The Planning Board is forwarding a recommendation of conditional approval of the preliminary plat of Lake Hills Subdivision, 37th Filing, to the City Council, and adoption of the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report.

PROPOSED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Pursuant to Section 76-3-608(4), MCA, the following conditions are recommended to reasonably minimize potential adverse impacts identified within the Findings of Fact.
 
1. To minimize the effects on local service, prior to final plat approval the applicant will coordinate with the USPS for locating and providing the correct amount of space for safely delivering the mail to the residents.   2. Minor changes may be made in the SIA and final documents, as requested by the Planning, Legal or Public Works Departments to clarify the documents and bring them into the standard acceptable format.
3. The final plat shall comply with all requirements of the City of Billings Subdivision Regulations, rules, regulations, policies, and resolutions of the City of Billings, and the laws and Administrative Rules of the State of Montana. 

On June 1, 2020, WWC Engineering, agent for Ron Hill, applied for preliminary major plat approval for Lake Hills Subdivision, 37th Filing. The proposed subdivision creates 16 lots from an existing 11 lots for residential development. The subject property is generally located along Greenbriar Road, south of Annandale Road, east of Clubhouse Way.  The property is zoned Residential 9600 (R96). The Yellowstone County Board of Planning held a plat review at its 
July 14 meeting and conducted a public hearing and forwarded a recommendation to the 
City Council at its July 28, 2020 meeting.

Consistency with the 2016 Growth Policy, the 2018 Transportation Plan and the Billings Area Bikeways and Trail Master Plan are discussed within the Findings of
Fact which is attached to this report.

VARIANCES REQUESTED
No variance is being requested for this subdivision.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• Pre-application meeting March 5, 2020
• Preliminary plat application submitted to Planning Division on June 1, 2020
• Departmental review meeting June 18, 2020
• Preliminary plat re-submittal June 25, 2020
• Planning Board plat review July 14, 2020
• Planning Board public hearing July 28, 2020
• Preliminary plat to City Council August 24, 2020
• 60 working-day preliminary plat review period ends August 25, 2020

PLAT INFORMATION
General location:                                Along Greenbriar Road, south of Annandale Road, east of
                                                           Clubhouse Way
Legal Description:                              Amended Lake Hills Subdivision, 21st Filing
Owner/Subdivider:                             Ron Hill
Engineer and Surveyor:                     WWC Engineering
Existing Zoning:                                 Residential 9600
Existing land use:                               Vacant land
Proposed land use:                            Residential
Gross and Net area:                           5.8 acres / 5.8 acres
Proposed number of lots:                   16
Lot size:                                              Max:    15,797 square feet
                                                           Min.:     9,600 square Feet
Parkland requirements:                      No parkland dedication is required as parkland dedication has
                                                           been met with previous filings of Lake Hills Subdivision

Planning staff gave a brief presentation to the Planning Board about the proposed subdivision. Board President Woody Woods asked if there were any questions from the board for staff.  There was one question about the parkland dedication and whether staff knew what parkland was dedicated when the subdivision was first developed in the 1950's?  Staff stated they were unsure but information obtained from Parks and Recreation in the review process has indicated the requirement was fulfilled with past filings.  President Woods asked if the applicant or applicants' agent knew what parkland was dedicated? Neither the owner or agent knew the history of parkland dedication because it took place in the 1950's. The agent said that the parks department has always stated the park land dedication has been met.

There were no other questions. President Woods opened the public hearing for the proposed subdivision, there were no comments from the public about the subdivision.  The public hearing was closed. A motion was made to recommend conditional approval of the subdivision with the SIA and Findings of Fact, the motion was seconded.  The board voted unanimously in favor of the motion.

One of the purposes of the City’s subdivision review process is to identify potential negative effects of property being subdivided. When negative effects are identified it is the subdivider’s responsibility to mitigate those effects.  Various City departments, private service/utility providers and the affected school district/s, have reviewed this application and provided input on effects and mitigation.  The Findings of Fact, which are presented as an attachment, discuss potential negative impacts of the subdivision and conditions of approval are recommended as measures to further mitigate any impacts. In this case, there were found to be minimal impacts from this proposed subdivision.

In accordance with state law, the City Council has 60 working days to act upon this major preliminary plat. The 60 working day review period for the proposed plat ends on August 25, 2020. State and City subdivision regulations also require that preliminary plats be reviewed using specific criteria, as stated within this report. The City may not unreasonably restrict an owner's ability to develop land if the subdivider provides evidence that any identified adverse effects can be mitigated. Within the 60 working day review period, the City Council is required to:
1. Approve;
2. Conditionally Approve; or
3. Deny the Preliminary Plat

Approval of this subdivision does not impact the Planning Division budget.