On November 30, 2015, the Planning Division received an application for preliminary plat approval for the proposed Glynn Abbey Subdivision, a major residential subdivision. The property is located on the north side of Rimrock Road between the intersection of 54th Street West and Rimrock Road and the intersection of Mickey Wright Lane and Rimrock Road. The subdivision is proposed to include 33 lots for single family residential development and one lot for open space/parkland/stormwater management area. Planning Board will review the plat at this meeting and a conduct a public hearing on January 26.  
 

Staff recommends that the Planning Board recommend that the City Council conditionally approve the preliminary plat of the Glynn Abbey Subdivision and adopt the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report.

PROPOSED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Pursuant to Section 76-3-608(4), MCA, the following conditions are recommended to reasonably minimize potential adverse impacts identified within the Findings of Fact.

1.  To minimize effects on agriculture and agricultural water user facilities, prior to final plat approval the subdivider will add language to Section VIII of the SIA  as to the maintenance responsibilities of the relocated and piped irrigation ditch and documentation in writing that ditch user Ted McFarland has accepted the maintenance plan for the relocated piped ditch.
2. To minimize the effects on local services, prior to final plat approval the subdivider will receive approval from the City Engineering Division for the content of the City of Billings Right-Of-Way Easement and prepare the easement document for execution and recording at the time of final plat approval.
3. To minimize effects on local services and ensure ongoing operation of electric utilities, prior to final plat approval the subdivider will provide written documentation that the Yellowstone Country Club has approved relocation and burying of the overhead power line that crosses the subject property and serves the Yellowstone County Club.
4. To minimize the effects on local services and address management of stormwater in the subdivision as per City Engineering Division specifications, prior to final plat approval the subdivider will update language in Section V of the SIA to read: “The existing property does not have any existing or active storm water detention or retention facilities located onsite.  The development will include installation of four (4) storm water ponds used for routing and detention.  Total detention volume within the central open space area will be sized in accordance with the Storm Water Management Manual for a commercial site.  Water will be pumped to the Cove Ditch from the ponds to reduce pond volume to pre-storm volume within 72 hours.  All ponds shall be maintained by the Home Owner’s Association.” The subdivider also will submit a copy of the agreement with the Cove Ditch for pumping storm water and the easement necessary to pump storm water to the ditch where it crosses Yellowstone Country Club Property to City Engineering for review  and approval prior to final plat approval.
5. To minimize the effects on local services and address management of stormwater in the subdivision as per City Engineering Division specifications, prior to final plat approval the subdivider will submit the Glynn Abbey HOA language regarding maintenance of the stormwater facilities to City Engineering for review and approval.
6. To minimize effects on local services and as specified in Section III (A) of the SIA , prior to final plat approval the subdivider will provide the required cash contribution to the City Engineering Division equivalent to construction of half a residential street to fund the future reconstruction of Rimrock Road adjacent to the subdivision to a Principal Arterial Street standard.
7. To minimize the effects on local services and public health and safety, and to ensure emergency access to the subdivision, prior to final plat approval the subdivider will receive approval from the City Fire Department and City Public Works Department that the access gates at the entrances to the subdivision are designed to meet all City requirements for emergency and maintenance access.
8. To minimize the effects on local services and ensure that the park land requirements are met, prior to final plat approval the subdivider will provide public access easement documents for review and recording and will show public access easements on the plat over the park land/open space areas of the subdivision to ensure public access is maintained for the park land areas.
9. To minimize the effects on local services, prior to final plat approval the subdivider will provide a letter from the United States Postal Service acknowledging its agreement with the placement of mail delivery facilities in the subdivision.
10. To minimize the effects on public health and safety, prior to final plat approval the subdivider will provide documentation that the subdivision has completed a Conditional Letter of Map Revision process through FEMA on the impacts the proposed project may have on the Special Flood Hazard Area of the Cove Creek Drainage, and an approved Floodplain Permit issued by the City of Billings Floodplain Administrator. The Cove Creek 100-Year Floodplain also will be delineated on the final plat.
11. Minor changes may be made in the SIA and final documents, as requested by Planning and/or Engineering/Public Works to clarify the documents and bring them into the standard acceptable format.
12. The final plat shall comply with all requirements of the City Subdivision Regulations, rules, regulations, policies, and resolutions of the City of Billings, and the laws and Administrative Rules of the State of Montana.

Two variances have been requested from the City of Billings Subdivision Regulations for this proposal.

One variance is regarding provision of sidewalks on both sides of all of the internal streets in the subdivision. The applicant is requesting a variance to provide boulevard style sidewalk on only the north side of Glynn Abbey Way and not on either side of Aston Bay Circle. In lieu of complete boulevard sidewalk within the subdivision, the applicant is proposing to utilize an internal trail network that runs behind the lots on the south side of Glynn Abbey Way and may provide pedestrian connections to the lots in the subdivision. Justification for the variance request is provided by the applicant in an attachment to this memo. It is important that the Yellowstone County Board of Planning understand that it is the Board that may choose to recommend to the City Council that the sidewalk requirements be waived or modified for local residential streets as per Section 23-406 (B)(13) CSR.

Planning and Engineering staff are not in support of the proposed sidewalk variance and recommend that boulevard sidewalks be installed on both sides of Glynn Abbey Way and Aston Bay Circle throughout the subdivision. Staff's recommendation is based primarily on the safety of pedestrians circulating within the subdivision and access for pedestrians to neighboring lots in the subdivision. Other benefits of boulevard sidewalks include snow storage, off-street and off-sidewalk location for garbage and yard waste bins, landscaping, and in some cases mail delivery.

The second variance is regarding the requirement Section 23-406( A)(8) that streets in a new subdivision that are aligned with existing streets shall have matching names. The proposed internal Glynn Abbey Way is aligned with 58th Street West where it intersects Rimrock Road on the west side of the subdivision. The applicant is proposing that 58th Street West not continue across Rimrock Road but have the name change to Glynn Abbey Way when it enters the subdivision. The City's Address Coordinator, City Fire Department, and County GIS (manages the street name database for emergency services), all support this variance request for the change in street name on the 58th Street West alignment.

• A subdivision pre-application meeting was first held on this proposal in June 2014.
• A subdivision preliminary plat application was first submitted to the Planning Division in November 2014.
• Since much of the subject property is located in a floodplain, the proposed development of the subject property in the floodplain required the applicant to conduct additional research, modeling and coordination with the City Floodplain Administrator, the State of Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. This delayed further action on the preliminary plat until late in 2015.
• A preliminary plat application was resubmitted to the Planning Division in November 2015.
• The Yellowstone County Board of Planning will review the plat application on January 12, 2016.
• The Yellowstone County Board of Planning will hold a public hearing on this plat application and is expected to make a recommendation to the City Council at its meeting on January 26, 2016.
• The City Council will consider the subdivision application at its regular meeting on February 22, 2016.
• The 60-working day review period ends February 26, 2016 for this application.

General location:              Northside of Rimrock Road at the intersection of 58th Street West abd Rimrock Road 
Legal Description:             Tracts 3 and 4, C/S 836 in the SW1/4SE1/4 Section 30, T1N, R25E
 
Owner/Subdivider:            Glynn Abbey, LLC
 
Surveyor/Engineer:           Performance Engineering and Consulting
 
Existing Zoning:                Residential-9600
 
Proposed Zoning:             Residential-9600
 
Existing land use:             Vacant
 
Proposed land use:          Single-Family Residential Development
 
Gross area:                       22 acres
 
Net area:                           22 acres (private roads are proposed)
 
Proposed number of lots:      33 residential lots and 1 open space/park land lot
 
Parkland requirements:    Parkland is proposed to be provided through provision of private park land in the amount of 3.7 acres