Staff proposes the Planning Board recommend to City Council and Board of County Commissioners that the preliminary plat of Ridgeline Subdivision be conditionally approved and adopt the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report. 

On October 1, 2021, Performance Engineering, applied for preliminary major plat approval for Ridgeline Subdivision. The proposed subdivision creates 11 lots for residential and commercial development. The subject property is generally located on the north east corner of the intersection of King Avenue West and South 48th Street West. The property is zoned PND, builders will follow the PND when developing the lots. This property is part of an already approved Planned Neighborhood Development and phased annexation plan. The Development Agreement between the City and Developer outlines the timeline for approval of the phasing. This preliminary plat is for the property in its entirety. As such, the City will be the approving body and the Board of County Commissioners will also acknowledge the plat and terms of development. The phased nature of the annexation is why both the City Council and Board of County Commissioners are involved in the review and approval of this plat. 

VARIANCES REQUESTED
The applicant is not requesting a variance from the subdivision regulations.

PROPOSED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
Pursuant to Section 76-3-608(4), MCA, the following conditions are recommended to reasonably minimize potential adverse impacts identified within the Findings of Fact.

1. To protect public health and safety, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will submit all drawings and specifications for water systems, sewer systems and stormwater systems to the City of Billings Engineering Department for review and approval prior to installation.
2. To protect public health and safety, prior to final plat approval, the applicant will submit all drawings and specifications for fire hydrants and their locations to the City of Billings Fire Department for review and approval prior to installation.
3. 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. 
4. 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.
5. 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.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• Pre-application meeting April 15, 2021
• Preliminary plat application submitted to Planning Division on October 1, 2021
• Departmental review meeting October 14, 2021
• Preliminary plat resubmittal October 21, 2021
• Planning Board plat review November 9, 2021
• Planning Board public hearing November 23, 2021
• Preliminary plat to City Council December 20, 2021
• Preliminary plat to Board of County Commissioners December 21, 2021
• 60 working-day preliminary plat review period ends December 30, 2021

PLAT INFORMATION

General location:                                Northeast corner of the intersection of King Avenue West and South 48th Street West

Legal Description:                              COS 983 Parcel 2G1, 2H1, 2C and 14

Owner/Subdivider:                             Kelly Coleman

Engineer and Surveyor:                      Performance Engineering

Existing Zoning:                                 PD

Existing land use:                                Farmland

Proposed land use:                              Residential/Commercial

Gross and Net area:                             65.317 acres / 57.635 acres

Proposed number of lots:                    11

Lot size:                                               Max:    16.11 acres
                                                            Min.:    10,001 square feet

Parkland requirements:                       Parkland dedication requirement is 5.310 acres. The applicant is proposing to have 5.334 acres. The parkland will be private parks maintained by the subdivision.

There are no stakeholder responses at this time. On November 23rd, at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Planning Board, public comment will be formally received during a public hearing.

In accordance with state law, the Governing Body has 60 working days to act upon this major preliminary plat. The 60 working day review period for the proposed plat ends on December 30, 2021. Subdivision regulations also require that preliminary plats be reviewed using specific criteria, as stated within this report. The Governing Body 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 Governing Body is required to:
1. Approve;
2. Conditionally Approve; or
3. Deny the Preliminary Plat

This plat will have no fiscal impacts on the City/County Planning Division.

One of the purposes of the subdivision review process is to identify potential negative effects of property being subdivided. Negative effects that are identified become the subdivider’s responsibility to mitigate.  Various 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.