The Planning Board is forwarding to the City Council a recommendation to conditionally approve the preliminary plat of Golden Meadows Subdivision Expansion, and adopt the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report.

On February 1, 2023, Sanderson Stewart applied for preliminary major approval for Golden Meadows II Subdivision for Rent of Lease. The proposed subdivision is an expansion of the existing Golden Meadows Mobile Home Park and creates 276 spaces for rent or lease. The subject property is generally located west of 32nd Street West, south of King Avenue West. The property is zoned Residential Manufactured Home, (RMH) The developer will follow zoning requirements with the layout of the proposed expansion of the mobile home park.

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

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 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.
3. To provide needed private utility services to the future residents of the subdivision, prior to final plan approval, the applicant will work with private utility providers to provided needed easements for their utility installation
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, policies, and resolutions of the City of Billings, and the laws and Administrative Rules of the State of Montana.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

• Pre-application meeting December 10, 2022
• Preliminary plat application submitted to Planning Division on February 1, 2023
• Departmental review meeting February 16, 2023
• Preliminary plat resubmittal February 23, 2023
• Planning Board plat review March 14, 2023
• Planning Board public hearing March 28, 2023
• Preliminary plat to City Council April 24, 2023
• 60 working-day preliminary plat review period ends April 27, 2023

Planning staff gave a brief presentation at the Planning Board public hearing for this subdivision on March 28th.

President Cook called for questions and discussion.  President Cook asked if there will be sidewalks along the interior of the subdivision and are there existing sidewalks on King Avenue? Staff responded there will be sidewalks within the new mobile home park and there is a sidewalk along King Avenue West. Board member Woods, confirmed there is sidewalk on King Avenue and S 32nd Street West. Board member Woods voiced his concern that the existing mobile home park does not have sidewalks, but pointed out it was developed prior to the requirement for sidewalks.

President Cook opened the public hearing and asked if there is anyone wishing to speak in favor or against the proposed subdivision. There was no one wishing to speak for or against. Ms. Sumner Anacker, the agent for applicant Jay Van Tassell, pointed out that the vicinity map on the preliminary plat has since been updated and the corrected plat will be provided to the Planning Division. Addressing comments from the plat review meeting she stated, the central box unit, CBU, for mail delivery will be located at the intersection of Willow Bend South and Willow Bend West. The CBU will be placed on the south side of the street and possibly the north side should there not be enough room for them on the south. Board member Stephenson asked if there are plans for a community center at this time. Ms. Anacker stated there is no plan for a community center with this plat. President Cook asked about school bus drop-off and pickup areas, Ms. Anacker said this will be addressed by the school districts. Scott Reiter, from School District #2 said this would be handled by the school district transportation committee.

There had been questions about the traffic impact study from the planning board at the plat review meeting two weeks prior to the public hearing. Mr. Joey Sayzack, a traffic engineer from Sanderson Stewart, provided a brief presentation focused specifically on the traffic study for this development. Mr. Sayzack explained the traffic counts for existing traffic on South 32nd St W were taken and the anticipated traffic from the proposed subdivision. They also considered a five-year span of crash data. He gave the explanation of the trip generation for this development being a projection of about a 7% increase in daily traffic. They are seeing a 5% growth rate in this end of town.  Recommendations were made for signal timing upgrades at King Avenue West and Gabel Road. Another recommendation is limiting permissive left turning lights, flashing yellow left turn arrows, and have them work to allow a certain amount of traffic to turn and then turn red to allow straight through traffic. As required by the City, financial proportional contributions will be required for intersections and road improvements. Board member Staley voiced concerns with the blind hill south of this development headed north to King Avenue from Gabel Road. Also crashes resulting from those trying to get out of the mobile home park or waiting in the road to turn into the mobile home park. Mr. Sayzack said these approaches have been considered, and no crashes were noted on the intersections going in or out of the mobile home park for the past five years.  He said they do not expect more than one vehicle queued on 32nd to make the turn. Board member Nordel asked who will be making certain the recommendations are implemented. Mr. Sayzack stated the recommendations for signal timing, signal phasing, and monitoring the signal on Gabel Road, fall into the City’s hands for implementation.

Mr. Rick Leuthold stated he had spoken with Greg MacDonald, the property owner to the west, Mr. Leuthold provided copies of a letter from Gregory MacDonald who is in full support of this project. Mr. Leuthold said currently the ponds west of the development could be considered an “attractive nuisance” and they will be installing a fence along the west property line at this time, with no trespassing signs, to help minimize access to the ponds in consideration of children’s safety. This will be addressed within the Subdivision Improvement Agreement for this development. With regard to the community center, Mr. Leuthold said there is a facility that can be used as a community center within the existing neighborhood to the north. Wyeth Friday asked about the parkland on the west and a connection to the west in the future. Mr. Leuthold stated there are possible future plans to develop the land to the west and to incorporate the ponds as an amenity to the area. Until that happens, the fence is needed to limit access. The proposed parkland for this development is along the west and there will be a chain link fencing and a significant level of landscaping. The perimeter fence will be built with the initial development.

President Cook closed the public hearing and called for a motion. Board member Stephenson made a motion and Board member Ronquillo seconded the motion to forward to the City Council a recommendation to conditionally approve the preliminary plat of Golden Meadows Subdivision Expansion, and adoption of the Findings of Fact as presented in the staff report. Board member Woods commented he has concerns with older subdivisions that do not have sidewalks. Board member Nordel feels this area of Billings will be revisited as more pressure is put on existing roads, stating modifications will be needed for infrastructure. The motion carried with a unanimous voice vote.

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 plat ends on April 27, 2023. 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 plat will have no fiscal impacts on the City/County Planning Division.

One of the purposes of the City’s 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 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.