the City or the County. The Planning Division staff supports the annexation because the property is in the Red Area of Annexation, has access to City services, and is in an area where urban development in the City is expected in the future.