City Zone Change 955 – 301 - 317 Covert Lane and 1739 – 1747 Cody Dr  – A zone change request from Residential 7,000 (R-70) to Residential 6,000 (R-60) on Lots 5, 6, 7 & 8, Block 7, Happy Hollow Subdivision, a 1.36 acre parcel of land. A pre-application neighborhood meeting was held on February 23, 2017 at Oasis Water Park. A concurrent special review has been submitted. Tax IDs: C00404A, C00404B, & C00404C. Presented by Nicole Cromwell, Zoning Coordinator
 

Planning staff recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 10 criteria.

OWNER: McDonald Land Holdings
AGENT: Sanderson Stewart, Bryan Alexander
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Lots 5-8, Block 7, Happy Hollow Subdivision
ADDRESS: 301-317 Covert Lane and 1739-1747 Cody Drive - three, 4-plex buildings
CURRENT ZONING: R-70
EXISTING LAND USE: Three, 4-plex apartment buildings
PROPOSED USE: Special review requested to demolish existing 4-plexes and construct three 10-plex apartment buildings
SIZE OF PARCEL: 1.36 acres = ~59,242 square feet

Special Review 955 - request for three, 10-plex apartment buildings with parking lot and alley access.

Subject Property - The current zoning, R-70, was the original zoning of the property when the County adopted jurisdictional zoning in November 1973. The existing apartments were constructed in 1965, 1966 and 1967, prior to the County adopted zoning. The property was annexed to the City in 1984 along with many other properties in Billings Heights. The zoning remained the same after annexation.

Surrounding Properties - There have been 3 other zone changes in this subdivision and 2 were successful and 1 was denied. The unsuccessful zone change was for lots with frontage on Wicks Lane and the proposed zoning was Community Commercial (CC). This was denied by the County Commissioners in 1991. The 2 successful zone changes created 3 lots for multi-family development and 1 lot for an office building. Two more recent zone changes were approved in Meadowlark Subdivision and Superior Homes Subdivision to the north. These zone changes allowed the development of townhomes (duplexes) on slightly smaller lots than required in the R-70 zone. Planning staff found 9 other similar properties with multi-family apartments in the R-70 zone in this area of Billings Heights. In addition, there are at least 2 properties in the R-60 zoning districts nearby with multi-family development but no special review on file. These developments were constructed before the 1997 amendment that now requires special review for any new multi-family development in the R-60 zone.

NORTH:	Zoning: R-70 Land Use: Single family dwellings
SOUTH:	Zoning: R-70 Land Use: Single and two-family dwellings
EAST:	Zoning: R-70 Land Use: Single and two-family dwellings
WEST:	Zoning: Public Land Use: City-owned park land

This is a zone change application for existing developed lots at the intersection of Cody Drive and Covert Lane. The existing three, 4-plex apartment buildings were constructed in the mid 1960s prior to the current zoning of R-70. The R-70 zone does not allow more than 2 attached dwelling units. The proposed zoning of R-60 would allow the existing buildings to be conforming to the zoning. The owner could re-build the 4-plex apartment buildings on the property if the zone change is approved. The zone change would not allow the owner to add additional multi-family dwellings on the property without a special review approval. The owner could add single family or 2-family dwellings on the property with or without a zone change approval.

The site is 1.36 acres in total lot area and is adjacent to R-70 zoning to the north, east and south. To the southwest, there are several lots zoned R-60, but these are now owned by the City Parks Department. There are 3 additional lots on the west side of the large park that are zoned R-60 and these are developed with single family homes. The 15-acre park directly west of the subject property is zoned Public and managed as a natural park.

There are have been few zone changes proposed within this area of Billings since zoning was adopted by the County in 1973. One zone change was approved for property at 209 - 221 Wicks Lane to RMF-R. This 1.12 acre property is developed with two 6-plex apartments and 1 duplex (14 units).  Another nearby zone change was approved for property at 332-338 Sharron Lane. This 15,516 square foot parcel of land is developed with 2 duplexes (4 units). There are several corner properties within the area that have developed with multi-family dwellings or with multiple single and 2-family dwellings. In the immediate neighborhood, there are no apartment-style dwellings with more than 6 units in a building. Outside of the immediate neighborhood, there are a few multi-family apartments including the new apartments west of All American Pharmaceutical on Pemberton Lane, the Volunteers of America elderly housing apartment on Wicks Lane, and some apartments on Almadin Lane in Lake Hills Subdivision.

The subject property is within an established neighborhood and the existing 4-plexes were constructed prior to zoning in this area of Billings Heights. While the apartments have served as a good housing choice in this stable neighborhood, their useful life span is nearing its end. The site was developed without any significant off-street parking, landscaping or amenities for the residents. All types of housing and development now require a minimum number of off-street parking spaces, appropriate landscaping, enclosures for solid waste collection, complete sidewalks, outdoor amenities for residents such as outdoor patios, play areas and areas where informal social activities can take place. All of these customary amenities are lacking on the site.

Both streets, Covert Lane and Cody Drive, are built to current City street width standards - 34 feet from curb to curb - and there is adequate width to accommodate on-street parking and local traffic through the area. Both streets are considered local streets so traffic counts are not taken on a regular basis. Only 1 traffic count was taken on Covert Lane in 1996. The count was done west of Lake Elmo Road and resulted in a traffic count of 675 vehicle trips per day. On average, apartments generate 6 to 8 vehicle trips per day per dwelling unit. This number includes trips by residents as well as visitors and service providers such as mail delivery and trash services. The existing 12 dwelling units generate between 72 and 96 vehicle trips per day total.

Twenty five interested persons attended the pre-application meeting with the owner and the consultant team for the applicant. The sign in sheet and the meeting minutes are attached to this staff report. Many concerns were voiced by the surrounding property owners and residents on topics ranging from street capacity, the proposed increase in development density, concern with the lack of property maintenance, incomplete sidewalks, and on-street parking.

The Billings Heights Neighborhood Plan (2006), the Infill Policy (2011) and the City of Billings Growth Policy (2016) have goals and guidelines that generally support the proposed zone change for this property. Under the current zoning, the existing 4-plexes could not be re-constructed or have major repairs due to their legal non-conforming status. The R-70 zone does not allow more than 2 attached dwelling units for each 9,600 square feet of lot area. The existing zoning would allow the 4-plexes to be demolished but re-development could only consist of single family or 2-family dwellings. The property could accommodate up to 12 dwelling units in this configuration without a zone change. The newest residential construction in the neighborhood is over 10 years old, but assessed values for dwellings average between $150,000 to just over $200,000. The proposed zone change would allow the owner to demolish and re-construct 3 new 4-plex dwellings on the property without additional zoning approval from the City Council. It is a benefit to the area to align the existing development with the zoning regulations so investment in new construction can be accommodated. When properties fall into a legal non-conforming status, maintenance tends to be neglected because the investment is at risk and improvements generally never occur. In addition, purchasers and sellers of legal non-conforming properties do not have access to standard forms of financing or insurance. The Heights Neighborhood Plan emphasized the need to ensure new housing in existing areas fit in with fabric of the area and mapped this area as a neighborhood to accommodate a medium density residential development. Medium density, as defined by that plan, was between 4,000 to 7,000 square feet per dwelling unit. This medium density designation was not meant to be applied on a lot-by-lot development but an overall density in a neighborhood. The average density of this neighborhood from Meadowlark Lane to Wicks Lane and west to the BBWA (and excluding the park land) is about 3.5 dwellings per acre or 1 dwelling for each 13,000 square feet of land area. There is a good mixture of housing choices in the neighborhood ranging from single family homes on large lots, to apartments, to townhomes and condominium units. The 2011 Infill Policy and the 2016 Growth Policy support maintenance of existing housing choice in neighborhoods by ensuring the zoning is compatible and property investments are encouraged.

The Planning staff is recommending approval of the zone change based on the proposed findings of the 10 criteria. There is R-60 zoning is close proximity to the subject property and the existing multi-family apartments have been a part of the neighborhood fabric for 60 years. The proposed zoning will allow the property owner to re-build the existing 4-plex dwellings using traditional financing and will tend to stabilize and improve neighboring property and market values.  

Planning staff recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 10 criteria for Zone Change 955.