County Zone Change #686: A zone change request from Agriculture Open-Space (A-1) to Public (P) zoning on Parcel 2, C/S 3329, a 3.017-acre parcel of land generally located at 1525 South Shiloh Road. A pre-application neighborhood meeting was held on October 23, 2017, at the Yellowstone Christian College Chapel. Presented by: Karen Husman, Planner I.

Planning staff recommends approval and adoption of the findings of the 11 criteria for Zone Change 686.

OWNER:                                 Yellowstone Christian College        
AGENT:                                   Greg Reid, WWC Engineering
LEGAL DESCRIPTION:             C/S 3329, Parcel 2
ADDRESS:                              1525 South Shiloh Road
SIZE OF PARCEL:                    3.017 acres
EXISTING LAND USE:              Vacant
PROPOSED LAND USE:          College expansion
EXISTING ZONING:                   A-1
PROPOSED ZONING:              Public
 

None

Subject Property – None
 
Surrounding Property- The Christian College property to the north had a first zone change in 1976 from A-1 to R-150. This allowed the Temple Place residential subdivision to develop.  A subsequent zone change in 1998 from R-150 to Public zoning was approved for the Christian College Campus. This allowed the existing development to be conforming with zoning.

NORTH:   Zoning:       Public
                  Land Use:   School
SOUTH:    Zoning:       A-1
                  Land Use:   Residential/Agricultural
EAST:       Zoning:       A-1 & CI
                  Land Use:   Commercial, FedEx Regional Facility
WEST:       Zoning: A-1
                  Land Use:   Knife River Gravel Mining Facilities

The subject property is located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Hesper Road and South Shiloh Road. Both streets are considered principal arterial streets. The city limits are to the north at the intersection of Shiloh Crossing Blvd. and South. Shiloh Rd. and to the east of the property aligning with the BBWA Canal.  The property is within the Long Range Urban Planning Area on the City's Limits of Annexation Map and the property owners are in the process of asking the City to consider including it in the City Annexation Petition Area for future annexation. The current zoning, A-1, has been in effect since 1973 when the County adopted jurisdictional zoning around the City of Billings. A pre-application neighborhood meeting was held on October 23, 2017, at the Yellowstone Christian College Chapel.  There were five residents in attendance and their concerns were;

•  Are any traffic improvements required that will affect the residents? There are no road improvements anticipated that would impact nearby residents.
• Does the College need to discuss their future plans for the parcel?  As a Master Plan has not been prepared to date, future expansion of the college is the most accurate information available.
• Are the residential properties being rezoned as part of this?   No, only the college's southern lot is included in this application.

The City and County adopted the West Billings Neighborhood Plan for this area in 2001. The preferred future land use for this area was included in the large regional center designation for property on the east side of Shiloh Road from King Avenue West south to the interstate. Public zoning is an appropriate zone to include for a regional center since it allows not only the college expansion but other regional civic land uses and public recreation. Many of the arterial street intersections were preferred for small to medium sized commercial developments that would serve the surrounding residential areas.  The existing college campus, adjacent to the north of this parcel, was established in 1955, prior to zoning. The property was sold in 1973 and developed as the Yellowstone Baptist College. The County adopted zoning in 1973 and the subject property was zoned A-1.  A zone change was approved in 1998 to change the college campus parcel from R-150 to Public. The approval of the proposed zone change request would allow future expansion of the college campus in a consistent Public zoning district.

Planning staff has reviewed this application and is forwarding a recommendation of approval for Zone Change 686 based on the 11 criteria for zone changes. The property is adjacent to the existing Yellowstone Christian College, and low density residential uses and agricultural uses. It is in line with the existing growth in this area and would be compatible. The proposed zoning is a predictable land use and will fit in with the surrounding property.