Staff recommends the Planning Board review and make a recommendation of conditional approval to City Council for the preliminary plat of Trailhead Subdivision and adopt the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report.

On February 2, 2026, Performance Engineering, applied for preliminary major plat approval for Trailhead Subdivision. The proposed subdivision creates seven (7) lots for future commercial development. There is one structure on the property that historically was used as a convention center. The subject property is generally located south of Midland Road and east of Mullowney Lane. The property is zoned CMU-2 – Corridor Mixed Use 2.

VARIANCES REQUESTED
No variances from the City Subdivision Regulations have been requested.

PROPOSED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Pursuant to Section 76-3-608(4), MCA, the following conditions are recommended to reasonably minimize potential adverse impacts identified within the Findings of Fact.

1. To meet requirements of intersection contributions and for traffic safety, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will have MDT determination, based on the TIS the agent provides to MDT, on any contributions required for the intersection of Midland Road and Mullowney Lane.

2. To provide locations and safe delivery and retrieval of individual mail, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will coordinate with the USPS to determine location of Central Box Units and provide the correct amount of space for safely delivering the mail to the businesses.

3. Minor changes may be made in the SIA and final documents, as requested by the Planning, Legal or Public Works Departments to clarify the documents and bring them into the standard acceptable format.

4. The final plat shall comply with all requirements of the City of Billings Subdivision regulations, rules, policies, and resolutions of the City of Billings, and the laws and Administrative Rules of the State of Montana.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• Pre-application meeting October 2, 2025
• Preliminary plat application submitted to Planning Division on February 2, 2026
• Departmental review meeting February 12, 2026
• Subdivision resubmittal February 19, 2026
• Planning Board plat review March 10, 2026
• Planning Board public hearing March 24, 2026
• Preliminary plat to City Council April 27, 2026
• 60 working-day preliminary plat review period ends April 28, 2026

PLAT INFORMATION

General location:                                South of Midland Road and east of Mullowney Lane

Legal Description:                              Parcel 5A of Amended Certificate of Survey 1091

Owner/Subdivider:                             Tropicana Inn-Vestments 2.0 LLC

Engineer and Surveyor:                      Performance Engineering

Existing Zoning:                                 CMU - 2

Existing land use:                               Old parking lot and one existing building

Proposed land use:                              Commercial

Gross and Net area:                            11.12 acres / 11.12 acres

Proposed number of lots:                   7

Lot size:                                              Max:   3.32 acres
                                                            Min:    0.85 acres

Parkland requirements:                      Parkland dedication is not required for a commercial subdivision

Traffic Impact Study overview:

The applicant has provided a traffic study for the proposed commercial development. There were four (4) intersections studied as required by City of Billings Engineering. 

1 - King Ave, W, and Laurel Rd
2 - I-90 and the nearby two exits
3 - Midland Rd and Mullowney Ln.
4 - Midland Rd and S Billings Blvd.

Exhibit 11. Intersection LOS and Delay with and without the Project
                                                                                                 LOS (delay, in seconds/vehicle)
           Intersection               /               Control    /    Background (without project) /  Total Traffic (with project)
AM Peak Hour
     1. King Ave. W. at Laurel Rd          Signal                          A ( 3.7)                              A ( 3.9)
     2. Mullowney at I-90 Ramps           Signal                         C (28.0)                             C (32.2)
     3. Mullowney at Midland                 Signal                         B (12.9)                             B (14.7)
     4. South Billings Blvd at Midland    Signal                         B (17.1)                             B (17.9)
     5. West Site Driveway Access        TWSC*                       N/A                                   C (22.2)*
     6. East Site Driveway Access         TWSC*                      N/A                                    B (14.6)*

                                                                                                   LOS (delay, in seconds/vehicle)
           Intersection               /               Control    /    Background (without project) /  Total Traffic (with project)

PM Peak Hour
     1. King at Laurel Road                    Signal                         A ( 5.1)                            A ( 5.6)
     2. Mullowney at I-90 Ramps           Signal                         C (24.1)                           C (30.8)
     3. Mullowney at Midland                 Signal                         B (17.6)                           B (19.7)
     4. South Billings Blvd at Midland    Signal                         B (19.7)                           C (20.7)
     5. West Site Driveway Access        TWSC*                      N/A                                   E (42.4)*
     6. East Site Driveway Access         TWSC*                      N/A                                   C (19.0)*
* TWSC LOS reported only for the worst lane group, which is the northbound (exit) left at both site driveways.
 
New project trips identified in this report are subject to examination under the City’s cost participation program to the extent that they would travel through the two studied intersections on Midland. At Intersections 1 and 2, the need, scope, and timing of capacity improvements are controlled by MDT, so they are not covered here. Critical traffic shares that drive cost participation are subject to waiver if they fall below 2%. Right turns are not considered.

The incremental intersection cost participation for the new trips associated with each of the two project phases and the cost share calculation. As shown in the table, neither of the intersections examined would qualify for the “sub-2%” waiver.

                                                                   Critical Volume %
                Intersection                                   AM            PM           Highest
          3. Mullowney at Midland                    9.8%        19.2%         19.2%
          4. South Billings Blvd at Midland       2.1%         3.1%            3.1%
                                                                                     Total:            22.3%
                                                                           x $450,000         $100,350

Intersections 1 and 2 did not change enough with the anticipated increase to meet the minimum 2% threshold requiring contributions. Intersections 3 and 4 did go over the 2% threshold requiring the applicant to make contributions at those two intersections. Contributions will be made at final plat at the current cost of the intersection improvements. As of right now, the current cost of intersection of improvements is $450,000 per intersection. 
 

A public hearing is not scheduled for this Planning Board meeting. However, at the Planning Board meeting scheduled for March 24, 2026, this is a public hearing and stakeholders will have the opportunity to provide comments. 

In accordance with state law, the City Council has 60 working days to act upon this major preliminary plat. The 60 working day review period for the proposed plat ends on April 28, 2026. State and City subdivision regulations also require that preliminary plats be reviewed using specific criteria, as stated within this report. The City may not unreasonably restrict an owner's ability to develop land if the subdivider provides evidence that any identified adverse effects can be mitigated. Within the 60 working day review period, the City Council is required to:
1. Approve;
2. Conditionally Approve; or
3. Deny the Preliminary Plat

This plat will have no fiscal impacts on the City/County Planning Division.

One of the purposes of the City’s subdivision review process is to identify potential negative effects of property being subdivided. Negative effects that are identified become the subdivider’s responsibility to mitigate.  Various City departments, private service/utility providers and the affected school districts, have reviewed this application and provided input on effects and mitigation.  The Findings of Fact, which are presented as an attachment, discuss potential negative impacts of the subdivision and conditions of approval are recommended as measures to further mitigate any impacts. In this case, there were found to be minimal impacts from this proposed subdivision.