The City of Billings has requested annexation of land to the City of Billings under Section 7-2-4400, MCA. The subject property is a parcel totaling about 69 acres. It is located on the west side of Shiloh Road at the northwest corner of the intersection of Shiloh Crossing Boulevard and South Shiloh Road, just north of the Knife River gravel mining operation. The property is being developed for a stormwater detention and treatment facility that also will serve as public open space with a trail corridor through it. The property owner is requesting annexation in order to have the property inside the limits for easier management under city codes. An application for a zone change from Agricultural Open Space to Public zoning will follow the annexation process and come to the City Council in late September.

The property is located within the five-year annexation area of the City's Limits of Annexation Map and appears to meet many of the City's criteria in its Annexation Policy. Since this is city-owned property that is being developed for stormwater management, it is an unusual annexation in that development for residential or commercial purposes is not contemplated and the impacts from the property on city services will be very limited (See further discussion in the Consistency with Adopted Policies or Plans section of this report). The City Council considers this annexation at two separate Council meetings. At the first meeting on August 11, the Council passed a resolution of intent to annex this city-owned property and set a public hearing date for September 8. At this meeting, the Council will conduct the hearing and decide if it will annex the property.

Montana Code Annotated, Section 7-2-4403, allows government officials to request annexation of city-owned property on behalf of the City. The only alternative that is consistent with City Council policy and state law is to conduct a public hearing and review the request before taking action.   

Since the City already owns the subject property, and the City plans to retain ownership of the property for its own use and has funded a stormwater treatment facility on the property, there is not expected to be any negative financial impact to the City.

The subject property totals about 69 acres. It is located on the west side of Shiloh Road at the northwest corner of the intersection of Shiloh Crossing Boulevard and South Shiloh Road, just north of the Knife River gravel mining operation. The property is being developed for a stormwater detention and treatment facility that also will serve as public open space with a trail corridor through it. An application for a zone change from Agricultural Open Space to Public zoning will follow the annexation process and come to the City Council in late September. The property is located within the five year annexation area of the City's Limits of Annexation Map and appears to meet many of the City's criteria in its Annexation Policy. The city limits are adjacent to the subject property on the north and east boundaries.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• On July 7, 2014, the annexation request memo signed by the City Administrator was submitted to the Planning Division.
• On August 11, 2014 the City Council passed a resolution of intent to annex the property and set a public hearing date for September 8.
• Public notice of the intent by the City to annex City-owned property and the 20-day comment period required by law was published in the Billings Times on August 14 and August 21. 
• On September 8, the City Council will conduct the public hearing for the annexation and may take action on the request.
• On September 22, if the resolution to annex is approved by the City Council, a public hearing and first reading of an ordinance to include the property in City Council Ward V will be conducted.
• On October 14, the City Council will conduct the second and final reading for the ordinance expanding the Ward V boundary.

Annexation of city-owned property by request does not require notification of adjoining landowners; however, it does require that the City Council provide a 20-day comment period and conduct a public hearing. Notice of the 20-day comment period and the public hearing was posted on the property on August 18 and published in the Billings Times on August 14 and August 21. The Planning Division has not received any inquiries about this petition at the time this memo was prepared.

Although MCA 7-2-4400-4407 does not specify the need to prepare a public services plan, it is the City’s custom to have staff prepare a brief analysis of predicted impacts to services and facilities. Since this property is owned by the City, staff has abbreviated this report to reflect the City’s ownership and proposed use of the property. The proposed annexation complies with the adopted Annexation Policy criteria as follows:

1. The area is located within the Limits of Annexation.
2. The City is able to adequately provide municipal water and sewer services to the property, although service needs will be limited due the use and operations of the facility.
3. Any proposed improvements to the property will meet City standards.
4. If annexed, any proposed land use will comply with the zoning. The property is going through a rezoning process to zone it Public, which will meet the uses planned by the City.

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. The County Public Works Department did not responded to this annexation request. 

City Facilities:

• Water: Water service is available if needed from Shiloh Road near the intersection of Shiloh Road and Shiloh Crossing Boulevard.

• Sewer: Access to sewer service for the property may be challenging at this time, but it sewer service is not expected to be needed for the stormwater facility and open space area.

• Stormwater: The facility on this property is intended to treat stormwater flowing from areas of West Billings.

• Transportation: The subject property has frontage on Shiloh Road. Access to the property is likely to be from the west side of the existing roundabout at Shiloh Road and Shiloh Crossing Boulevard. Access is likely to be limited to use of the area as open space and to service the stormwater facility.

• Fire Stations: The subject property is currently served by the Billings Fire Department through the Billings Urban Fire Service Area and the Billings Fire Department will continue to serve the property upon annexation. The Billings Fire Chief stated that as this and other annexations are built out, additional fire department resources will be needed. The nearest fire station is Station #5, located at 604 South 24th Street West, about 2.5 miles east of the subject property. Give the use of this property for stormwater treatment, emergency service demands should be minimal from this property.

• Parks: The subject property will be zoned Public and is intended for stormwater treatment as its primary use and open space park area as a secondary use. A trail is being built through the property connecting to the Shiloh Road trail on the east.

• Bicycle and pedestrian facilities: The proposed subdivision lies within the jurisdiction of the Billings Area Bikeway and Trail Master Plan. The property will have a trail around the stormwater treatment ponds as well as connecting to the trail at Shiloh Road and to future sidewalk and trail facilities to the west at 44th Street West. There also will be other amenities on the property, including benches.

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.

• Transit: MET transit system operators have no objections to the annexation request. Bus service now travels from King Avenue down Shiloh Road past the subject property and down to Pierce Parkway by ZooMontana, so transit access for use of the open space will be possible.

• Police: The Police Department states that continued development and annexation will eventually require an increase in resources. However, this property will likely not be a high service demand area given its

• Public Utilities: The Public Works-- Distribution and Collection Division had no objection with the annexation request.

• Public Works -Street and Traffic Division: The Street and Traffic Division stated that it has no problems serving the property.

• Public Works-Solid Waste: The Solid Waste Division had no concerns with annexing the property.

• 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; this annexation is 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. The Finance Department responded that it did not see any issues with the petition request. Legal staff also did not have any issues with the annexation proposal.

• Other Departments: City/County services including Library, Planning, and Environmental Health are only slightly affected by the annexation since they will continue to serve property whether in the City or the County. Planning staff stated that the stormwater facility was needed and combining it with open space and recreation makes the property a positive addition to the City.

Annexation of this property would adhere to the following goals, objectives and policies of the 2001 West Billings Plan:

• Ensure new development is provided with adequate infrastructure and services, including sanitary sewer and storm water control (Planned Growth Theme, Policy Q, Page 24).
• Employ innovative planning concepts to achieve desirable and well-deigned neighborhoods, protect the environment, preserve meaningful open space, improve traffic flow, and enhance the quality of life of West Billings residence (Planned Growth Theme, Policy S, page 24).

Annexation of this property would adhere to the following goals, objectives and policies of the Yellowstone County and City of Billings 2008 Growth Policy: 

• A healthy river ecosystem that supports multiple users (Natural Resource Element Goal, Page 9). Treatment of stormwater before it enters the Yellowstone River is a major purpose of this facility.
• Recreation facilities that serve the diverse recreational needs of Billings and Yellowstone County (Open Space and Recreation Element Goal, Page 10).
• Protect and increase the availability of public access to natural areas and trails (Open Space and Recreation Element Goal, Page 10).
• Healthy, safe neighborhoods and communities with sense of pride (Community Health Element Goal, p. 15).