There is no action required by the City Council. Planning staff will provide an overview of the Zoning Code Amendment and the Zoning Map Update. The City Zoning Commission met for a final public hearing on October 14, 2020 and is forwarding its recommendation of approval of the Zoning Code Amendment and the Zoning Map Update to the City Council for a public hearing and 1st reading on November 9, 2020. 

The City Zoning Commission has concluded a series of seven public hearings reviewing the Zoning Code Amendments and Map Update through Project Re:Code, a three-year collaborative effort initiated by the Yellowstone County Board of Planning in June 2017. The mission of the initiative by the Board was to ensure the zoning regulations for the City and County were updated to help implement the Growth Policies and community goals. The current regulations were first adopted in the County in 1972, have not been thoroughly updated since adoption, and were no longer meeting the needs of the community.

The City Council will begin its public hearing on this new zoning code and map update on Monday, November 9, 2020. The new code will replace the existing zoning code in its entirety (BMCC Chapter 27). The 2016 Billings Growth Policy and the Project Steering Committee set of Guiding Principles were the foundation of all the work and drafting of the new code. The Steering Committee consisted of 18 members appointed by the City/County Planning Board to oversee and guide the community effort to re-draft the zoning for the city and county. The Steering Committee appointed four Working Groups to tackle the labor intensive work of reading, editing, and creating this new code. Those Working Groups were: Urban Issues, County Issues, Landscaping and Signs. Each member of the Steering Committee and Working Groups put in literally hundreds of volunteer hours to make this code update possible. The City and County each contributed funds for the hiring of a consultant team to work with staff and the Working Groups. The consultant team provided expertise in writing zoning codes, legal issues in land use, urban design, landscape design, assessing neighborhood character and local design knowledge. The draft code is a uniquely Billings zoning code. You will not read this code and think of Boise, ID, Rapid City, SD or Bozeman, MT. We did take best practices from peer cities and used them to fit our local needs. The consultant team and our volunteers crafted this code to fit this city and to help it achieve its stated growth goals in the City's 2016 Growth Policy: 
 
1. Essential Investments (relating public and private expenditures to public values)

• Planning and construction of safe and affordable interconnected sidewalks and trails are important to the economy and livability of Billings.
• Developed parks that provide recreation, special amenities (community gardens, dog parks, viewing areas), and active living opportunities are desirable for an attractive and healthy community
• Natural landscapes are important because they define the uniqueness of Billings and help protect the environment
• Landscaping of public rights-of-way and entryways makes Billings more visually appealing to residents and visitors
• Infill development and development near existing City infrastructure may be the most cost effective
• The history and heritage of Billings are cornerstones of our community
• Neighborhoods that are safe and attractive and provide essential services are much desired
• Infrastructure and service investments that stabilize or improve property values, secure future utility costs, consider maintenance costs, and improve our environmental quality far into the future (i.e.. energy efficient) are desirable

2. Place Making (enhance, maintain, preserve, and improve existing public places)

• Enhancement and maintenance of public spaces and buildings through City stewardship is integral to a vibrant community
• Public and private partnerships are valuable for creating enhanced entryways into Billings
• Locally grown foods help sustain agriculture, provide healthy options, and support local businesses
• Encouraging the installation of art in public spaces enhances the places and showcases the talents and diversity of the community

3. Community Fabric (attractive, aesthetically pleasing, uniquely Billings)

• Developed landscape areas in commercial areas encourage more pedestrian activity and vibrant commercial activity
• Attractive street scapes provide a pleasant and calming travel experience in urban and suburban neighborhoods
• Outdoor public spaces provide casual and relaxing gathering areas for people
• Cost-effective landscaping of public rights-of-way and entryways makes Billings more visually appealing to residents and visitors

4. Strong Neighborhoods (livable, safe, sociable and resilient neighborhoods)

• Zoning regulations that allow a mixture of housing types provide housing options for all age groups and income levels
• Walkable neighborhoods that permit convenient destinations such as neighborhood services, open space, parks, schools and public gathering spaces foster health, good will and social interaction
• Safe and livable neighborhoods can be achieved through subdivision design that focuses on complete streets, pedestrian-scale street lights, street trees and walkable access to public spaces
• Implementation of the Infill Policy is important to encourage development of underutilized properties

5. Home Base (healthy, safe and diverse housing options)

• A mix of housing types that meet the needs of a diverse population is important
• The Housing Needs Assessment is an important tool to ensure Billings recognizes and meets the demands of future development
• Common to all types of housing choices is the desire to live in surroundings that are affordable, healthy and safe
• Homes that are safe and sound support a healthy community
• Accessory dwellings units provide an important type of affordable housing options if compatible

6. Mobility and Access (transportation choices in places where goods and service are accessible to all)

• Connecting people to places with transportation choices is vital to the well-being of Billings’ residents, businesses and visitors
• Safe and accessible transportation systems benefit everyone’s quality of life
• Affordable public transit is much desired
• Development oriented to transit routes will provide more transportation choices and is preferred

7. Prosperity (promoting equal opportunity and economic advancement)

• Predictable, reasonable City taxes and assessments are important to Billings’ taxpayers
• A diversity of available jobs can ensure a strong Billings’ economy
• Successful businesses that provide local jobs benefit the community
• Community investments that attract and retain a strong, skilled and diverse workforce also attracts businesses
• Retaining and supporting existing businesses helps sustain a healthy economy

As the Steering Committee and Working Groups considered each code section for the City of Billings, these Growth Guidelines and the Guiding Principles set forth by the Steering Committee in January 2018 were front and center to the discussions and decision making. The proposed Zoning Code and the Zoning Map update meet and exceed each one of the guidelines listed above. The proposed code conserves the non-renewable resource of land so the city can better meet the needs of all its residents, businesses and visitors now and into the future.

The City Zoning Commission has held six topic focused public hearings on the draft code and zoning map update in the past four months. The Commission held a final hearing on October 14, 2020, and reviewed a recommendation to the City Council. The Zoning Commission is forwarding a recommendation of approval to the City Council.

The public hearings were conducted in multiple formats to allow for maximum participation. The formats included in person attendance at the Senior Center, on line via live feed on Facebook and on the Zoom virtual meeting platform. Community 7 TV live broadcast the hearings on their Facebook page and on the Planning & Community Services Facebook page. We had a public comment call in phone for each hearing. The first three sessions in July had 32 people attend in person. The live broadcasts were viewed by over 170 people on July 21, and over 130 viewers for the July 22 and the July 23 hearings. The three hearings in September had fewer persons attend in person and lower numbers for viewers on the live broadcasts. All of the hearings are recorded and still available for viewing on the Community 7 TV and Planning Facebook pages.

Over the course of the 3 years of Project ReCode, the Steering Committee and Working Groups held over 100 advertised public meetings to review, critique and re-draft the new code sections. The consultant team held meetings in June and July of 2018 to gather public input on zoning and land use issues from more than a dozen community groups, elected and appointed officials, and neighborhoods. In October 2018, the consultant team held three days of open house meetings on the findings of the Code Assessment, a foundation document for the new code.

As the Working Groups completed their work at the end of 2019, many members of the development community began to "test" the proposed new code to learn the specifics and to see how the new code would serve their clients and property owners. The land development professionals were anticipating the code to be adopted in early 2020. Then the global COVID-19 pandemic took over. The draft was completed and uploaded to the Project ReCode website - https://project-recode.com/code-outline - in March and April of 2020. Developers and community builders are eagerly awaiting these new and improved zoning tools. We have several developers who could not wait out the longer process of adoption and have moved forward with subdivisions, annexations, zone changes and variances. These developers may switch gears when the new code is adopted.

In addition to the 100+ public meetings of the Working Groups, Planning staff has made over 20 public presentations in the last 18 months on Project ReCode. Those presentations were made to the following groups - some more than once: 

• Property Managers & Landlords
• Berkshire Hathaway Realtors
• Home Builders Association
• Billings Area Realtors
• Assistant Secretary of HUD
• Community Development Board
• Neighborhood Task Forces (Rimrock, West End, Heights & Central Terry)
• Adjacent Neighborhood Committee
• League of Women Voters - Local Government Sessions
• Downtown Rotary
• Yellowstone Bank
• Restaurant and Tavern Owners

These groups of citizens and professionals are regularly engaged in land use planning, business and financial decisions based on land use rules and regulations. Planning staff presentations were intended to bring the information to these engaged groups.

The next meeting planned for this item is the City Council first reading and public hearing scheduled for Monday, November 9, 2020. There is one additional work session on November 2 before the November 9 if further informal discussion is necessary.

The Planning Division budget should not be further effected by this project after it completes expending its approved budget for this project in the next few months.  The project is near completion and ready for the adoption process.