This is a zone change request to allow a mixture of commercial, cultural, medical, clinical and residential uses in a Planned Development on a 111.91 acre parcel of land described as Blocks 1 through 5, The Village Subdivision. The property is located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Shiloh Road and King Avenue West. A concurrent subdivision has been filed to re-align the right of ways and lots and will be named St. Vincent Healthcare Subdivision. The property has an existing Planned Development approved in 2004 that allows primarily commercial, medical and residential uses with specific design standards for each area. The proposed changes would eliminate most residential uses and allow commercial and medical uses in an underlying zoning of Entryway Light Industrial (ELI). The owners propose to apply the existing Shiloh Corridor Overlay District site development standards to all lots within the Planned Development in addition to site specific standards. The property is owned by the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health Systems (St. Vincent’s Healthcare) and is represented by Will Ralph of Sanderson Stewart and Doug James of Moulton Bellingham PC. The owners and agents conducted a pre-application neighborhood meeting on July 20, 2010, and a preliminary meeting with city staff and surrounding property owners was held on December 8, 2010. The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on January 4, 2011, and is forwarding a recommendation of approval on a 5-0 vote.

State law at MCA 76-2-304 requires that all zone changes be reviewed in accordance with 12
criteria. Using the 12 criteria to determine the appropriateness of the zone change request, the
City Council may:
1. Approve the zone change request
2. Deny the zone change request
3. Allow withdrawal of the application
4. Delay action for up to thirty (30) days

If approved, the zone change will ensure the long-term taxable value of the property and protect
the city tax base in this area.

The applicant is requesting to make substantial revisions to the existing Planned Development zone first adopted by the City in 2004. The current agreement allows medical, residential and mixed use development and has extensive design standards that in some cases are contrary to the surrounding zoning and Shiloh Corridor Overlay District. The property has not been developed and St. Vincent Healthcare has no immediate plans to construct a project on the site. The proposed zoning will remain intact with the exception of residential uses. The applicant intends to allow residential uses only by special approval of the owner.

The property occupies 111.91 acres on the northwest corner of the intersection of King Ave West and Shiloh Road. Improvements to both streets have been recently completed and the owner intends to make further improvements when development occurs. Those improvements will include park area and campus signage. King Ave West and Shiloh Road are both principal arterial streets and carry substantial traffic in all directions. Traffic counts in early 2010 for Shiloh Road at this intersection were 8,980 vehicle trips per day and King Ave West handled 7,760 trips. Both these roads were under construction at the time. The improvements will likely lead to higher daily traffic counts during 2011. Both streets are able to handle a large traffic volume without requiring additional improvements. The standard design capacity of principal arterial streets is 25,000 vehicle trips per day. The 2010 Transportation Plan indicates that congestion near this intersection with the traffic roundabout is not anticipated until 2035 or later.

The applicant conducted a pre-application neighborhood meeting on July 20, 2010 and several surrounding property owners attended the meeting. The owners discussed the anticipated uses in the commercial lots at the intersection and whether additional truck traffic would be generated. The meeting roster and minutes are included in Attachment D. No surrounding property owners contacted the Planning Division staff prior to the Zoning Commission public hearing.

The changes to the PD propose an underlying zoning of Entryway Light Industrial (ELI). The district is described in Section 27-1004(d) as an area “to provide large lots located directly accessible to arterial and other transportation systems for warehousing and light manufacturing and allow for limited commercial facilities for the adjacent community and interstate travelers.” While the area is accessible to arterial streets and provides large lots, warehousing and light manufacturing are not allowed uses in the proposed PD agreement. The ELI zone allows many uses that will be prohibited in the PD zone for this property. The owner prefers this zoning district to allow the greatest range of potential uses. Setbacks are specified based on lot location, but the standard building height of 40 feet in the ELI zone will apply. In addition, the owner has applied the Shiloh Corridor Overlay District site design standards to all parcels within the PD. Normally the Shiloh Corridor Overlay district would only apply to lots within 500 feet of the centerline of Shiloh Road. The Shiloh Corridor Overlay specifies building design, materials, signage and landscaping standards. Each development in the district will need to meet absolute criteria and earn a certain number of points for relative site design criteria. For example, a developer can earn points for shared parking, provisions for transit, bicycles and pedestrians or for exceeding the minimum requirements for building architecture.

The proposed ELI zone is compatible with the zoning south and southeast of the subject property. Property north and west of the property is developed for a church and for multifamily residential uses. Property across Shiloh Road is the Olympic Park Subdivision and is developed for residential uses. There are vacant commercial lots in Olympic Park Subdivision on the northeast corner of King Ave West and Shiloh Road. The West Billings Neighborhood recognized the suitability of property on arterial streets for professional offices, limited commercial uses and higher density residential uses. The West Billings Plan anticipated this intersection would be a major community commercial node that would include a variety of amenities and services. The challenge with any arterial street pattern and land use plan is to ensure the adopted policy is implemented in a careful manner. The West Billings Plan indicated the “strip” commercial zoning along Grand and the monolithic commercial development at King Ave West and 24th St West was not a desirable land use plan for West Billings. Two of the 4 corners of this community commercial node have begun development – Montana Sapphire to the south and Shiloh Crossing to the southeast. The vacant commercial lots in Olympic Village and the St Vincent Healthcare property are not yet developed. The proposed zoning and development plan do meet the goals of the West Billings Neighborhood Plan.

The Planning Division reviewed this application and recommended approval based on the attached twelve (12) criteria for zone changes. The subject property is adjacent to PD zoning, ELI and CI zoning. The property is at an intersection where commercial and medical service development fits with the intent of the West Billings Plan to avoid strip commercial development all along arterial streets. The proposed re-subdivision will create 19 lots for medical related uses, six lots for commercial uses, and four private park areas. The uses allowed within the proposed PD zoning are compatible with the surrounding zoning and neighborhood character. Any development of the property requires compliance with site development standards specified in the PD, the Shiloh Corridor Overlay zone and the ELI zone. This will ensure protection to adjacent properties to the north and west. The 2008 Growth Policy encourages predictable land use decisions that are consistent with neighborhood character and land use patterns. The proposed zoning is consistent with this neighborhood and land use pattern.

The Zoning Commisson conducted a public hearing on January 4, 2011, and is forwarding a recommendation of approval and adoption of the 12 criteria on a 5-0 vote

The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on January 4, 2011, and received testimony in favor of the project from Rick Leuthold of Sanderson Stewart, Doug James of Moulton Bellingham, PC and Ed Hudson of Emmanual Baptist Church. The was no testimony in opposition to the zone change. Thomas Pelatt, Board Chair for Beartooth Bank, submitted a letter of support to the Zoning Commission.

Prior to any action to approve or disapprove, the City Council will consider the recommendation
of the Zoning Commission and shall consider the following:

1. Is the new zoning designed in accordance with the Growth Policy?
The proposed zone change is consistent with the following goals of the Growth Policy:
• Predictable land use decisions that are consistent with neighborhood character and land use patterns. (Land Use Element Goal, page 6)
The proposed zoning would permit the Planned Development to be consistent with surrounding new developments and increase compatibility with new and existing residential development.
• Contiguous development focused in and around existing population centers. (Land Use Element Goal, page 6)
The proposed zoning would allow the development of the property in an area with existing services – promoting efficient use of city resources and providing services to the growing population of West Billings.

2. Is the new zoning designed to lessen congestion in the streets?
There should be no effect on traffic congestion. The recent improvements to King Ave West and Shiloh Road were designed for the predicted traffic generation from this existing Planned Development zone. The 2010 Transportation Plan predicts existing road capacity would not begin to experience congestion until 2035 or later. If a new use generates 500 or more new trips per day a traffic accessibility study or traffic impact analysis may be required prior to development of a particular lot within the subdivision. The subdivision has completed a traffic impact study that may require review when each parcel is developed.

3. Will the new zoning secure safety from fire, panic and other dangers?
The subject property is currently serviced by City Fire and Police. Any development would change the type of service needed at the property. There should be no effect on public safety given the proximity to 2 fire stations and existing services provided to the adjacent commercial businesses in Montana Sapphire Subdivision and Shiloh Crossing.

4. Will the new zoning promote health and general welfare?
The proposed zoning would permit new medical services and ancillary uses within the new subdivision. Other service businesses, professional offices, limited retail and residential uses may be allowed. The surrounding property values should not be affected by the development.

5. Will the new zoning provide adequate light and air?
The proposed zoning provides for sufficient setbacks to allow for adequate separation between structures and adequate light and air.

6. Will the new zoning prevent overcrowding of land?
The proposed zoning, like all zoning districts, contains limitations on the maximum percentage of the lot area that can be covered with structures. The proposed lot coverage is 60% of the total lot area and minimum lot area in the agreement is 1 acre. This could allow a structure with a foot print of about 26,000 square feet. This should prevent overcrowding of property.

7. Will the new zoning avoid undue concentration of population?
The new zoning does avoid undue concentration of population. The changes in the development agreement would restrict residential uses by requiring special permission from the owner prior to development. St Vincent Healthcare anticipates very few proposals for residential development given the proximity to available residential zoning to the west, east and north. There is no set dwelling density or configuration requirements within the development agreement.

8. Will the new zoning facilitate the adequate provisions of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, fire, police, and other public requirements?
Transportation: The proposed zoning should not impact the surrounding streets.
Water and Sewer: The City will provide water and sewer to the property through existing lines.
Schools and Parks: There should be no impact to schools from the proposed zone change.
Fire and Police: The subject property is currently served by the City of Billings fire and police departments.

9. Does the new zoning give reasonable consideration to the character of the district?
The proposed zoning will allow re-development of the property for medical uses, commercial uses and limited residential uses in a unified development pattern. There are existing commercial uses to the south and southeast. There are higher density residences to the west in the new Lenhardt Square development. Across Shiloh Road is a planned neighborhood development consisting of single family dwellings and multi-family dwellings. The character of the area is a community commercial node at the intersection of two principal arterial streets. The changes to the existing planned development zone would allow the future development to better fit in with the planned and existing character of the area.

10. Does the new zoning give consideration to peculiar suitability of the property for particular uses?
The subject property is suitable for the requested zoning district. The location is a larger parcel of vacant land on a corner lot of a rapidly developing area of West Billings. The property is suitable for the allowed uses within the planned development zone of Entryway Light Industrial.

11. Was the new zoning adopted with a view to conserving the value of buildings?
Surrounding residential property to the east should not be affected by the proposed zoning. There are no existing buildings on the subject property.

12. Will the new zoning encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout such county or municipal area?
The proposed zoning will permit the compatible development of this parcel and the changes to the planned development zone are appropriate for this location.