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. 

WWC Engineering on behalf of Buffalo Crossing LLC submitted a petition to annex land using the provisions of Section 7-2-4600, MCA. The property is located south of Grand Avenue and 60th Street West. The land being annexed is described as Being Tract 4-A of Amended Tract 4, Certificate of Survey 2735, recorded February 2, 2010, under Document No. 3539423; Also including all adjacent Right-Of-Way of Grand Avenue. Said annexation containing 33.812 gross and 33.187 net acres.

The property is zoned Rural Residential 3 (RR3). This is a zoning district not recognized by the City. The accompanying zoning application proposes to change the property to a Planned Neighborhood Development (PND), incorporating multiple zones and open space. The PND is a newly adopted tool specifically designed to incorporate at a minimum, 1 Mixed Use district, 1 Neighborhood district and open space. Zone Change 1011 is an accompanying application that the Council will review. A joint public hearing to consider both the annexation and zone change will be held on March 28, 2022.

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: Public water and sanitary sewer service is available to the property proposed for annexation. The Developer will be required to extend an18-inch sanitary sewer from the existing manhole located at the intersection of 60th Street West and Grand Avenue to the northwest corner of the Developer Tract. Further, the Developer is required to extend a 20-inch water main located at the intersection of 60th Street West and Grand Avenue to the northwest corner of the Developer Tract
• Storm water: Any development will be compliant with the adopted Stormwater Management Manual. 
• Transportation: The subject property will be accessed from one proposed approach along Grand Avenue and a street connection to Stockman Avenue to the south. Stockman Avenue shall be constructed and extended across the entire width of subject parcel.
• Fire Stations: The Billings Fire Department currently serves the subject property through the Billings Urban Fire Service Area agreement. The Billings Fire Department will continue to serve the property upon annexation. As this and additional annexations are built out, additional fire department resources will be needed in order to meet and maintain our high level of service due to the increased call volume and burden on our department these annexations will create. The nearest fire station is Station # 7, located at 1501 54th Street West, about 1 road mile or 2 minutes driving time to the subject property.
• Parks: Public 1 (P1) zones are being created with the zone change, if subdivision occurs in the future, parkland dedication or cash-in-lieu will be required. The Developer will be required to construct a 10' wide trail along Grand Avenue
• School facilities: Portions of the proposed property will be used for residential development. With residential growth comes demand on the school system the School district has noted west end schools have faced capacity issues for some time.

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 the Fire Department in its comments above did note its concerns as additional property is annexed into the City.

• Transit: MET fixed-route buses do not currently serve the area; the closest routes are 5A/5B-Grand and 24 Poly, all traveling northbound and southbound on Shiloh Rd, approximately 2.3 miles to the east. MET does not foresee that fixed-route transit service will be available in the area in the near future; MET-Plus (ADA paratransit) service will continue to serve all areas within the Billings city limits as time and space allows.
• Police: There is adequate ingress/egress to this area and it is already close to an established patrol area so no issues in those areas. Despite recent passage of a Public Safety Mill Levy, continued development and annexation without adding commensurate resources will adversely affect ability to deliver service. 
• 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. Depending on factors at any given time such as traffic and congestion, 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 criteria of the annexation policy has been met. Further, coordination with other departments does not raise concerns that cannot be mitigated. Therefore, City Council is being provided with a recommendation of approval.

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 the property and was advertised in the Yellowstone County News.

The City Council may approve, conditionally 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 the development agreement and zoning. On February 9, 2022, the annexation petition was submitted to the Planning Division by the owner's agent.  On March 28, 2022, the City Council is scheduled to take action on the petition in combination with considering a zone change.
 

This application has no impact on the Planning Division Budget.