Staff recommends the City Council approve the preliminary plat extension request for Fifty Four West Subdivision.

The developers of Fifty-Four West subdivision are requesting a two-year extension to May 23, 2028 of the preliminary plat approval from the City in order to complete the conditions of approval and file the final plat. May 22, 2026 marks the three-year approval deadline from the initial approval by the City of the preliminary plat. The applicant states funding and construction difficulties are causing delays for completion of the project. Staff finds providing an extension is acceptable to the City for this subdivision per the extension review criteria described in the Alternatives section of this memo.

On December 1, 2025, KLJ Engineering, on behalf of Michael Christensen, requested a preliminary plat extension for Fifty Four West Subdivision. The subdivision received original preliminary plat approval on May 22, 2023. The preliminary plat approval will expired on May 22, 2026. KLJ Engineering is requesting an extension of two years of the preliminary plat to May 23, 2028. The applicant states financing issues and construction complications have held up the installation of improvements, and they are currently scheduled to complete all improvements by the summer of 2026, with some punch list items carrying over into 2027. The requested date allows some contingency time to address any unforeseen issues. 

The extension request for this subdivision will have no financial impact on the Planning Division.

The City Council may approve or disapprove of the preliminary plat extension request of Fifty Four West Subdivision. The City of Billings Subdivision Regulations state the following:
"The approval or conditional approval shall be valid for not more than three (3) calendar years. At the end of this period, the governing body may, at the request of the subdivider, extend its approval for a mutually agreed-upon period of time. The governing body may issue more than one extension per BMCC 23-302. M."

When considering a request for an extension of the preliminary plat approval period, the governing body may use the following criteria to evaluate the request:

1. Changes to the subdivision regulations since the original approval and whether the subdivision as originally approved is essentially compliant with the new regulations;
   • The preliminary plat for Fifty Four West Subdivision, was conditionally approved May 22, 2023. Since that time, City Subdivision Regulations were updated in October 2024. The major change from the new regulations affecting this subdivision is the requirement of lighting for residential subdivisions. 
     • Lighting: The construction of streetlights was not required at the time of approval, but was included in the Waiver of Right to Protest the creation of Special Improvement Districts.
2. Progress to date in completing the subdivision as a whole and any phases;
   • The developer of the proposed subdivision has been constructing the required improvements, but has encountered construction complications and financial hardships, causing delays in timely construction.
3. Phasing of the subdivision and the ability for the existing development to operate without the delayed development;
   • The subdivider has not proposed to phase this subdivision, but will develop all the proposed lots or sell to other owners to develop them when the final plat is completed.
4. Dependence of infrastructure development on the subdivision;
   • The access roads leading to the subdivision have already been developed. The subdivision improvements consist mostly of water, sewer, and storm water management.
5. Duration of the requested extension;
   • The subdivision has requested an additional two years. The current three-year period will end on May 22, 2026. This extension will put the required final plat date at May 22, 2028.
6. Demonstrated ability of the subdivider to complete the subdivision;
   • The Public Works department has confirmed the applicant is currently constructing the infrastructure associated with this project.
7. Such other factors or criteria as deemed material in the discretion of the governing body.
   • There are no other factors or criteria that are material to this project.

After the preliminary plat is approved, the governing body may not impose any additional conditions as a prerequisite to final plat approval, providing the approval is obtained within the original or extended approval period described above (76-3-610(2), MCA).

Staff found no reason under the extension criteria to deny this extension of the final plat approval for the Fifty Four West Subdivision Preliminary Plat.