Planning staff is recommending conditional approval of the special review and the requested variances from the CMU1 zone district requirements based on the proposed findings of the criteria for special review.

This is a special review request to locate a carwash facility at the intersection of Blue Creek Road, an arterial street and Santiago Boulevard, a local street, in a Corridor Mixed Use 1 (CMU1) zone district. The owner had previously submitted a zone change request to develop the same carwash facility, so the use would be allowed, and no variances would be required. The proposed zone change, which was denied by the City Council on September 26, 2022, was to Heavy Commercial (CX) zoning. The Zoning Commission had recommended approval on a split vote of 3-1. The City Council subsequently denied the zone change based on the location at the entrance to the Cedar Park Subdivision. The Zoning Commission and City Council understood the project would likely return as a special review application.

A special review is not an allowed use but a special exception to the by-right uses within a zone district. Special review is not always required for a particular use depending on the zone district. For example, a religious assembly (church) use requires special review in all neighborhood zones but is an allowed use in the mixed-use zones. A special review can focus on the site development details while a zone change cannot. For this application, we have received detailed information on the proposed use, the traffic patterns in the area, landscaping, drive approaches and similar details. The project as proposed cannot meet the building and siting requirements normally required in a CMU1 zone due to topographic limitations and traffic management restrictions on the site. These are variances to the code requirements and can be considered as part of the overall special review application.

The car wash facility will consist of two automatic wash bays and four manual wash bays. There is an office and storage space that connects the two different types of wash bays in an L-shaped layout. The site layout does not conform to the required build-to range on the front or side street for CMU1 due to a sewer easement along Santiago Blvd, and a 100-year flood plain that crosses the western half of the property. In addition, traffic flow management into and out of the property, also restricts the placement of the building on either street frontage. Auto-oriented land uses such as drive-through restaurants, carwash facilities, banks with drive through lanes and similar are challenged in any mixed use zone district to meet the code requirements. Other site elements required for carwash facilities in this CMU1 zone include not placing any open air vacuuming facility between the building and the front street or side street (Sec. 27-1005.Q(3.b), and not placing any bay doors on the front facade (Sec. 27-1005.Q(1). The site cannot meet the minimum front lot line coverage (65%), the build-to corner requirement, the location of surface parking to the rear or side of the building, the number of required entries on a front facade and minimum percent of window and doors on the ground-floor front facade. Any allowed use on this site with its easement, floodplain and topographic challenges would likely need variances from some of these building and siting standards as well.

The new zoning code has a variety of considerations and findings before a special review use can be considered acceptable at a particular location. The requirements are set forth in Section 27-1623.D as follows:

 

Planning staff reviewed the pre-application meeting information and sent the notice to interested parties and the surrounding property owners. The pre-application meeting materials are attached to this report. There are several parties that became involved during the zone change application process and many of these citizens live in the area of Cedar Park Subdivision. As of the date of this report we have not received any formal public comment via email or by US Mail.

The City Zoning Commission may take one of the following actions:

• Recommend conditional approval and adoption of the proposed findings to the City Council, as submitted by Planning staff;
• Recommend denial and adopt different findings of the review criteria;
• Delay action of the application until the next regular meeting; or
• Allow the applicant to withdraw the application.

The Zoning Commission may add conditions of approval or amend the recommended conditions of approval. If the Zoning Commission delays the application until the next regular meeting, the public hearing will be kept open to allow additional testimony and submittal of information by the applicant or interested parties. The applicant has not requested a withdrawal of the application. Any substantive change or modification of the application by the applicant, will require another public hearing and notice to surrounding owners.

The Planning Division budget should not be effected by either approval or denial of the requested special review.

PROPOSED FINDINGS OF THE REVIEW CRITERIA (27-1623.D)
1. The special review use is consistent with the City's growth policy and applicable neighborhood plans, if any.
Applicant:
Essential Investments - The proposed project is classified as an "infill development" making it very cost-effective to provide essential City services to the property. In addition, proposed with this project is street widening on Santiago Boulevard to alleviate voiced concerns of adjacent neighbors with ability to enter Blue Creek Road, in addition to provision of sidewalk and curb and gutter on the south side of Santiago to allow for safe pedestrian traffic along the subject lot's frontage. The proposed sidewalk and road improvements will end at the subdivision extents along Santiago, however they could be extended further should the area residents wish to petition a Special Improvement District to improve the roads and safety throughout the entire area.
Strong Neighborhoods - The proposed project will provide a service to the Blue Creek area of the City of Billings that is not already provided and often needed, currently requiring residents to travel back across the Yellowstone River in order to utilize such facilities. By implementing the proposed use in accordance with the Infill Policy, this development will also improve a currently under-utilized property that has remained vacant, and will begin contributing greater tax revenue to the City that can be utilized for other services within the neighborhood.
Mobility and Access - The proposed project offers to improve the Santiago Boulevard leg of its intersection with Blue Creek Road to improve access ability onto Blue Creek Road. Concerns voiced by residents regarding speeds on Blue Creek Road are sympathized with, however it is not believed development of the proposed lot affects these concerns as 1) mitigation of these concerns would need to be addressed by a combination of MDT, the City of Billings, and Yellowstone County, and 2) traffic generated by the proposed use is well below being statistically significant (i.e <500 trips per day). Zoning - The proposed project complies with the regulations outlined in the new zoning code in the following ways: the description of the CMU1 zone district includes "Commercial uses in the CMU1 district may be somewhat larger in scale and more flexible than the neighborhood mixed-use district, including more auto-oriented uses such as gas stations." The owner and agent believe that a car wash falls directly in line with the statement "more auto oriented uses".
Staff: There are nine Growth Guidelines in the 2016 City of Billings Growth Policy including Essential Investments, Placemaking, Community Fabric, Strong Neighborhoods, Mobility & Access and Prosperity. These six guidelines are most relevant to the proposed special review use for a carwash.

Staff agrees with the applicants findings for Essential Investments. The city spent several million dollars to provide water and sewer services south of the Yellowstone River along Blue Creek Road. There are very few users that are taking advantage of these valuable city services. Encouraging additional users to join the system helps preserve this investment, and increases the sustainability of system over time.
Placemaking:
"Public and private partnerships are valuable for creating enhanced entryways into Billings."
The proposed site plan and location can be an enhancement for this corner of the intersection. Planning staff is proposing conditions to enhance this entryway into Billings.
Community Fabric:
"Developed landscape areas in commercial areas encourage more pedestrian activity and vibrant commercial activity."
"Attractive streetscapes provide a pleasant and calming travel experience in urban and suburban neighborhoods."
"Cost-effective landscaping of public rights-of-way and entryways makes Billings more visually appealing to residents and visitors."
Planning staff is proposing conditions and enhancement for the street frontage landscaping.
Strong Neighborhoods:
"Implementation of the Infill Policy is important to encourage development of underutilized properties."
This is theme throughout the 2016 Growth Policy guidelines to encourage infill on lots where city infrastructure already exists and is not used. Building miles of water and sewer lines for very few users is not a sustainable investment. The water line was extended in 2003 and sewer lines in 2009. There are only a few hundred rate payers on this end of the system that extends more than 3 miles past the city's coterminous city limits.
Mobility and Access:
"Development of safer routes to school or to school bus stops is important because it promotes physical health and reduces vehicle trips, earning parents more time and less costs for transportation."
Casey's Corner, the gas station and convenience store to the north of the subject property, is the primary school bus stop for children in the Cedar Park Subdivision. None of the streets in Cedar Park have sidewalks or other standard street improvements. The proposed project will provide city-level improvements on the south side of Santiago Blvd, but more importantly the project will widen the intersection to allow right turn and left turn lanes, so traffic does not back up on Santiago Blvd. While this will not provide an off-street pedestrian sidewalk, it will reduce the existing potential conflict between walkers on the north side of Santiago and cars queued to turn onto Blue Creek Road. Other intersection improvements can include pavement markings and traffic control signs warning drivers of pedestrian traffic.
Prosperity:
"Successful businesses that provide local jobs benefit the community."
The proposed business has proven successful in providing local jobs and approving the special review would support expansion of the economic base of Billings. There are larger carwash facilities in Billings with more automated wash bays and self-service bays than this location. The applicant has proposed a size of business that fits the site as well as the market for the proposed use in this area. The South Hills and other points south of Billings provide abundant access to off-road recreational activity including hunting, fishing, hiking, biking and other outdoor activities. Off-road driving builds up mud, dirt and dust that many owners want to wash off as soon as possible. Providing this service south of the river will make this service more convenient for recreation users as well as residents in the area.

2. The establishment, maintenance, or operation of the special review use will not be detrimental to or endanger the public health, safety, morals, comfort, or general welfare.
Applicant: The proposed car wash is a beneficial use for the site given the site's property and topographical constraints. A car wash has limited parking requirements when compared to other uses. In addition, landscaping is proposed to be incorporated on the property in accordance with Zoning Code requirements for the underlying zoning and adjacent districts.
Staff: Public health and safety will not be endangered or detrimentally effected by the proposed use based on the proposed site and off-site improvements. The current traffic management of the intersection with Santiago Blvd and Blue Creek Road will be improved by widening the approach so right turn and left turn lanes can be added. The informal turn-around on the subject property will be closed off, removing a traffic conflict in proximity to the intersection. Curb, gutter and public sidewalk will be added to the south side of Santiago Blvd. Lighting on the property will provide better visibility of the intersection and on the north side of the storage facility. There are no streetlights on Blue Creek Road or Santiago Blvd. According to publicly reported calls for public safety services, there have been only 6 calls for services in the past 6 months. Three of those calls were at the convenience store. Convenience stores and gas stations provide opportunities for crime due to the nature of the business. Carwash facilities generally are not locations for crime opportunities. The proposed use should not be detrimental to the general welfare. Improvements to vacant property tend to have the opposite effect by providing certainty to the area, increasing the tax base and supporting city services where they already exist.

3. The site for the proposed use is adequate in size and topography to accommodate the use while meeting the other requirements of this Zoning Code, including zone district dimensions, landscaping requirements, and parking.
Applicant: The subject property has historically been a difficult property to develop provided existing property and topographical constraints including an existing 26' sanitary sewer easement for the City of Billing's main collection line, 100-year floodplain boundary encroaching on the west side of the property, and steep slopes along the east and northeast portion of the site. Given this, corner and frontage build-to requirements for the subject property are in essence infeasible to meet, and limit the ability of ANY development to meet standard landscaping and parking requirements.
Staff: Staff agrees with the applicant and has recommended the proposed variations from the zone district building, siting and use standards be granted and recommended enhancements to the street frontage landscaping to offset these variations. The size of the facility takes into account the size and limitations of the property.

4. The special review use will not be injurious to the use and enjoyment of other property in the immediate vicinity for the purposes already permitted, nor substantially diminish and impair property values within the neighborhood.
Applicant: The proposed use is compatible with nearby uses which include a water fill station to the north, storage units to the south, and the City's pump station to the northeast. A buffer of roadway is provided between the subject property and the nearest residential uses. In addition, the proposed car wash has been laid out to place potential noise impacts furthest from and directed away from the nearest residential properties.
Staff: Property values and the use and enjoyment of property in the area will not be diminished or impaired by the proposed car wash. Property valuation is primarily based on individual property improvements but also on the stability and certainty of uses on adjacent property. Until 2017, the property along Blue Creek Road south of Santiago Blvd was a vacant field with some informal storage by the owner. The larger lot was zoned Community Commercial and this smaller lot was zoned Neighborhood Commercial. In 2021, the larger parcel updated to Heavy Commercial (CX) to match the storage facility use and to CMU1 for this parcel to reflect the location at the entrance to a residential neighborhood. The parcels on the north side of Santiago Blvd are also zoned CMU1. Development of land for many use tends to increase property values within the immediate area. The development is not within the Cedar Park Subdivision and is on a major arterial street - a secondary highway as designated by the state.

5. The special review use will not impede the normal and orderly development and improvement of the surrounding property for uses permitted in the district.
Applicant: As development of the subject property is an in-fill development, the surrounding properties have all been developed excepting the lot on the NE corner of Santiago and Blue Creek Road. With that being the case, development of this lot would not impede the normal development of surrounding properties, and would benefit the development of the property on the NE corner of Santiago and Blue Creek road by widening the Santiago Boulevard frontage adjacent to that property.
Staff: Staff agrees with the assessment of the applicant. The lot on the northeast corner of the intersection has a concept development plan that is compatible with the proposed carwash. This lot also received site and building variances from the CMU1 district requirements due to the flood plain across the street frontage. Other lots with Blue Creek frontage (east side) in the area are all developed.

6. Conditions necessary to protect the public health, safety, and general welfare can be established.
Staff recommends the following conditions of approval based on the above findings and the applicant's stated intent. These conditions will be related to the listed categories above, but may include other issues specific to the use for a car wash.
1. This special review approval is for the development and operation of a carwash with two automatic wash bays and four self-service wash bays, five outdoor vacuuming stalls on the west side of the lot as well as parking on Lot 1 Blue Creek Storage Subdivision a 39,934 square foot parcel of land.
2. The carwash will be developed in substantial conformance to the submitted site plan along with any conditions of this approval. Operational hours will run from 5 am to 10 pm daily.
3. The building design and elevations will be as substantially shown on the drawing dated 9-22-2022 as prepared by AT Architecture - plan sheet A4.0. 
4. The applicant will install a site obscuring wall in the general location shown on plan sheet C1.1 - southeast property line and a portion of the north property line along Santiago Blvd. This will be a masonry wall or a facsimile of masonry such as "Rhino Rock" and will use earth tones for the materials. Wood, vinyl and chain link are not allowed materials for this installation. The intent of the installation is a visual and sound barrier. The proposed sight obscuring fence on the south side of the property may be wood or matte-finish vinyl material.
5. The applicant will install and maintain the required number of street trees along the inside of the new sidewalk (and masonry wall) on Santiago Boulevard. The trees will be a mixture of deciduous trees that will not impede or damage the existing or future underground infrastructure. Trees will be chosen from the Billings Tree List (pages 6 and 7 attached). The outdoor vacuuming stalls on the west property line will be shielded from traffic on Blue Creek Road with a combination of ornamental grasses, shrubs including evergreen shrubs. 
6. The landscape plan for the entire parcel and the street trees will be designed and stamped by a Montana licensed landscape architect.
7. The applicant will show on the site plan submitted for Building Permit the area planned for snow storage and the location and specification for the trash enclosure.
8. All landscaping shall be installed and maintained free of debris and trash on a regular basis. Dead plant material will be replaced with like materials as expeditiously as possible. All irrigation systems will be maintained in proper working order.
9. Pavement markings shall be provided to show direction of vehicle travel within the site, and pedestrian crossings and stop lines and signs at the access points on to Santiago Blvd. shall be installed.
10. There shall be no internally illuminated fascia on the building and all exterior lighting mounted on the building shall have full cut-off shields so no part of the lens or fixture is visible below the shield.
11. All parking lot light standards shall have full cut-off shielding so no part off the lens or fixture is visible below the shield. The maximum height of the light poles - including the base and fixture - is 15 feet above grade.
12. There will be no exterior building wall signs on the east building facade. Window signs are allowed on the entry doors.
13. Any signs on the site including attached building signs, freestanding signs and temporary signs will comply with the City Sign Code that applies to Corridor Mixed Use 1 (CMU1) zone districts at Section 27-1407.C. Lighted signs will not be lit during non-operational hours (between 10 pm and 5 am).
14. The applicant will submit a Building Permit within 1 year of City Council conditional approval and will complete the site development within 2 years of the issuance of a Building Permit. Failure to submit or complete the approved project within this time frame will void the conditional approval.
15. The requested variances from the CMU1 Building and Site Standards and from the Use Standards for a carwash are specifically approved with this special review and include the following: build-to ranges on both street frontages; build-to corner requirement; minimum front lot line building coverage; front door and window percentage on front facade; location of surface parking; location and orientation of wash bay doors; location of outdoor vacuuming stations; and maximum spacing of street trees on the eastern end of the north property line. 
16. Modification of the approved special review use is allowed with the following limitations: 10% or less expansion of the gross floor area, 10% or less increase in the number of potential building occupants, and 10% or less new parking stalls. Expansions also require conformance with all other requirements of the Zoning Regulations and other City of Billings code requirements.
17. The cessation of the special review use for more than 6 consecutive months, shall extinguish this conditional approval and the use may not be re-established except through a new special review approval of the City Council
18. The City Council reserves the right to re-open the conditional approval of this use at this location based on the failure to respond within 45 days of a notice of noncompliance with the specific conditions of approval. The City Council will notify the owner of its intent to re-open the Special Review at least 60 calendar days ahead of any public hearing on the matter.
19. These conditions run with the land use and are binding upon and must be adhered to by the property owner and any successors, transferees or assigns.
20. The right of building and occupancy permits are contingent upon the fulfillment of all conditions imposed by this approval.

7. Adequate utilities, access roads, drainage, and/or necessary facilities have been or are being provided.
Applicant: The proposed facility will go through a full engineering and permitting review from City of Billings Public Works for site layout and utility conformance to City of Billings Regulations. A queuing analysis has been completed for the project and has been accepted by City Engineering.
Staff: Staff concurs with the applicant's statements and positive findings on utilities, access roads, drainage and necessary facilities. There are no site specific conditions that would hamper the applicant's ability to fulfill the local and state regulations for access, utilities, drainage or other necessary facilities.

8. Adequate measures have been or will be taken to provide ingress and egress to minimize traffic congestion in public streets.
Applicant: A queuing analysis has been completed and accepted by City Engineering.
Staff: The proposed improvements to Santiago Blvd along with the closure of the informal access and turnaround on the subject property will minimize congestion on public streets.

9. The special review use shall, in all other respects, conform to the applicable regulations of the district in which it is located, except as such regulations may, in each instance, be modified by the city council.
Applicant: Topographical and property boundary easements will necessitate this lot be granted variances from certain requirements included in CMU-1. Those variances include:

• Required to build to the corner of the lot
• Occupy 65% of the front lot line
• Build to within 5-20 of the street-side lot line and front lot line
• Place parking on the rear, internal, or side of lot
• Window and door coverage on front facade
• Number of front facade entries
• Tree planting and landscape near eastern lot line with steep slopes - proposed to utilize sight-obscuring fence in this area until grades shallow out to accommodate frontage plantings.

Staff: Staff has agreed to these variances from the CMU1 standards for building and siting as well the use standards for carwash facilities. See proposed condition 15 above.