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| Zoning Commission | |
| Date: | 02/01/2022 |
| Title: | Zone Change 1005 - 934 Lewis Ave - from CMU1 to CMU1, NX1 and MX3 |
| Presented by: | Nicole Cromwell |
| Department: | Planning & Community Services |
| Presentation: | Yes |
Information
RECOMMENDATION
Planning staff recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 10 review criteria for Zone Change 1005.
BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)
This is a zone change request from CMU1 (Corridor Mixed Use 1) to CMU1, NX1 (Mixed Residential 1) and NX3 (Mixed Residential 3), on Parcel 1 COS 2474, an 8.02 acre parcel located at 934 Lewis Ave (Elks Lodge & Tennis Center property). A pre application neighborhood meeting was held on December 16, 2021.
APPLICATION DATA
OWNER: Billings Elks Lodge BPOE #394
AGENT: Dave Goodridge, Goodridge Real Estate and Jeff Lee, Thrive Corporation
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Parcel 1 of C/S 2474
ADDRESS: 934 Lewis Avenue
CURRENT ZONING: CMU1
EXISTING LAND USE: Elks Lodge and Tennis Center
PROPOSED USE: Apartments and fitness center
SIZE OF PARCEL: 8.2 acres
Concurrent Applications: None
SURROUNDING LAND USE & ZONING
NORTH: Zoning: N2 - Mid-Century Neighborhood Residential
Land Use: Single family, 2-family and multi-family dwellings
SOUTH: Zoning: P3- Civic Campus, N1 - First Neighborhood Residential, NX2 - Mixed Residential 2
Land Use: YWCA Campus, single family & two-family dwellings, Midway Townhomes
EAST: Zoning: N1 and N2
Land Use: Single family and 2-family dwellings
WEST: Zoning: NO - Neighborhood Office, NMU - Neighborhood Mixed Use, NX3 - Mixed Residential 3
Land Use: Accountant office, Apex Fitness, The Art of Play children's center, Family Support Network, Stoneridge Apartments
The Elks Lodge, in the heart of the Mid-town neighborhoods of Billings, put its property up for sale in 2019. Membership in the lodge was not robust and declining revenues from the facility required the sale of the property. The lodge itself will move to another smaller location. The lodge has filed for bankruptcy protection. A buyer, Thrive Corporation from Utah, has come forward and proposed to build residential apartments and re-use the entire property for new development.
Prior to the zoning update in 2021, the property was partially zoned Residential 7,000 (R-70) and partly Community Commercial. The north 200 feet was zoned R-70 and the eastern 100 feet was also zoned R-70. The remaining five acres of Community Commercial took up the southwest portion of the property. During the map update in 2021, the parcel was zoned as CMU1 to better match the current and future uses of the land. The parcel has received previous approvals to have on-premise liquor service and events and gatherings were held in the Elks Lodge building. The Elks Lodge was built here in 1967. About 10 years ago, a tennis center was constructed in partnership with the local tennis association. The plan is to leave this large recreational facility in place and re-purpose it if possible as an amenity for the new residents and for the community.
The current zoning of CMU1 requires a mixed use building for any residential development. Single family, two-family or multi-family dwellings would have to be within a building with a ground floor commercial use. The proposed zoning keeps the CMU1 zoning around the tennis center (~1. 5 acres), and down-zones the remaining 6.5 acres to NX1(1 to 4-family dwellings - ~ 2acres) on the Lewis Avenue frontage and NX3 in the southwest 4.5 acres of the property. A Master Site Plan approval will be required for the new residential development. This will include adjacent street improvements and on-site improvements to accommodate the development. The developer is financially responsible for these improvements. No adjacent owners will be asked or required to participate in improvements required to accommodate this development.
APPLICATION DATA
OWNER: Billings Elks Lodge BPOE #394
AGENT: Dave Goodridge, Goodridge Real Estate and Jeff Lee, Thrive Corporation
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Parcel 1 of C/S 2474
ADDRESS: 934 Lewis Avenue
CURRENT ZONING: CMU1
EXISTING LAND USE: Elks Lodge and Tennis Center
PROPOSED USE: Apartments and fitness center
SIZE OF PARCEL: 8.2 acres
Concurrent Applications: None
SURROUNDING LAND USE & ZONING
NORTH: Zoning: N2 - Mid-Century Neighborhood Residential
Land Use: Single family, 2-family and multi-family dwellings
SOUTH: Zoning: P3- Civic Campus, N1 - First Neighborhood Residential, NX2 - Mixed Residential 2
Land Use: YWCA Campus, single family & two-family dwellings, Midway Townhomes
EAST: Zoning: N1 and N2
Land Use: Single family and 2-family dwellings
WEST: Zoning: NO - Neighborhood Office, NMU - Neighborhood Mixed Use, NX3 - Mixed Residential 3
Land Use: Accountant office, Apex Fitness, The Art of Play children's center, Family Support Network, Stoneridge Apartments
The Elks Lodge, in the heart of the Mid-town neighborhoods of Billings, put its property up for sale in 2019. Membership in the lodge was not robust and declining revenues from the facility required the sale of the property. The lodge itself will move to another smaller location. The lodge has filed for bankruptcy protection. A buyer, Thrive Corporation from Utah, has come forward and proposed to build residential apartments and re-use the entire property for new development.
Prior to the zoning update in 2021, the property was partially zoned Residential 7,000 (R-70) and partly Community Commercial. The north 200 feet was zoned R-70 and the eastern 100 feet was also zoned R-70. The remaining five acres of Community Commercial took up the southwest portion of the property. During the map update in 2021, the parcel was zoned as CMU1 to better match the current and future uses of the land. The parcel has received previous approvals to have on-premise liquor service and events and gatherings were held in the Elks Lodge building. The Elks Lodge was built here in 1967. About 10 years ago, a tennis center was constructed in partnership with the local tennis association. The plan is to leave this large recreational facility in place and re-purpose it if possible as an amenity for the new residents and for the community.
The current zoning of CMU1 requires a mixed use building for any residential development. Single family, two-family or multi-family dwellings would have to be within a building with a ground floor commercial use. The proposed zoning keeps the CMU1 zoning around the tennis center (~1. 5 acres), and down-zones the remaining 6.5 acres to NX1(1 to 4-family dwellings - ~ 2acres) on the Lewis Avenue frontage and NX3 in the southwest 4.5 acres of the property. A Master Site Plan approval will be required for the new residential development. This will include adjacent street improvements and on-site improvements to accommodate the development. The developer is financially responsible for these improvements. No adjacent owners will be asked or required to participate in improvements required to accommodate this development.
STAKEHOLDERS
The applicant conducted a pre application neighborhood meeting as required on December 16, 2021 at the Elks Lodge. Twelve surrounding owners or interested citizens attended the pre app meeting. There were questions on tenancy of the proposed units (unit-owned or developer-owned), the development of 10th St West to be a complete street, the number of dwellings units (200-250 estimated) and the type of units allowed in the NX1 zone district. The pre-app meeting notes are included as an attachment. In addition, Planning staff received a few phone inquiries from surrounding owners about the zone change process and how to participate. One owner asked for information on filing a valid protest petition. No written communication from surrounding owners has been received at the time of the staff report.
ALTERNATIVES
The Zoning Commission may:
- Allow the applicant to withdraw the zone change request.
FISCAL EFFECTS
Approval or denial of the proposed zone change will not have an effect on the Planning Division budget.
SUMMARY
Before making a recommendation to the City Council, the Zoning Commission shall consider the following findings of the ten review criteria:
1) Is the new zoning designed in accordance with the Growth Policy?
The proposed zone change is consistent with the following guidelines of the 2016 Growth Policy and the Central Terry Neighborhood Plan (1999):
The Central Terry Neighborhood Plan goals and objectives stated the need to locate compatible uses and offer a range of housing choices and development densities. The Central Terry Neighborhood Plan was written when the task force area was much smaller and did not necessarily include this specific area. However, some of the stated goals of the neighborhood plan related to housing and land uses are applicable to this major in-fill/re-fill development proposal. The proposed down-zoning is responsive to the need to not allow commercial or non-residential uses to interfere with the existing residential neighborhood patterns. The NX1 proposed for the Lewis Avenue frontage will match the similar type of development on the north side of Lewis that has single-family, two-family and multi-family dwellings. The NX3 zoning for the southwest corner of the property matches the zoning and development on the west side of 10th St W (Stoneridge Apartments). The P3-Civic Campus for the YWCA to the south will be compatible with the proposed uses in the NX3 zone. Reducing the CMU1 zone to just contain the existing tennis center, will allow this recreational facility to be re-used or re-purposed as an amenity for the new development and the neighborhood.
The proposed amendment is also in line with the adopted 2016 Growth Policy goals for:
Strong Neighborhoods:
2) Is the new zoning designed to secure from fire and other dangers?
The zoning requires build-to zones, setbacks, open and landscaped areas and building separations. The proposed zoning is designed to secure the development from fire and other dangers.
3) Whether the new zoning will promote public health, public safety and general welfare?
Public health and public safety will be promoted by the proposed change. Approval of the overall zoning plan will provide more certainty both for the property owner and the surrounding owners. Completing incomplete city streets and infrastructure is beneficial to the general welfare.
4) Will the new zoning facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks and other public requirement?
Transportation: The applicant will need to develop a traffic impact study and will need to coordinate with the city Engineering Division. The type of traffic generated (or was generated) by the Elks Lodge facility is very different from the day-to-day traffic of a residential neighborhood. Event-type traffic can bring several hundred vehicles to the location in a short period of time. Lewis Avenue is designated a collector street and currently handles about 5,000 vehicle trips per day. Collector Roads are intended to carry more vehicles than a local street. Specifically, collector roadways collect traffic from the locals streets and link them to arterial roadways. Collector roads are intended to handle lower volumes of traffic, at slower speeds, than an arterial, but are more robust than local streets. These collectors may provide direct residential access. On this section of Lewis, bicycles share the road with vehicles and parked cars. Further west, there is an on-street bike lane and limited on-street parking. In addition to Lewis, the property is adjacent to 9th Avenue, 10th Avenue and Yellowstone Avenue. These are all considered local streets. Tenth Street does not have full right of way and lacks some improvements. Yellowstone Avenue also lacks improvements. Public improvements for all of the streets around the property required by this development will be evaluated by the Public Works department during site plan review.
The tennis center is estimated to generate a maximum of 1,240 trips per day. Multi-family developments can generate between 5 and 8 trips per dwelling unit or about half the number of trips a single family development generates per dwelling unit. A traffic impact study is never required at the time of zoning determinations. This is due to the cost of such study based on uncertain numbers of new dwelling units or intensity of development. One will be required prior to development and will include potential impacts and mitigations for adjacent streets, and street intersections. The mitigation, as determined by the city engineer, will be the responsibility of the developer.
Water and Sewer: The City will provide water and sewer to the property. There will be no additional impacts to the system from the proposed changes.
Schools and Parks: Schools and parks may be effected by the proposed zone change and development of a new in-fill city neighborhood. Any new children in the development will attend Broadwater Elementary School, Lewis and Clark Middle School and Senior High School. SD #2 did not provide any comments.
Fire and Police: The subject property is served by city public safety services. The Police and Fire Departments had no concerns with the zone change.1) Is the new zoning designed in accordance with the Growth Policy?
The proposed zone change is consistent with the following guidelines of the 2016 Growth Policy and the Central Terry Neighborhood Plan (1999):
The Central Terry Neighborhood Plan goals and objectives stated the need to locate compatible uses and offer a range of housing choices and development densities. The Central Terry Neighborhood Plan was written when the task force area was much smaller and did not necessarily include this specific area. However, some of the stated goals of the neighborhood plan related to housing and land uses are applicable to this major in-fill/re-fill development proposal. The proposed down-zoning is responsive to the need to not allow commercial or non-residential uses to interfere with the existing residential neighborhood patterns. The NX1 proposed for the Lewis Avenue frontage will match the similar type of development on the north side of Lewis that has single-family, two-family and multi-family dwellings. The NX3 zoning for the southwest corner of the property matches the zoning and development on the west side of 10th St W (Stoneridge Apartments). The P3-Civic Campus for the YWCA to the south will be compatible with the proposed uses in the NX3 zone. Reducing the CMU1 zone to just contain the existing tennis center, will allow this recreational facility to be re-used or re-purposed as an amenity for the new development and the neighborhood.
The proposed amendment is also in line with the adopted 2016 Growth Policy goals for:
Strong Neighborhoods:
- 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
- Neighborhoods that are safe and attractive and provide essential services are much desired
- Implementation of the Infill Policy is important to encourage development of underutilized properties
- Common to all types of housing choices is the desire to live in surroundings that are affordable, healthy and safe
- Public safety and emergency service response are critical to the well-being of Billings' residents
- Predictable, reasonable City taxes and assessments are important to Billings’ taxpayers
2) Is the new zoning designed to secure from fire and other dangers?
The zoning requires build-to zones, setbacks, open and landscaped areas and building separations. The proposed zoning is designed to secure the development from fire and other dangers.
3) Whether the new zoning will promote public health, public safety and general welfare?
Public health and public safety will be promoted by the proposed change. Approval of the overall zoning plan will provide more certainty both for the property owner and the surrounding owners. Completing incomplete city streets and infrastructure is beneficial to the general welfare.
4) Will the new zoning facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks and other public requirement?
Transportation: The applicant will need to develop a traffic impact study and will need to coordinate with the city Engineering Division. The type of traffic generated (or was generated) by the Elks Lodge facility is very different from the day-to-day traffic of a residential neighborhood. Event-type traffic can bring several hundred vehicles to the location in a short period of time. Lewis Avenue is designated a collector street and currently handles about 5,000 vehicle trips per day. Collector Roads are intended to carry more vehicles than a local street. Specifically, collector roadways collect traffic from the locals streets and link them to arterial roadways. Collector roads are intended to handle lower volumes of traffic, at slower speeds, than an arterial, but are more robust than local streets. These collectors may provide direct residential access. On this section of Lewis, bicycles share the road with vehicles and parked cars. Further west, there is an on-street bike lane and limited on-street parking. In addition to Lewis, the property is adjacent to 9th Avenue, 10th Avenue and Yellowstone Avenue. These are all considered local streets. Tenth Street does not have full right of way and lacks some improvements. Yellowstone Avenue also lacks improvements. Public improvements for all of the streets around the property required by this development will be evaluated by the Public Works department during site plan review.
The tennis center is estimated to generate a maximum of 1,240 trips per day. Multi-family developments can generate between 5 and 8 trips per dwelling unit or about half the number of trips a single family development generates per dwelling unit. A traffic impact study is never required at the time of zoning determinations. This is due to the cost of such study based on uncertain numbers of new dwelling units or intensity of development. One will be required prior to development and will include potential impacts and mitigations for adjacent streets, and street intersections. The mitigation, as determined by the city engineer, will be the responsibility of the developer.
Water and Sewer: The City will provide water and sewer to the property. There will be no additional impacts to the system from the proposed changes.
Schools and Parks: Schools and parks may be effected by the proposed zone change and development of a new in-fill city neighborhood. Any new children in the development will attend Broadwater Elementary School, Lewis and Clark Middle School and Senior High School. SD #2 did not provide any comments.
5) Will the new zoning provide adequate light and air?
The proposed zoning provides for sufficient setbacks and building separations to allow for adequate separation between structures and adequate light and air.
6) Will the new zoning effect motorized and non-motorized transportation?
Non-motorized travel -- walking and biking -- is an essential part of this area of Billings. There are some deficiencies in the surrounding road network including half-built or under-built roads. Connecting this property to a full mobility network will be essential. Completion of the roadway and walking infrastructure usually only happens with new development. The property is within walking distance to Grand Avenue (1/4-mile north) and Broadwater Avenue (2 blocks south) - two major commercial corridors connecting to the rest of Billings. Fixed bus routes on MET transit are available on Grand and Broadwater. Lewis Avenue is a major bikeway corridor connecting this property to the downtown core.
7) Will the new zoning will promote compatible urban growth?
The proposed down-zoning from CMU1 to the NX1 and the NX3 zone districts is compatible with urban growth and the provision of city level services to the new residents. The proposed zone district boundaries are consistent with the urban growth in this area and will be compatible with the surrounding neighborhoods. The CMU1 zone can allow up to a 4-story structure with ground-floor commercial uses and 3 stories of apartment above. The proposed NX1 zoning for the Lewis Avenue frontage will be height limited to 27 feet, and all garages will be rear-loading to allow a compatible residential frontage. The NX3 zone can allow taller structures - up to 4 stories - but also requires rear loading garages or surface parking/detached garages to the rear of a building space. The NX3 also requires provision of some usable open space for each 3 acres of development. The NX3 zone is not across the street from any single-family or two-family zone districts.
8) Does the new zoning consider the character of the district and the peculiar suitability of the property for particular uses?
The proposed zoning does consider the character of the district and the suitability of the property for the proposed use. This area between Lewis Avenue and Broadwater is an under-developed are of the Central Terry Neighborhood. Geographic challenges are in the area including Spring Creek, a large underground drain and dramatic changes in topography from north to south. The property is suitable for the proposed uses for multi-family development.
9) Will the new zoning conserve the value of buildings?
The property has an older structure that will be difficult to re-purpose as is. The new zoning will place this building in a zone that does not allow the use by right. It will become legally non-conforming. The buyer does not intend to keep this structure. The newer tennis center will be in the remaining area of the CMU1 zone district. This will preserve the value of this building. Approval of the zone change will provide certainty for the intended development to surrounding landowners and may help to maintain property values of adjacent buildings. In general, new construction tends to raise surrounding property and building values.
10) Will the new zoning encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the City of Billings?
The proposed down-zoning from CMU1 to NX1 and NX3 for 6.5 acres of the 8-acre parcel will encourage the most appropriate use of this land in Billings.
Attachments
- Exparte BZC 1005
- Zoning Map and Site photos
- Proposed zoning Plan
- Application and Pre app meeting
- Applicant Letter