The Planning Board recommends conditional approval of the preliminary plat of Parkland West Subdivision, 7th Filing, to the City Council, and adoption of the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report. 

PROPOSED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
The Board recommends the following conditions of approval:

1. To minimize the effects on local service, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will coordinate with the USPS for locating and providing the correct amount of space for safely delivering the mail to the residents.
 
2. Minor changes may be made in the SIA and final documents, as requested by the Planning, Legal or Public Works Departments to clarify the documents and bring them into the standard acceptable format.

3. The final plat shall comply with all requirements of the City of Billings Subdivision Regulations, rules, regulations, policies, and resolutions of the City of Billings, and the laws and Administrative Rules of the State of Montana. 
 

On January 4, 2021, WWC Engineering, applied for preliminary major plat approval for Parkland West Subdivision, 7th Filing. The proposed subdivision creates 16 lots for residential development. The subject property is generally located on the east side of South 36th Street West between Crater Lake and Rachelle Circle. The property is part of a Planned Unit Development and is zoned Residential 9600 (R96). The PUD allows R96 zoning to have lots with square footage of 6,500. It should be noted, Planned Developments and underlying zoning were not impacted or changed by the recent adoption of Project Re:Code. The land is currently dryland grass with residential development to the north, west and east, with a church to the south.

VARIANCES REQUESTED
No variances from the City Subdivision Regulations have been requested.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• Pre-application meeting October 29, 2020
• Preliminary plat application submitted to Planning Division January 4, 2021.
• Departmental review meeting January 14, 2021
• Preliminary plat re-submittal January 21, 2021
• Planning Board plat review February 9, 2021
• Planning Board public hearing February 23, 2021
• Preliminary plat to City Council March 22, 2021
• 60 working-day preliminary plat review period ends March 31, 2021

PLAT INFORMATION
 
General location:                                The east side of South 36th Street West between Crater Lake and Rachelle Circle
Legal Description:                              Parkland West 1st Filing, Lot 1A, Block 6
Owner/Subdivider:                             Rod Lorenz
Engineer and Surveyor:                      WWC Engineering
Existing Zoning:                                 R96
Existing land use:                               Vacant land
Proposed land use:                              Residential
Gross and Net area:                            2.8046 acres / 2.8046 acres
Proposed number of lots:                   16
Parkland requirements:                      Parkland requirements were met with the Parkland West, 1st Filing
 

A brief presentation was given to the planning board about the proposed subdivision. President Woods called for questions and discussion from the members of the Board.  Board member Thompson commented that he thought Parkland West Subdivision was created in the 1990’s along with a park maintenance district.  The City Parks Department is responsible for the parkland maintenance.  He asked Planning Staff regarding the parkland shown on the master site plan in area 7.  Planning staff stated they do not believe this area of proposed parkland has been dedicated at this time. It was noted that there were three letters received from the same address from surrounding property owners stating some concerns with infrastructure, traffic and parkland. Staff presented the master plan that was done for this entire subdivision, and it shows that this development is progressing in substantial conformance as originally proposed.  There have been plans for infrastructure in place for many years and the traffic has been accounted for and new updates to the traffic study are submitted as engineering requires. The parkland has been dedicated that is required at this time and as shown on the master site plan. Lot 1, Block 6 was master planned for a church and single family uses, the church is constructed the proposed homes would be the rest of what was master planned for Lot 1, Block 6.

President Woods opened the public hearing and asked if there is anyone wishing to speak in favor or against West Meadows Subdivision, 7th Filing.  There were no public comments called in to the Zoom meeting.

Greg Reid with WWC Engineering, representing developer Rod Lorenz, stated that his research of Parkland West was showing that the subdivision first began in 1982.  He had no other comments.

President Woods asked for a motion on the proposed subdivision. A motion was made and seconded to forward a recommendation of conditional approval of the preliminary plat of Parkland West Subdivision, 7th Filing, to the City Council, and adopt the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote.

One of the purposes of the City’s subdivision review process is to identify potential negative effects of property being subdivided. When negative effects are identified it is the subdivider’s responsibility to mitigate those effects.  Various City departments, private service/utility providers and the affected school district(s), have reviewed this application and provided input on effects and mitigation.  The Findings of Fact, which are presented as an attachment, discuss potential negative impacts of the subdivision and conditions of approval are recommended as measures to further mitigate any impacts. In this case, there were found to be minimal impacts from this proposed subdivision.

In accordance with state law, the City Council has 60 working days to act upon this major preliminary plat. The 60 working day review period for the proposed subdivision ends on March 31, 2021. State and City subdivision regulations also require that preliminary plats be reviewed using specific criteria, as stated within this report. The City may not unreasonably restrict an owner's ability to develop land if the subdivider provides evidence that any identified adverse effects can be mitigated. Within the 60 working day review period, the City Council is required to:

1. Approve;
2. Conditionally Approve;
or 3. Deny the Preliminary Plat

This subdivision will have no fiscal effect on the Planning Division.