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. 

On September 1st, 2026, IMEG Engineering, on behalf of John Mullen, requested an annexation and zone change for the 52-acre property located south of Hesper Road and East of South 48th Street West, Tax ID: D00794A. Staff has found the annexation petition meets the seven review criteria for annexation, and is recommending approval of the Annexation Resolution. The zone change will be processed administratively per local and state regulations.

IMEG Consultants Corp., on behalf of John Mullen, submitted a petition to annex land using the provisions of Section 7-2-4600, MCA. The property is located south of Hesper Road and East of South 48th Street West. The land being annexed is described as being a parcel of land situated in the NW1/4, of Section 22, Township 1 South, Range 25 East. Yellowstone County, Montana, more particularly described as follows: That part of the NW1/4, of Section22, Township 1 South, Range 25 East, of the Principal Montana Meridian, Yellowstone County, Montana, described as Tract 1, of Certificate of Survey No. 3926, on file in the office of the Clerk and Recorder of said County, under Document No. 4108127, including all adjacent Rights-of-Way. Said annexation contains 52.00 Gross acres, and 49.89 Net acres, more or less.

The property is zoned A-Agriculture. This is not a zoning district recognized by the City. There is a concurrent zone change for this annexation (Zone Change 1088) with a proposed Planned Neighborhood Development that includes the zonings of Neighborhood Mixed Use (NMU), Mixed Residential 1 (NX1), First Neighborhood Residential (N1), and Open Space (P1). The zoning process is administrative per local and state regulations and does not come to Council for consideration or action. At the time of this staff report, the initial determination of this zone change by staff was approval based on the Billings 2045 Land Use Plan and Future Land Use Map adopted by the City Council.

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.
   • This parcel is located in 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.
   • This is stipulated in the Annexation Agreement.
3. Existing or proposed public improvements within the area to be annexed must meet City standards.
   • This is stipulated in 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 in the Annexation Agreement.
5.  All residential property owners within the area to be annexed must create or join an existing park maintenance district.
   • This annexation will create or join a park maintenance district as determined by the Parks, Recreation and Public Lands Department.
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 proposed zoning will provide for densities prescribed by the Urban Residential map placetype.
7. The proposed land use within the area to be annexed must conform to the goals of the Adopted City of Billings Growth Policy.
   • The proposed annexation and zoning will provide for the uses and building types deemed appropriate for the Urban Residential map placetype.

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 the design and construction of a sanitary sewer main and a water main in Hesper Road 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 Hesper Road and S 48th St W. The Public Right-of-way along Hesper Road and S 48th St W will be 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 #5, located at 605 S. 24th St. W, approximately 4.4 road miles or 8 minutes driving time to the subject property. The future site of Fire Station #9 will be located directly north from the subject property, across the street on Hesper Road.
• Parks: No Parkland or Trails will be required as part of this annexation. The Parks department has noted the applicant should provide trail connectivity from annexed property to the new West End Reservoir property to the east of the subject property. This request will be better fulfilled with the subsequent subdivision process.
• 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, MET Route, currently operates through the intersection of S 44th Street West and King Avenue West, which is the nearest accessible point to the property. This intersection is approximately 1.7 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 affect, 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 annexation agreement and ward boundary ordinance. On September 1st, 2026, the annexation petition was submitted to the Planning Division by the owner's agent. On October 12th, the City Council is scheduled to take action on the petition.