This is a zone change that will amend Section 27-1401 through 27-1424 of the Billings, Montana City Code (BMCC) to correct reference errors and amend sections regulating signage for assembly uses in residential zones. The existing code has numerous small reference errors and issues with regulating signage for churches, schools, and similar assembly uses and needs to be updated. The City Zoning Commission initiated this amendment on February 7, 2012. The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on March 6, 2012, and is forwarding a recommendation of approval on a 4-0 vote.

The City Council may:
1. Approve the zone change
2. Deny the zone change
3. Allow withdrawal of the zone change
4. Delay action for up to thirty (30) days

There should be no financial impact to the City from the proposed amendment.

The current code was originally adopted in 2004 and included a provision to review the regulations on a continual basis to make amendments after the initial implementation. Although carefully written, the code has numerous small reference errors that need to be addressed so designers and administrators of the code can correctly interpret and implement the code.

The signage issue is directly related to a federal law – the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act or RLUIPA – that protects religious land uses from more stringent or burdensome land use regulations than what is applied to a similar non-religious assembly land use. For example, land use regulations applied to schools must be equal to or less burdensome for religious land uses. The Shiloh Corridor Overlay District regulations has less stringent sign regulations for schools, hospitals, police and fire stations, post offices and public golf courses than it applies to churches and other religious land uses. The amendment will eliminate the enumeration of assembly type uses and treat all such uses equally.

The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on March 6, 2012, and received no public testimony. The Planning Staff explained the proposed amendments. The Zoning Commission is forwarding a recommendation of approval on a 4-0 vote.

Prior to any action to approve or disapprove, the City Council will consider the recommendation of the Zoning Commission and testimony at the public hearing. The Shiloh Corridor Overlay District is required to be reviewed and updated as necessary. The sign code section of the district needs to be amended to be consistent with federal law and discrepancies in references need to be corrected. Clarity in regulations is encouraged by the Growth Policy and the City Council goals.