This is a zone change request from Agriculture Open-Space (A-1) to Highway Commercial (HC) on an un-platted 63.32 acre parcel of land. The property is located south of the King Ave West interchange with Interstate 90 at 1228 and 1236 Mullowney Lane. Portions of the property are already zoned HC, but the majority is zoned A-1. The property is owned by Elizabeth Zeiler, and Ben Smith of Plante Moran Cresa is the agent. The owner conducted a pre-application neighborhood meeting on January 24, 2013 at the Kelly Inn at 5610 South Frontage Road. The pre-application meeting notes are included as Attachment C. The owner has submitted a concurrent request for annexation of the property. The City Council will need to act on the Annexation request before acting on this zoning change application. The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on March 5, 2013, and is forwarding a recommendation of approval on a 3 to 0 vote.

State law at Section 76-2-304, MCA, requires that all zone changes be reviewed in accordance with 10 criteria. Using the 10 criteria to determine the appropriateness of the zone change request, the City Council may:
1. Approve the zone change request
2. Deny the zone change request
3. Allow withdrawal of the application
4. Delay action for up to thirty (30) days

There should be no immediate financial impact from the proposed zoning. When the property is annexed, fees will be assessed based on the zoning and lot area. The annexation and zone change will increase the city's tax base. When a development occurs, additional taxes and fees will be assessed and additional city services will be provided.

The applicant is requesting to rezone an un-platted parcel of land from a mixed zoning of A-1 and HC to all HC and to annex the property into the city. There is no potential development project slated for the property at this time. The proposed zoning is identical to property within the city to the east and north, and property within the County to the south. Property to the west is zoned A-1 and is an active sod farm for Tvetene Turf. The area around the subject property has been developed for a variety of HC allowed uses including service business, hotels, and restaurants as well as more intense uses such as pre-stressed concrete manufacturing, distribution warehouses, and heavy contractors. Further south on Mullowney Lane are two substantial residential subdivisions on the east side of the road – Riverfront Pointe and Josephine Crossing.

The annexation will require a development agreement to improve a section of Mullowney Lane and to bring in utilities. This development agreement would likely defer these improvements to the time when a development is proposed for the site. Impacts from a future development of the site will be assessed and mitigated at the time of development.

Mullowney Lane is a collector street and handles about 5,500 vehicle trips per day. The property is a short distance from the interchange with Interstate 90. Mullowney Lane at this interchange area handles more than 10,000 vehicle trips per day. Additional right-of-way on the west half of Mullowney Lane may need to be dedicated when the property is developed. Improvements to Mullowney Lane will be required at a future date and will likely be based on development plans.

The HC zone allows a wide variety of land uses from residential to limited manufacturing as well as retail and offices. This area of West Billings has sustained a mixture of uses in this area of HC zoning since the early 1980s but many of those developments have focused on tourism industries and retail. The service businesses and retail uses have concentrated on the high traffic arterial streets such as King Avenue West, Midland Road, and South Frontage Road, and a few on Mullowney Lane. The industrial uses, manufacturing, and uses requiring larger buildings or storage yards have been developed on the other street fronts such as Interstate Avenue, Holiday Avenue, Cordova, Weil and Titan Avenue.

The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on March 5, 2013, and received the staff recommendation and testimony from the applicant's agent, Marshall Phil of Blueline Engineering. No other testimony was received. The Zoning Commission is forwarding a recommendation of approval on a 3 to 0 vote.

The 2008 Growth Policy states the purpose of the plan is to guide the long-term growth of the City and County by achieving planned growth. A primary objective of the Growth Policy is to ensure compatibility of uses between existing and proposed development. The zoning proposed for this parcel is identical to the existing zoning and uses within the city limits. Another objective is to provide for contiguous development without “leapfrogging” beyond existing city services. The property is contiguous to existing city services and population centers. An economic development objective is to encourage business location in gateway areas of the city. The proximity of this parcel to the Interstate 90 interchange at King Avenue West will encourage more economic development in this gateway to the city.

The HC zone is described in the zoning code as follows: “The Highway Commercial zone is intended to provide areas for commercial and service enterprises which are intended primarily to serve the needs of the tourist, traveler, recreationist or the general traveling public. Areas designated as Highway Commercial should be located in the vicinity of, and accessible from interstate interchanges, intersections on limited access highways, or adjacent to primary or secondary highways. The manner in which the services and commercial activities are offered should be carefully planned in order to minimize the hazard to the safety of the surrounding community and those who use such facilities.” The proposed zoning of the property is compatible with the goals and policies of the 2008 Growth Policy.

The applicant conducted a pre-application neighborhood meeting on January 24, 2013, and surrounding property owners or their agents attended the meeting. The Planning Division was not contacted by any of the surrounding property owners prior to the Zoning Commission hearing.

The proposed HC zone is compatible with the zoning north, south, and east of the subject property. The lots north are developed and re-developing for tourism related businesses. To the east are two large hotels and the Billings Convention Center. South and east of the property are two large residential and mixed use subdivisions. South of the subject property is the Titan Subdivision outside the city limits that supports several commercial, industrial, or trade oriented businesses. This gateway area to the city has provided a large measure of the retail and tourism related businesses for the past 20 years. The trade area for Billings’ major retailers reaches into Wyoming, northeastern Montana, and South Dakota. No specific development is currently slated for this site, but the proposed zoning and the gateway location will encourage similar development and uses.

The Planning Division reviewed the application and recommended approval based on the ten (10) criteria for zone changes. The Zoning Commission concurred with this recommendation and forwards the findings of fact of the 10 criteria for zone changes. The subject property is adjacent to HC, CI, and A-1 zoning in the county, and HC zoning in the city. The uses allowed within the proposed HC zoning are compatible with the surrounding zoning and neighborhood character. The zoning will bring additional economic development to this gateway area of Billings. The property is contiguous to existing city limits and adjacent to city services. Any development of the property requires compliance with the new zoning and the ability to meet City site design criteria and traffic safety standards. The 2008 Growth Policy encourages predictable land use decisions that are consistent with neighborhood character and land use patterns. The existing use and proposed zoning are consistent with this neighborhood and land use pattern.

Prior to any making a decision on the proposed zone change, the City Council shall consider the following 10 criteria:

1. Is the new zoning designed in accordance with the Growth Policy?
The proposed zone change is consistent with the following goals of the Growth Policy:
• Predictable land use decisions that are consistent with neighborhood character and land use patterns. (Land Use Element Goal, page 6)
The proposed zoning is identical to the adjacent zoning in the city limits. The current neighborhood character is a mixture of service businesses, retail, and tourism related uses. The proposed zoning will allow similar business and commerce on the property.
• Contiguous development focused in and around existing population centers. (Land Use Element Goal, page 6)
The proposed zoning will allow the contiguous expansion of the city limits and city services, and avoid “leapfrogging” development outside of the urban area.
• Attractive and accessible communities. (Economic Development Element Goal, page 7)
The proposed zoning will encourage new businesses to locate in this gateway area.

2. Is the new zoning designed to secure from fire and other dangers?
The new zoning requires minimum setbacks, open and landscaped areas, and building separations. The new zoning, as do all zoning districts, provides adequate building separations and density limits to provide security from fire and other dangers. The City Fire Department will ensure safe access to the site and provision for minimum fire flow to the new buildings.

3. Whether the new zoning will promote public health, public safety and general welfare?
Public health and public safety will be promoted by the proposed zoning. Any development of the property will require connection to the city public utilities and improvements to adjacent streets and intersections. The city and state have invested in nearby transportation systems and utilities that will provide service to the property. Additional users and rate payers for those systems will benefit the general welfare. The proposed zoning will result in economic development in this gateway area of Billings.

4. Will the new zoning facilitate the adequate provisions of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, fire, police, and other public requirements?
Transportation: The proposed zoning will impact the surrounding streets, and a traffic impact study will likely be required prior to development of the property. The City Engineering Division will have to assess any traffic impacts and may require street and intersection improvements prior to or concurrent with any development of the property.

Water and Sewer: The City will be able to provide water and sewer to the property by extension of lines. The developer will pay all related costs of this utility extensions as well as systems development fees.

Schools and Parks: There should be no impact to schools from the proposed zone change if the property is developed for commercial purposes, although residential development is allowed in HC zoning.

Fire and Police: The subject property is currently served by the Billings Urban Fire Service Area. City Public Safety Services has no concerns.

5. Will the new zoning provide adequate light and air?
The new zoning, as do all zoning districts, require building setbacks and separations so adequate light and air are assured.

6. Will the new zoning effect motorized and non-motorized transportation?
The subject property when developed will likely add several hundred new vehicle trips per day to adjacent streets. Anticipated traffic generation greater than 500 new trips per day will require a Traffic Accessibility Study to determine the impacts and to provide for improvements to those streets and intersections.

7. Will the new zoning will promote compatible urban growth?
The new zoning does promote compatibility with urban growth. Lower density development is inefficient and ineffective in recovering the costs to extend city services. The area is less than 500 feet from an interstate interchange and is adjacent to major commercial and retail businesses. There are compatible uses and zoning to the north, south and east.

8. Does the new zoning consider the character of the district and the peculiar suitability of the property for particular uses?
The proposed zoning does consider the character of district and the suitability of the property for a variety of commercial and service industry uses. There is no specific project for the property at this time however its proximity to the interstate and major transportation routes will allow for efficient and direct access to the interstate and regional transportation network.

9. Will the new zoning conserve the value of buildings?
Surrounding property exhibits higher taxable land value. The property is currently in agricultural production. The parcel currently has two residential homes and several agricultural buildings. These buildings and uses will be conforming to the proposed zoning.

10. Will the new zoning encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the City of Billings?
The proposed zoning will encourage the most appropriate use of land in this area of Billings. The proposed HC zone is identical to the adjacent zoning in the city. The adjacent subdivisions have been developed for a variety of allowed uses including service businesses, restaurants, hotels and other retail and hospitality businesses. The proposed zoning allows this mixture of uses and the development standards for site design, landscaping and transportation improvements will be appropriate for this location.