Staff recommends the City Council hold a public hearing and conditionally approve the Resolution of Annexation. Staff recommends the following condition of approval:

1. Prior to site development and within six months of the approval of this resolution, a Development Agreement shall be executed between the owner(s) and the City that shall stipulate specific infrastructure improvements and right-of-way dedication, provide guarantees for said improvements, and include a Waiver of Right to Protest the Creation of Special Improvement Districts will be recorded.
 

Propriedad, LLC, submitted a petition to annex land they own at 1053 Lincoln Lane. The property is currently located in Yellowstone County. The owner intends to develop two duplexes on the property. One duplex is already existing. Adding the second duplex requires a requires a lot size variance. Since it's the developers intent to develop the second duplex in the City, the application for variance was submitted to the City Board of Adjustment. The intent of the annexation petition is to be contingent upon a favorable outcome with the City Board of Adjustment. Without the City Council acting on the petition to annex and placing conditions of approval on the annexation, the City BOA would not have the jurisdictional authority to consider the variance application.

The subject property is Tract F of Certificate of Survey No. 537, totaling approximately .475 gross acres. The property is zoned Residential 7000 and has one duplex on the property. The parcel is located approximately 600 feet north of the intersection of Lincoln Lane and Bench Boulevard. The owners are requesting annexation in order to begin developing the property as two duplexes.

The property 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 June 5, 2020, the annexation petition was submitted to the Planning Division by the owner's agent.
• On July 27, 2020, the City Council will conduct the public hearing for the annexation and may take action on the request.
• Within six months the applicant shall execute a development agreement with the City of Billings, the Ward Boundary Ordinance will run concurrent with the Development Agreement.

Although MCA, Sections 7-2-46 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 Residential 7000 (R-70). 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. An 8  inch water line is located in Lincoln Lane.

• Sewer: The property will be served by an existing sanitary sewer line that is located in Lincoln Lane.

• 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 Lincoln Lane. 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 2.44 road miles west of the subject property and an estimated 5 minutes away.

• 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.

• School facilities: The subject property would be served by Alkali 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.

• Transit: MET transit system currently operates north and south along Main Street. It is a .25 mile walk to access this route from the property.

• 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.

Annexation by petition does not require notification of adjoining landowners; however, it does require 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 July 10 and published in the Yellowstone County News on July 10th and July 17th, 2020. The Planning Division has not received any inquiries about this petition at the time this memo was prepared.

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