City Zone Change 947 – 505 & 521 S Billings Blvd – A zone change from Residential 6,000 (R-60) to Controlled Industrial (CI) on the south 2 acres of the north 4 acres of Lot 5 in the SW1/4 of Section 9, Township 1 South, Range 26 East, a 2-acre parcel of land generally located at 505 and 521 S Billings Blvd. A pre-application neighborhood meeting was held on May 24, 2016 at 430 S Billings Blvd. Tax ID: D01753. Presented by Nicole Cromwell, Zoning Coordinator
 

The Planning Division recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 10 criteria for Zone Change 947.

OWNER: Hanser's Properties LP; Ralph Hanser
AGENT: Sanderson Stewart, Bill Morgan, P.E.
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: South 2 acres of the North 4 acres of Lot 5 in the SW1/4 of Section 9, Township 1 South, Range 26 East
ADDRESS: 505 and 521 S Billings Blvd
CURRENT ZONING: R-60
EXISTING LAND USE: 2 Single family homes
PROPOSED USE: Vehicle Wrecking Yard
SIZE OF PARCEL: 2 acres

Special Review 944 - To allow the use of the property as a vehicle wrecking yard.

Subject Property - County Zone Change 14 was approved in May, 1974, to change the zoning from R-96 to R-60.
Surrounding Property - Property north of the subject property was changed from R-96 to R-60 and then to RMF in the mid 1970s and early 1980s. In 2004, Hanser's purchased these tracts of land and subsequently requested zone changes and special review approval to convert the property from vacant land to a vehicle wrecking facility. Hanser's completed these requests and expansion from 2004 until 2010. The current facility on the east side of S Billings Blvd. is approximately 11 acres in area. Hanser's also operates an approximately 7 acre wrecking yard, office and towing service on the west side of S Billings Blvd. directly across the street from the subject property.

NORTH:	Zoning: CI Land Use: Hanser's vehicle wrecking yard
SOUTH:	Zoning: R-60 and R-70 Land Use: Single family homes
EAST:	Zoning: R-70 Land Use: Single family homes
WEST:	Zoning: CI Land Use: Hanser's Wrecking Service

This is an application to change the zoning on a 2-acre parcel of un-platted land from R-60 to CI for the purpose of expansion of the existing Hanser's wrecking yard just north of the subject property. The vehicle storage yard is primarily used as a "pick-a-part" yard where customers may come into the yard and take parts off vehicles themselves. Prior to storage in the yard, all vehicles are drained of fluids and any hazardous materials. Vehicles are not stacked and rows of vehicles are spaced apart for easy and safe access by staff and customers. The 11 acres north of the subject property has been converted from residential zoning to CI zoning and special reviews were approved to allow this use.
The property has frontage on S Billings Blvd., a principal arterial street, on the west and frontage along Newman Lane on the east. Newman Lane is a local residential street. No access is proposed from this property to Newman Lane. Access to the subject property will be through the existing wrecking facility to the north. The two existing dwellings on the site will be demolished for the development. S Billings Blvd. currently carries about 10,000 vehicle trips per day north of King Avenue East. South of the subject property is Newman Elementary School and west across S Billings Blvd is Amend Park, a regional soccer field. Improvements to S Billings Blvd over the past 10 years have added traffic volume capacity including a center turn lane. There is no on-street parking along this section of roadway. The existing street improvements include a 10-foot wide multi-use path on the east side of the street in addition to a curb walk on the west side. There are two existing curb cuts to the subject property. These will be removed and the boulevard will be restored when the development of the property occurs.
Zoning surrounding the property is mixed from CI to the north and west to R-70 and R-60 to the south. Normally, the uses allowed in a CI zone, would be incompatible with the existing zoning and development in the residential zones. The proposed use, a "pick-a-part" wrecking facility storage yard, will have less impact than many other allowed uses in the CI zone. The existing storage yard has been a benign use of the property and has little impact on the surrounding neighbors since it was first development more than 10 years ago. The wrecking yard will need a license from the State of Montana as well as the zoning approval of the City Council. The proposed zone change and special review use are supported by the Southwest Corridor Task Force.
The Planning Division has reviewed the zone change and the 10 criteria for the application and is recommending approval. The zoning is compatible with the existing zoning to the north and west. The proposed special review use, a wrecking yard, will need to be approved prior to the expansion on to this property. The special review will have several conditions of approval to mitigate the potential impacts on the surrounding neighbors to the south and east. The zone change will not alter the character of the adjacent neighborhood because of site development requirements and no access will be allowed to Newman Lane. The proposed zoning is compatible with the surrounding zoning and neighborhood character. 
 

The Planning staff recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 10 review criteria for Zone Change 947.