County Zone Change 689 - 56th and Neibauer - The applicant is requesting a zone change from Agriculture Open-Space to Residential 15,000 (R-150) on the east 45 acres of C/S 3185, Parcel 2, an 87.36-acre parcel of land, generally located on the south side of Neibauer Rd between the BBWA Canal and S 54^th St West. A pre-application neighborhood meeting was held on June 25, 2018, on Abby Road at the subject property. Presented by Karen Husman, Planner I

Approval of Zone Change #689 and adoption of the 11 criteria for this zone change.

OWNER:                                  Samm LLC, David Wagner
AGENT:                                    Marshall Phil, Blueline Engineering
LEGAL DESCRIPTION:              C/S 3185, Parcel 2
SIZE OF PARCEL:                     87.36-acres
EXISTING LAND USE:               Agricultural
PROPOSED LAND USE:          Residential
EXISTING ZONING:                   A-1
PROPOSED ZONING:              R-150

Mackenzie Meadows Subdivision, 2^nd filing, Preliminary Plat.

SUBJECT PROPERTY	Zone Change	DATE	FOR	APPROVED (Y/N)
CS 3185 Parcel2	None
SURROUNDING PROPERTY	Zone Change	DATE	FOR	APPROVED (Y/N)
Harvest Lane Sub	228	1/23/1979	ZC from A-1 to R150	Yes
Hamberg Sub	228	1/23/1979	ZC from A-1 to R150	Yes
2230 S 44th St. W	683	9/26/2017	ZC from A-1 to R150	Yes
C/S 1285 Tr 1	197	8/1/1978	ZC from A-1 to R150	Yes
C/S 1321	197	8/1/1978	ZC from A-1 to R150	Yes
C/S 1186 Tr1	197	8/1/1978	ZC from A-1 to R150	Yes
C/S 1186 Tr 4A	464	11/2/1995	ZC from A-1 to R150	Yes
C/S 1285 Tr 2,3,4	382	9/10/1985	ZC from A-1 to R150	Yes
McGuinness Sub	450	6/14/1994	ZC from A-1 to R150	Yes
C/S 1100 Tr 2	274	3/4/1980	ZC from A-1 to R150 & NC	Yes

NORTH:   Zoning:       A-1 & A-S
                  Land Use:   Residential/Agricultural
SOUTH:    Zoning:       A-1
                  Land Use:   Agricultural
EAST:       Zoning:      A-1
                 Land Use:   Agricultural
WEST:      Zoning: Un-zoned
                 Land Use:   Residential

The current zoning, A-1, has been in effect since 1973 when the County adopted jurisdictional zoning around the City of Billings. The applicant is requesting a zone change from A-1 to R-150 on the east 45 acres of C/S 3185, Parcel 2, an 87.36-acre parcel of land, generally located on the south side of Neibauer Rd between the BBWA Canal and S 54^th St West.  
 
The applicant intends to subdivide the property into residential lots within the zoning jurisdiction, with the remainder of the subdivision outside of the jurisdictional area to be used for residential and commercial development. A condition of preliminary plat approval for the subdivision requires the zone change be completed and approved prior to final plat approval, which would allow the creation of lots of less than 10 acres in area. The 10-acre minimum is required for A-1 zoning. The proposed R-150 zoning allows minimum lot sizes of 15,000 square feet.
 
A neighborhood meeting was conducted by the applicant on June 25, 2018, at Abby Way, with 18 members of the public in attendance. Marshall Phil with Blue Line Engineering explained the zone change request to R-150 was not for the entire property, but from approximately the middle of Abby Road to the east at the BBWA.  The attendees were provided a copy of the major subdivision plan for 163 residential and 24 commercial lots proposed for the property.  There was discussion regarding the residential use of the property. It was explained there would be restriction to one single family home per lot.  There was discussion regarding the water supply to the new parcels and it was clarified there would be a combination of single and shared wells.  There was discussion regarding the covenants and conditions that would place restrictions on the subdivision. There were concerns regarding DEQ requirements and the restrictions for drilling wells and establishing septic systems. The details of discussion at the pre application meeting are highlighted in the attachments. 

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 and agricultural uses. It is in line with the existing growth in this area and would be compatible with what is already there.  The proposed zoning would bring predictable land use with it.