County Zone Change 682 – Kimble Subdivision 3rd Filing The applicant is requesting a zone change request from Residential 15,000 (R-150) to Agriculture-Open Space (A-1) on Lots 6-10, Block 1 and Lots 1-10 of Block 2, Kimble Subdivision 3rd Filing, and the anticipated abandoned rights of way within the subdivision, a 3.03-acre parcel of land. A pre-application neighborhood meeting was held on April 24, 2017, at the subject property. Tax IDs: A09614, A09615, A09616, A09617, A09618 & A09619.  

 

Planning staff recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 11 criteria for Zone Change 682.

OWNER: Dawna M, Kimble and Jonathan D. Kimble
AGENT: Peter Heidmann / Mountain West Veterinary
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Lots 6-10, Block 1 and Lots 1-10 of Block 2, Kimble Subdivision, 3rd Filing
ADDRESS: No addresses have been assigned
CURRENT ZONING: Residential 15,000
EXISTING LAND USE: Agricultural
PROPOSED USE: Equestrian Veterinary Clinic
SIZE OF PARCEL: 3.03 acres

None.

Subject property: None.

Surrounding property: There have been many different zoning applications in the surrounding neighborhood.  There have been 9 zone changes, 3 special reviews, 1 annexation and 1 de-annexation.  Kimble subdivision has had 2 zone changes.  One of those zone changes took place with an annexation and then was returned to the previous zoning and de-annexed after a large commercial project did not move forward.

NORTH:	Zoning: CC Land Use: Auto and Truck Repair
SOUTH:	Zoning: R-150 Land Use: Single family home and some commercial shop buildings
EAST:	Zoning: R-150 and CC Land Use: Single family homes and commercial greenhouse
WEST:	Zoning: R-150 and CI Land Use: Single family homes and commercial businesses

The subject property is located on the south of Kimble Drive which is off of Garden Avenue.  Surrounding properties are zoned R-150 and CC. Farther to the south and east there is Agriculture Suburban zoning.  Along the Yellowstone River edge to the east, the land is zoned R-150 and Agriculture Open (A-1). Some land along the river’s edge is zoned Public. R-150 is a zoning designation only allowed in the County.  It is intended as a larger lot residential zoning and requires a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet.  CC zoning is a zoning intended for commercial development that would include retail businesses, gas station/convenience stores, casinos and restaurants and other commercial ventures of similar nature, including storage units.  The property to the north is Jim and Tracys Alignment and the land is zoned CC.  To the east of the subject properties it is zoned CC and these properties are developed as residential parcels.  All houses on Garden Avenue from South 27^th Street, going south, to the first curve in Garden Avenue that turns to the west are on land zoned CC.  Property to the southwest of the subject properties is zoned R-150 and has commercial use on it without the required residential use outlined in zoning.  There are lots near the subject properties that are zoned R-150 that do not meet the required minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet.  Also, to the southeast is a camp ground facility that is on land zoned R-150. R-150 does not allow campground facilities.   Peterson Subdivision and Tenny Acres, two subdivisions to the south, are both zoned R-150 and the majority of the lots within those subdivisions do not meet the minimum 15,000 square foot lot size.  In the neighborhood where the subject property is located many parcels of land are zoned without either the intended use on them that zoning indicates or the land does not meet the required minimum lot size outlined in zoning. 
 
The applicant is requesting a zone change from R-150 to A-1 and intends to develop the properties as an equestrian veterinary clinic with boarding and an outdoor animal boarding/grazing area. The applicant intends to re-plat the property to create 3 lots without the road and alley currently platted but not fully developed. According to current information shown by the Yellowstone County mapping system and the City of Billings mapping system, there are 7 existing lots with a road dedication and an alley dedication. Two of the lots have the same Tax ID number assigned to them.  The road, alley and the lots have not been developed. The property has been used as pasture for horses in the past.  Of those 7 lots, 4 of them do not meet the minimum lot size required by zoning.  A-1 zoning is the only County zoning that will allow for an equestrian veterinary clinic without having to go through a special review process.  The applicant reviewed with staff other optional zoning districts that could be put in place for a veterinary clinic.  The other zoning districts that would allow the clinic outright by zoning are Controlled Industrial (CI) and Heavy Industrial (HI).  Both of those options would be extremely out of place and could bring unwanted development in the future to this neighborhood. If industrial zoning were allowed in this area, it could also set up the expectation that CI or HI zoning for industrial uses might fit in County area by the river.  It was determined that the most appropriate zoning for this location for the proposed equestrian veterinary clinic would be A-1 zoning.  A-1 zoning requires a minimum lot area of 10 acres.  The proposed parcel requesting the zone change is 3.03 acres. As was stated previously, some of the existing R-150 lots that make up the subject property do not meet the minimum lot size for residential development and if the property were rezoned to A-1 zoning the combined lots also would not meet the minimum lot size for the new zoning for residential use. However, under the current R-150 zoning or the proposed A-1 zoning, a single family home could be allowed on the lots under the zoning regulations. In this application, the owner does not intend to develop the property for one residence but for an equestrian veterinary clinic with boarding.
 
Planning staff in reviewing this proposed zone change looked around the neighborhood to see what surrounds this property in the way of zoning and land uses.  As pointed out earlier in the staff report, there are many parcels in the area that have use and uses that do not match the zoning of the properties and are not an allowed use in that zoning.  There is commercial zoning with houses on the property and there are commercial uses on land zoned for residential uses only.  There are parcels that do not meet the required minimum lot size in the zoning districts they are in.  The applicant is asking for a zoning that does not meet the required minimum lot size but the proposed use is correct for the zoning.  The proposed A-1 zoning does appear to meet the still rural nature of some of the surrounding area. The land that is proposed to have the zone change has historically been used for horse grazing.  The applicant is proposing to build an equestrian veterinary clinic which would maintain some of the current use of horse pasture but with a building on the site and other site improvements.  If the clinic were to close, the zoning would only allow a house or a use related to farming, which is the historic use of these parcels of land.
 
A neighborhood meeting was conducted by the applicant on April 24, 2017, at the subject property.  Six people from the neighborhood attended the meeting.  Concerns were raised about the flood plain on the land and the need to maintain existing accesses for utilities.  The notes from the meeting indicate that the proposed use was explained and that at the conclusion of the meeting those in attendance felt this was a good use of the land.
 
Planning staff has reviewed this application and is forwarding a recommendation of approval for the proposed zone change based on the 11 criteria for zone changes. The property is adjacent to low density residential uses with some commercial use in the area.  It is in line with the existing uses of the land and would be compatible with what is in the area.  The proposed zoning would bring predictable land use with it so the surrounding neighbors will know that it can only be used for residential or agriculturally related uses.

Planning staff recommends approval and adoption of the proposed findings of the 11 criteria for Zone Change 682.