Text Amendment – Project ReCode – Proposed Draft Sections 27-200: Zoning Map Update; 27-1600: Administrative Procedures
The Zoning Commission is conducting multiple topic-focused hearings on the draft zoning codes. This final sixth session of the City Zoning Commission will review the Zoning Map Update and the Administrative Procedures for the new Zoning Code.

Staff recommends the Zoning Commission review the Map and the Procedures and hold a public hearing. No action on the document is required at this time.

OWNER: NA
AGENT:
LEGAL DESCRIPTION:
ADDRESS:
CURRENT ZONING:
EXISTING LAND USE:
PROPOSED USE:
SIZE OF PARCEL:

NA

The current zoning regulations for the City were adopted on May 3, 1972 and unified with the County zoning regulations in December 1997. Since 1972, the City has amended the text of the regulations and added several zoning districts. The city has amended the 1972 zoning code 166 times in the past 48 years since its adoption. The City Council has considered over 980 changes to the Zoning Map. Some of these zone changes included adoption of new zone districts such as the Medical Corridor, the S 27th St Corridor, EBURD, the Central Business District and the Entryway/Interchange districts. Most zoning map changes were for individual parcels to "up zone" from a lower intensity zone district to a more intense zone district.

The Administrative Procedures in the existing zoning code include processes for zone changes, special reviews, zoning variances, sign permit reviews, corridor district reviews, written interpretations of the zoning code, Master Site Plan reviews, temporary uses and government use of public land contrary to zoning. The current code has dispersed these procedures through out the text. In large part this was for the ease of amending the code when new districts, or regulations were added over the years. Few changes have been made to the procedures since these were first adopted. A significant change was made to zone change approvals in 2012 when the code was amended to require a pre-application neighborhood meeting by the property owner. This was in response to several large and controversial zone change requests coming before the City Council without a significant opportunity for the neighbors to discuss or engage with the owner outside of the public hearing process.

NORTH:	Zoning: NA Land Use:
SOUTH:	Zoning: Land Use:
EAST:	Zoning: Land Use:
WEST:	Zoning: Land Use:

The Zoning Map Update and the Administrative Procedures are the two capstone sections of the new zoning code.

Zoning Map Update
The Zoning Map illustrates the zone district for each parcel within the city limits. The map and information on each parcel within the city limits is kept in the Zoning History records in the Planning Division. There are over 49,000 parcels of land. There are currently over 30 zone districts with three zoning overlay districts, including the Shiloh Overlay districts and the EBURD parking overlay. 

The Zoning Map update was a challenging and meticulous process. The Planning staff and consultant team worked with the Steering Committee and Working Group to assemble a final list of proposed updated zone districts. It was decided early on, the best elements of the current overlay districts would be incorporated in to the new use standards, landscaping and sign codes. There are no overlay zone districts on the updated Zoning Map. The consultant team and staff also following a set of good zoning map practices including:

• Developing a zone district equivalency guide
• Matching zone districts across streets and changing zone districts along rear property lines whenever possible
• Matching existing uses and development with zone district update - whenever reasonable and practicable
• Allow for transitions between more intense zone districts to less intense zone districts
• Allow for some more intense zone districts on the end of blocks and avoid mid-block changes
• Continuous updates of the draft map from June 2019 to present - errors, omissions and fact checking parcel history

Zoning Districts
The current number of zone districts is being consolidated and updated throughout the city limits. In January 2019, a zone map equivalency guide was developed to start work on updating the zone map to the new zone districts. This included the consolidation of ten residential zones into seven, and the reconfiguration of the commercial zone districts to better match the 2016 Growth Policy and the draft new Mixed Use zone districts.

Residential Zone Districts
There are ten current base residential zone districts

1. R-96 - Single family only
2. R-80 - Single family and two family
3. R-70 - Single family and two family
4. R-70-R - Single family only
5. R-60 - Single family and two family - multi-family with special review
6. R-60-R - Single family only
7. R-50 - Single family and two-family
8. RMH - Single family only - manufactured homes allowed
9. RMF-R - Single family, two family and multi-family allowed - higher lot area requirements
10. RMF - Single family, two family and multi-family allowed - no height restrictions, lower lot area requirements

There are seven proposed residential zone districts

1. N1 - First Neighborhood - single family and two family - generally replaces the zone districts in the core neighborhoods - mostly R-60 & R-70
2. N2 - Mid-Century Neighborhood - single family and two family - generally replaces the zone districts in the middle neighborhoods - mostly R-70, R-80, some R-96 and some R-60
3. N3 - Suburban Neighborhood - single family - generally replaces the zone district in neighborhoods built since 1972 - mostly R-96, R-80, R-70, R-70-R, and R-60-R
4. NX1 - Mixed Residential 1 - single family, two family and up to four unit buildings - generally replaces RMF-R, & R-60 where multi-family exists
5. NX2 - Mixed Residential 2 - two family and multi-family up to eight unit buildings - may include multiple buildings on a lot - generally replaces RMF-R, RMF and some R-60 where multi-family exists
6. NX3 - Mixed Residential 3 - multi-family with five or more units in a building - may include multiple buildings on a lot - generally replaces RMF-R and RMF
7. RMH - Residential Manufactured Home - all manufactured home parks and RMH districts

There are several existing zone districts mismatched to the parcel development existing in 1972 (or before). For example, multi-family apartments or manufactured home parks in Controlled Industrial (CI) zone districts or two family dwellings in R-96 zones. The zoning map was updated to reflect the actual use and development of these parcels. There were several areas of Billings' core neighborhoods where neighborhood businesses still existed but with a residential zoning designation. A goal of the zoning map update was to match the zone to actual development where the development was clearly an accepted part of the neighborhood fabric. For example, Harper Madison is a small retail food establishment in the North Elevation neighborhood west of the hospitals. The zoning for this location in 1972 was R-70 making this small neighborhood business a legal nonconforming use. This location has been a small neighborhood business since 1925 and is a treasured place in this neighborhood. A mismatched zone district places this business in a high risk situation. If it were to be damaged or destroyed, it could not be re-built. The proposed updated zone district for this location is Neighborhood Mixed Use (NMU). This district is intended to fit well into a residential neighborhood and the uses allowed and use standards required will ensure its compatibility over time.

Commercial and Industrial Zone Districts
The current zone districts for commercial and industrial uses include 14 different zones:

1. RP - Professional offices and some service businesses - no retail and allows single family
2. NC - Commercial and retail with some use and size limitations - allows single family, two family and multi-family developments
3. CC - Intense and large commercial developments - malls, car dealers, casinos & bars with special review - allows single family, two family and multi-family developments
4. HC - More intense than CC including some industrial type uses - truck stops, lumber yards, small manufacturing plants, casinos and bars with special review - allows single family, two family and multi-family developments
5. CBD - Central business district - some uses are restricted but generally all uses are allowed except industrial, casinos and bars with special review - allows single family, two family and multi-family developments
6. EBURD - Five distinct zone districts east of CBD and west of Metra Park - mixed uses and small to medium manufacturing businesses - mixed use buildings encouraged with a small area close to downtown for residential uses, a form-based hydride zoning
7. CI - Industrial zone used for less intense industrial businesses, wholesale and retail businesses, casinos and bars with special review and allows single family by special review
8. HI - Heavy industrial users such as chemical plants, refineries, processing plants, casinos and bars with special review - no residential uses allowed
9. ELC - Entryway zone equivalent to NC uses but residential use by special review
10. EGC - More intense Entryway zone equivalent to CC uses but no stand alone bars and casinos allowed - must include a restaurant, residential uses by special review approval
11. EMU - Mixed use Entryway district similar to EGC but allows single family and multi-family developments, restaurants serving alcohol by special review
12. ELI - An industrial Entryway district designed for large warehousing operations, wholesale operations but no residential uses allowed
13. S 27th St Corridor - Land along both sides of S 27th St from the CBD to the interstate focused on offices, multi-family developments but similar to the CC zone district for allowed uses
14. Medical Corridor - Land from 7th Ave N between N 27th St and N 30th Street up to Poly Drive - a point based development district - higher points for medical uses but all uses can be allowed with enough points

There are seven proposed Mixed Use and Commercial zone districts:

1. NO - Neighborhood Office - generally replaces RP zones or locations with mainly office based uses adjacent to residential neighborhoods
2. NMU - Neighborhood Mixed Use - generally replaces mis-zoned neighborhood businesses, some NC and CC zones where small retail businesses are directly adjacent to residential neighborhoods
3. CMU1 - Corridor Mixed Use 1 - generally replaces CC zones where businesses are on shallow lots along main transportation corridors
4. CMU2 - Corridor Mixed Use 2 - generally replaces CC zones, some HC and CI zones depending on uses, these are large lot developments along major transportation corridors
5. CX - Heavy Commercial - generally replaces HC & CI zones where uses are less retail oriented and includes contractor yards and suppliers, warehousing and logistics
6. DX - Downtown Support - generally replaces the S 27th St Corridor and the CC and CI zones along N 27th St and 6th Ave N - focused on more intense multi-family developments and office space
7. CBD - Central Business District - the district will remain the same as the current mapped area with no major change

There are two Industrial zone districts that update from CI and HI to I1 and I2. There are no major changes to these currently mapped areas or district regulations except where CI zoning was misapplied.

The Medical Corridor Permit zone district is being replaced with a new Public zone district category called Public 3 - Campus (P3). There are three proposed sub categories for the P3 zone that include Medical, Educational and Civic. This P3 zone is specialized for use in campus type developments so the core uses are established and the supporting uses are encouraged.

The EBURD zone districts will remain the same as currently designated and will carry forward into the new zone map and code.

All Planned Developments (PD) will carry forward and will show as PD on the zoning map.

Administrative Procedures
The new code will consolidate all processes and procedures into one code section for clarity and for ease of use. The procedures include everything from permit reviews to zone changes, master site plans and special reviews. The draft section includes a change to how special reviews are evaluated and the status of such uses under the zoning code. The current code states a special review use is an "allowed use" in the zone district and the city may only impose mitigation on the use through conditions of approval. This status has led to some special review uses that are not entirely compatible with the surrounding uses. In order to deny an "allowed use", the City Council would have to find no conditions of approval could mitigate the potential impact on the surrounding property. This is an incredibly high standard to achieve. The proposed administrative process and use table treats a special review use not as an allowed use but as a "special exception" to the uses normally allowed in the zone. There are expanded review criteria and a termination or lapsing of the approval if the use is not established or the use is abandoned.

The draft code Section 27-1600 also includes detailed descriptions of processes along with flow charts with review steps shown. This will help applicants understand how each type of process works without reading 10 or 12 pages of text. The amended code section also includes post approval processes, steps on how to appeal a decision and when approvals might lapse if no action is taken by the property owner.
 

Staff recommends the Zoning Commission review the draft map and administrative procedures and hold a public hearing. No action on the document is required at this time.