Staff recommends the City Council hold a public hearing. In this case, a joint public hearing that considers both the annexation and associated zone change. Upon completion of the hearing, staff recommends the City annex the petitioned property with the staff recommended conditions of approval. 

NOTE: Though a joint hearing is being held, individual action will need to be taken on each item. 

John and Patricia Burg submitted a petition to annex land using the provisions of Section 7-2-4600, MCA. The property is located south of Highway 3 and southeast of Rod and Gun Club Road. The property is described as Tract 2-A, of Amended Tracts 1 and 2 of The Corrected Plat of Hagmann Acreage Tracts Subdivision, recorded December 16, 1983, under Document No. 1290304; Tract 1, of Certificate Of Survey No. 2577, recorded August 1, 1990, under Document No. 1568246, on file and of record in the Records of Yellowstone County. Including all adjacent rights-of-way of State Highway No. 3. and Tract 2-A, of Amended Tracts 1 and 2 of The Corrected Plat of Hagmann Acreage Tracts Subdivision, recorded December 16, 1983, under Document No. 1290304; Tract 1, of Certificate Of Survey No. 2577, recorded August 1, 1990, under Document No. 1568246, on file and of record in the Records of Yellowstone County. Including all adjacent rights-of-way of State Highway No. 3.

The property contains 3.311 gross and 2.793 net acres, more or less and is zoned Rural Residential 1. This is a county zone that is not available in the City Limits, therefore, this property is also requesting a zone change (ZC994) which will be considered concurrently by City Council. The proposed zoning is N3 – Neighborhood 3. The N3 district is a single-family residential zone district. The property currently contains a home on the westerly lot and the easterly lot acts as the yard.

It is the City’s custom to have staff prepare a brief analysis of predicted impacts to services and facilities. Staff finds 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. 

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 and Sanitary Sewer: The city’s public water and sanitary sewer mains do front this property in Highway 3. A Development Agreement is required as part of this annexation and Council will consider the proposed agreement following action on this petition.
• Storm water: Any development will be compliant with the adopted Stormwater Management Manual. Since the property is already developed with a single family home it is not anticipated that there are any needs related to stormwater management.
• Transportation: The subject property fronts Highway 3. Highway 3 is a developed high-speed, principal arterial roadway as part of the City's functional classification map and this property has established access.
• 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 Fire Station #1, located at 2305 8th Avenue North, about 4.4 road miles or 7 minutes driving time to the subject property.
• Parks: This already developed parcel does not have any park requirements.
• School facilities: School facilities will have limited impacts with the addition of one single-family dwelling.

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 emergency services in its comments above did note its concerns as additional property is annexed into the City. Those concerns did not warrant a recommendation of denial.

• Transit: 2390 Highway 3 is not currently served by the fixed route transit system; closest routes operate on Rimrock Rd and Poly Drive. Paratransit service may be supported as time and space permits.
• Police: The Police Department staff stated that while additional patrol staff have been approved, continued annexation without additional resources may affect response times and the ability to deliver services. This area is surrounded by city limits to the east and west and is in an already established patrol area for the City. 
• 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 staff find the annexation policy criteria have been met. This annexation is appropriate as the city limits are adjacent in multiple directions. The already established residential creates little to no impact across multiple city departments and services. All departments were consulted and there was no opposition.

Annexation by petition does not require notification of adjoining landowners; however, it does require that the City Council conduct a public hearing, advertise the hearing, and post the property with information on the annexation petition and public hearing. Notice of the public hearing was posted on August 6, 2021. Additional stakeholder information can be found by referencing the Zone Change 994 staff report. 

The City Council may approve or deny the petition for annexation. Denial of the petition will mean the City Council cannot consider other agenda items related to this property regarding zoning and the development agreement.

• On May 14, 2021, the annexation petition was submitted to the Planning Division by the owner's agent. A delay in the application was requested so the annexation petition and zone change could be considered concurrently.
• On August 23, 2021, the City Council is scheduled to take action on the petition, development agreement and associated zone change. 

This application has no impact on the Planning Division Budget.