The Yellowstone County Board of Planning is being asked to review, conduct a public hearing, and then provide a recommendation to the Policy Coordinating Committee on an amendment to the Billings Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) to ensure a road project in downtown may move forward. Late this winter, City Finance, Planning and Engineering staff working with the Downtown Billings Partnership recognized the opportunity to extend the life of the Downtown Urban Renewal District (URD) to maximize the community benefits as well as complete public infrastructure improvements downtown. The District life may be extended via bonding for a project that would be funded by Urban Renewal District funds through a bond. Using guidance in the City Council's adopted 2020 Priorities and the recently completed Downtown Area Traffic and Circulation Study, staff identified the conversion of North 29th Street and North 30th Street from one-way to two way between Montana Avenue and 6th Avenue North. The City Council at its April 20 Work Session was presented with this proposal and directed staff to move the process forward for consideration at future regular business meetings.

Since the Montana Department of Transportation also identifies North 29th Street and North 30th Street as Urban Routes, action by the Montana Transportation Commission is required to approve City construction on these roadways. To complete this approval at the State level, the Billings Metropolitan Planning Organization must amend its Billings Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) to ensure these roadway projects are properly identified in the Plan.

The schedule for review and adoption of the plan amendment includes actions by the: Technical Advisory Committee; Yellowstone County Board of Planning (conducts public hearing); Board of County Commissioners; City Council; and Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC). Given the tight schedule to ensure this amendment gets to the Montana Transportation Commission meeting on June 25, the Planing Board is being asked at this meeting to review the Plan amendment, conduct a public hearing, and make a recommendation to the PCC.

Following the local approval process, the amended LRTP will then be sent to the Montanan Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration staff overseeing Montana for review and concurrence.  From that review, it will be presented to the State of Montana's Transportation Commission on June 25. 

Please see the Problem/Issue Statement of this memo for the background for this LRTP amendment.

The MPO is working with Kittelson & Associates to complete the amendment to the LRTP.  Kittelson was the consultant on the MPO's latest LRTP update in 2018 and is working with staff to complete this amendment to the Plan for no charge to the community. Approval of the LRTP amendment by the Planning Board, City, County and PCC will be a first step in the local approval process that will lead to review and action by the Transportation Commission in June.  Approval by the Commission will allow the City to bond for approximately $1.9 million in TIF dollars to complete the one-way to two-way conversion.

Staff recommends the Planning Board conduct a public hearing and forward a recommendation on the amendment to the LRTP to the Policy Coordinating Committee.