Staff recommends the City Council hold a public hearing on the annexation. Upon completion of the hearing, staff recommends the City annex the petitioned property with the staff recommended conditions of approval. 

Yellowstone Country Club is requesting the annexation of property that is currently part of a parcel used for parkland. As part of the annexation, the property will be rezoned to allow for the development of additional residential lots within the Yellowstone Club Estates Subdivision. The annexation request meets the applicable criteria for annexation review as outlined in the staff report.

Performance Engineering, on behalf of Yellowstone Country Club, submitted a petition to annex land using the provisions of Section 7-2-4600, MCA. The property is located near Tommy Armour Circle and Ben Hogan Lane. The land being annexed is described as being: areas of land part of a larger parcel to be subdivided situated in Section 30 Township 01 North, Range 25 East, P.M.M., Yellowstone County, Montana, more particularly described as follows:

Area 1:
Beginning at the northeast corner of Lot 17, Block 26 of Yellowstone Club Estates, 6th Filing, said point also being Point of Beginning #1; thence N01? 28’ 04”E a distance of 31.53 feet; thence S88? 31’ 56”E a distance of 496.10 feet; thence S01? 28’ 04”W a distance of 98.86 feet; thence S36? 31’ 40”W a distance of 98.15 feet; thence following a non-tangent curve to the left having a radius of 320.48 feet a central angle of 060? 01’ 27” a length of 335.74 feet; thence following a non-tangent curve to the left having a radius of 240.00 feet a central angle of 041? 23’ 58” a length of 173.41 feet back to the Point of Beginning.
Said Area 1 contains 1.39 acres gross and net, more or less.

Area 2:
Beginning at the northwest corner of Lot 5, Block 22 of Yellowstone Club Estates, 6th Filing, said point also being Point of Beginning #2; thence S37? 45’ 43”E a distance of 396.65 feet; thence S65? 11’ 15”W a distance of 230.83 feet; thence following a non-tangent curve to the right having a radius of 1700.00 feet a central angle of 11? 51’ 06” a length of 351.65 feet; thence N53? 19’ 21”E a distance of 181.91 feet back to the Point of Beginning.
Said Area 2 contains 1.70 acres gross and net, more or less.

Area 3:
Beginning at the northwest corner of Lot 14, Block 22 of Yellowstone Club Estates, 6th Filing, said point also being Point of Beginning #3; thence S50? 15’ 13”W a distance of 169.77 feet; thence following a non-tangent curve to the left having a radius of 250.00 feet a central angle of 043? 15’ 58” a length of 188.78 feet; thence N06? 58’ 12”E a distance of 185.00 feet; thence S66? 26’ 21”E a distance of 150.09 feet; thence S51? 58’ 07”E a distance of 167.92 feet, back to the Point of Beginning.
Said Area 3 contains 0.98 acres gross and net, more or less.

The property has the county zoning of Parks and open space (P1). This is a zoning district recognized in the City. The applicant is undergoing a concurrent zone change from P1 to N3 (Zone Change 1077) to allow for future residential development.

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 must be located within Zone 1 or Zone 3 of the Limits of Annexation Map.
   • The area is within Zone 1.
2. The City must be able provide adequate city services at a cost acceptable to the City within a time period mutually agreed to by the property owners requesting annexation and the City.
   • The properties are already adjacent to a developed subdivision within City Limits. Connections to existing services will be addressed via the Annexation Agreement.
3. Existing or proposed public improvements within the area to be annexed must meet City standards.
   • The properties are already adjacent to a developed subdivision within City limits. Connections to existing services will be addressed via the Annexation Agreement.
4.  All property owners within the area to be annexed must sign a Waiver of Right to Protest the creation of Special Improvement Districts.
   •  A Waiver of Right to Protest the Creation of Special Improvement Districts is included with the Annexation Agreement.
5. All residential property owners within the area to be annexed must create or join an existing park maintenance district.
   • Parcels will need to be added into existing Park Maintenance District for Yellowstone Family Park.
6. Residential densities planned for development within the area to be annexed must meet an overall average minimum density of primary dwelling units per acre as per the current City of Billings Growth Policy or similar planning documents.
   • The annexation will result in the creation of approximately 7 lots for development, which would be consistent with the density of surrounding subdivision.
7. The proposed land use within the area to be annexed must conform to the goals of the adopted City of Billings Growth Policy.
   • Strong Neighborhoods (livable, safe, sociable and resilient neighborhoods): Neighborhoods that are safe and attractive and provide essential services are much desired. 
   • Home Base (healthy, safe and diverse housing options): Planning and construction of interconnected sidewalks and trails are important to the economy and livability of Billings. 
   • Essential Investments (relating public and private expenditures to public values): Planning and construction of safe and affordable interconnected sidewalks and trails are important to the economy and livability of Billings. 

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.

• Water and Sanitary Sewer: Public water and sanitary sewer service is available to the property proposed for annexation. The developer will be responsible for connecting to the sanitary sewer mains and water mains on Ben Hogan Lane, Tommy Armor Circle, and Quimet Circle along the frontage of the above-described property.
• Storm water: Any development will be compliant with the adopted Stormwater Management Manual. 
• Transportation: The developer tract will be accessed from Ben Hogan Lane, Tommy Armor Circle, and Quimet Circle. The public right-of-way along Ben Hogan Lane, Tommy Armor Circle, and Quimet Circle is already dedicated to the City of Billings. 
• 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 to meet and maintain our high level of service due to the increased call volume and burden on our department these annexations create.  The nearest fire station is Station #7, approximately 1.9 road miles or 5 minutes driving time to the subject property.
• Parks: No parkland or trails will be required as part of this annexation.
• School facilities: School District #2 did not raise any special requests or concerns during their review of this proposal. 

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: The annexed area is not directly serviced by a MET Route. The nearest route currently operates through the intersection of Rimrock and Shiloh. This intersection is approximately 2.5 miles from the proposed annexation location via roadway. MET does not anticipate that fixed-route would operate in the area until more significant commercial and/or residential growth necessitated transit service in the area. 
• Police: This proposed development is adjacent to established city limits and will not require an adjustment in schedules or staffing at this time. There is sufficient ingress/egress to the area. Despite recent passage of a safety levy, continued annexation and development will affect our ability to deliver service without commensurate resources.
• 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 it is consistent with the Limits of Annexation map and the criteria of the annexation policy has been met. Further, coordination with other departments does not raise concerns that cannot be mitigated. These decisions have a cumulative effect, therefore, City Council is being provided with a recommendation of approval.
 

This application has no impact on the Planning Division Budget.

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 ward boundary ordinance. On January 30, 2026, the annexation petition was submitted to the Planning Division by the owner's agent.  On March 23, 2026, the City Council is scheduled to take action on the petition.