• The Zoning Commission recommends approval on a 3-0 vote, including the findings of the 10 review criteria, amendments to Neighborhood and Mixed Residential zone district garage location and building and siting requirements; and Fence materials in commercial and residential zone districts.
  • The City Council approved these items on first reading.
• The Zoning Commission recommends approval on a 2-1 vote including the findings of the 10 review criteria amendments to the Sign Code including a recommended amendment to the proposed 700-foot separation distance from a residence district for a new billboard in a CMU2 zone district be reduced to 500 feet.
  • Council approved the proposed sign code amendment ordinance except for Section 7 related to billboards, on a 9-2 vote.
  • The Council approved an amended Section 7 of the sign code ordinance to remove the language increasing the separation distance from residential zones for new billboard signs in CMU2 zone districts. The motion was approved on a 9-2 vote.

Staff recommends the City Council approve these items on second reading to be consistent with first reading action.

In February 2021, the City Council adopted a new zoning code and zoning map for the entire city. The Council directed staff to continually monitor the new code to ensure the text of the regulations was working as intended and any corrections or housekeeping changes could be made. The Council also directed staff to monitor the implementation to consider any substantive changes to adjust the code, so it continues to provide support to the development goals of the adopted Growth Policy and general policies of Billings.

Planning staff brought forward a bundle of code corrections and amendments last year (June 2022). Those amendments were approved by the Council. Planning staff has been working on more substantive amendments to the code based on staff experience implementing the new code, information from professionals who use the code, and from the Council in its reviews of zoning applications. These substantive amendments include adjustments to the Neighborhood building and siting standards, the sign code, the Planned Neighborhood Development (PND) process, open space requirements for PNDs and multifamily developments, zoning at annexation as well as the right to rebuild residential structures in mixed-use and commercial zone districts. These adjustments are not indicators of a "broken" set of regulations. Just as a new car or truck has a break-in period, so do new codes and regulations. As a completely new code, the need to monitor for glitches or "pain points" is important. These adjustments are just part of breaking in a new code. Planning staff believes this set of amendments should be the last significant adjustments needed for a few years. Planning staff and the City Council should re-visit the zoning and other land development codes regularly and when a new Growth Policy is adopted.

The City Council took action to initiate these amendments for review, public hearings and adoption at its meeting on April 24. The City Council's action was to begin the process of public review and adoptions. The City Council will act on the specific amendments once the Zoning Commission provides a recommendation and once the Council holds a public hearing. The number of amendments requires these to be brought forward in phases. This first phase will include changes to the Neighborhood Districts building and siting standards, the code section on fence materials and the sign code. Planning staff has worked with several stakeholders over the last several months to craft the draft amendments. This report will describe each amendment and will include just one set of findings for the review criteria for all four ordinances. Each ordinance by city regulation may only address a single comprehensive subject, must have a public hearing and recommendation from the Zoning Commission and then must be voted on by the City Council at two separate meetings through a first and second reading.
 

Neighborhood Districts - Building and Siting Standards - Section 27-300 and 27-1802

The intent of the new districts for residential areas of the city was to ensure new development was maintaining similar development patterns that were successful in Billings and to allow more housing choices in every new neighborhood. There are seven residential zone districts, and five of those districts have building and siting standards that are "form" oriented requirements such as roof pitch, percent of windows and doors on a front facade, build-to zones (not setbacks) as well as location of parking and attached garages.

As staff, builders and developers have implemented the new code there were several areas identified that were unclear, or were too rigid to accommodate building styles and good development patterns. For example, in the five districts where build-to zones are required, the code is silent on what percentage of the front facade is required to be within the build-to zone. Staff has interpreted the code requirement to mean 100% of the front facade. This allows little facade variation that results in less visual appeal on the street frontage. Staff is proposing to specify what percentage of the facade and what facade elements must be in the build-to zone. The range of the build-to zone is also relatively small - between 8 and 20 feet generally. Setting a certain percentage for the front facade in the build-to zone and expanding the build-to zone will allow more variation in building design without allowing buildings to be set too far
back from the street.

Staff has found some of the requirements for build-to zones and roof pitch are not clearly the norm in many neighborhoods. For example, neighborhoods south of Grand Avenue close to downtown have every type of roof style including flat and parapet roofs. Staff is proposing to relax the roof pitch standards to allow more flexibility. Staff has found the code is also too stringent for infill projects by requiring an owner to match the existing setbacks of adjacent homes (build-to zone averaging). Many of these first and second neighborhoods in Billings have large front setbacks, or only a second home at the back of the lot where the "front" house was destroyed. This provision has a good intent but as applied has unintentionally pushed new residences or additions further back from the street frontage than necessary or intended. Developed neighborhoods also have more utility lines - gas, power, water and sewer - that cross through backyards than newer developments. Sometimes the only way to add on to an existing home in these areas is on the front. Staff is proposing to change this from a mandatory requirement to a choice by the owner to expand the maximum build-to zone. The default will be the build-to zone as listed in the district table.

Staff has also encountered difficulty with the requirement to place any accessory building in a rear yard. Many corner lots are developed with no "rear" yard - the space behind the residence between the property line and the home. Most only have a side adjacent to street yard to place an accessory building. The City Board of Adjustment has already heard two variances requesting an accessory building in the street side yard. Staff is proposing to adjust this requirement to allow a street side yard for accessory structures and a side yard with Administrative Relief approval.

One of the goals of the new code was also to provide predictability along with the right amount of flexibility to encourage innovation in building style and architecture. Staff has developed amendments that will address these issues within the neighborhood zone districts. Staff has also drafted an amendment to allow some front facing garage doors in mixed residential districts. This part of code only allows rear or side street access to an attached garage in any of the mixed residential districts. There are some examples of homes and multifamily buildings built in the last 30 years that have no "occupied" building space on the ground-floor visible from the street - the facade is all garage doors. In order to counter this development style, the code was written to limit the width of garage entries that face the street in neighborhood zones (by percentage) and prohibits them in mixed residential zones. There are some builders that have always built multifamily dwellings with detached or rear entry garages, but many others are serving a market that demands a front entry garage - or at least a side entry attached garage. There are a couple of examples where this has been done so the garage is not the dominate feature of the front facade. This proposed ordinance is based on these good examples, and would amend the code to allow some front facing garage doors in the NX1 and NX2 zone district with guidelines in place.
 

Fence Materials - Section 27-1209

The city last amended the allowable fence materials in 2004. At the time, the city allowed architectural metal panels only in the industrial zone districts. These are typically used in conjunction with a shop building with the same metal siding and do not appear to be out of place in the industrial area development pattern. The code did not specify any design requirements for the use of the material, but the city believed at the time it was not an acceptable material in any zone district except for industrial zones.

In the last 5 to 10 years, the use of corrugated metal panel material has been used in the Billings area and marketed as the most durable fence type where hail is a common occurrence every spring and summer. Any fence permit presented with this material has been denied by Planning staff. This however has not stopped homeowners and contractors from installing this fence material without a permit. In most cases, the use of the material has been done in good fashion and few complaints have been received about these fences. Staff recently held an administrative hearing with the Board of Adjustment on a corrugated metal fence in a neighborhood district that was installed at least 6 years ago. A complaint was received last fall and the fence was made from material normally used for grain bins or other agricultural buildings (see photo attachments). During research for the hearing, staff found there are quite a few (more than a dozen) locations where similar fences do fit in within neighborhoods and commercial areas. These fences have a wide range of colors and finishes and are generally framed with materials other than metal. This diminishes the "industrial" look of the material.
Staff is proposing to amend the code to add this material to the list of approved materials in residential and commercial zones. The amendment includes some design standards for the use of the material including framing the panels and to use material with a non-reflective coating. In addition, the code amendment would allow owners to propose other fence materials through the Administrative Relief process rather than a special review with the City Council.
 

Sign Code - Section 27-1400

The new sign code took 7 different sign codes and melded them into one new code that applies across all zone districts. In addition, the new code reduced most attached wall signs to a third of the previous code allowance and placed a maximum area for all wall signs on any length of a street facade. The code is matched to the new building and siting standards for the mixed use and commercial zone districts. When a building is close to the street frontage, overly large attached wall signs are unnecessary and out of place. The new code also made the building owner responsible for dividing the amount of wall signage between tenants. In order to encourage conformity with the new code, alterations to existing nonconforming signs is strictly limited.

Staff has found the literal application of the new sign code requirements especially for existing signs on buildings that are not located close to the street frontage, to be difficult especially since most landowners make tenants responsible for their own signage. The Board of Adjustment has processed three sign variances in the last 6 months related to this issue of wall signs. In the 2 decades preceding the new sign code, only a dozen sign code variances were processed. Some of this may have been due to the previous code's generous amount of sign area.

A recent application to construct a new digital billboard sign revealed to staff the weakness of the sign code for separating these signs from residential areas. This makes areas in West Billings and some areas of Billings Heights acceptable even though the impact from such locations is clearly not in line with the stated sign code policy or the Growth Policy for the city. Staff is proposing to increase this separation requirement and to include county zones that allow residential uses in the separation requirement.

Staff met with sign companies and landowners on their concerns. Staff and the Zoning Commission is proposing to amend the section on how nonconforming signs might be altered without violating the code, assign wall sign area based on leased tenant space on the street frontage and remove the responsibility for landowners to distribute signage across multiple tenants.
 

Planning staff worked with several groups of stakeholders over the last two years while implementing the new zoning code including the Home Builders Association, Billings Area Realtors, architects, engineers, planners and property owners. The amendments were produced through this collaborative effort of testing and applying the code requirements. These amendments and future code changes in phases 2 and 3, were created using their input and ideas. Planning staff shared the draft amendments with the stakeholders through direct email, placed a legal and posted the drafts on the Planning division's webpage. After the posting of the legal ad and prior to this Zoning Commission hearing, staff has not received any comments on the draft changes. Individual landowner notifications are not required for these text amendments.

Zoning Commission Hearing
The Zoning Commission conducted a public hearing on May 2, 2023, and received the staff recommendation and testimony from Doug Wild from the Home Builders Association (HBA), Kelly Strobel and Allie Carley of Lamar Montana, an outdoor advertising company. In addition, the Zoning Commission received three letters of comment on the proposed text amendments including emails from Lamar Montana regarding the sign code changes, Danny Wrywas of Absolute Fence regarding the fence material changes, and Lilly Corning of Corning Companies regarding sign code changes. The letters of comment are attached.

Staff presented the text amendments one at a time to allow public comment on each change. The first amendment concerns the allowance for front-load garages in the mixed residential zone districts. The ordinance would allow some front-load garages in the NX1 and NX2 zone districts with some siting requirements. Staff explained some conflicts may occur with the city code regarding curb cuts (Section 6-1208). Planning has started discussion with the Engineering Division about how to resolve this conflict. Doug Wild from the HBA stated he was in favor of the amendment and found it to be a good compromise solution.

The next ordinance addresses the building and siting requirements for neighborhood districts and mixed residential districts. The current code requires 100% of the front facade for new buildings in N1, N2, NX1-3 districts to be within the build-to range at the front of a lot. The build-to range for some districts is narrow and does not allow flexibility for facade variations. The amendment would specify the elements and percent of the front facade required to be in the build-to range including front doors, 60% of the ground-floor window area and 60% of the width of the new structure. In addition, roof types and roof pitches in the N1 and N2 districts do not contribute to the character of these districts. Staff has found these regulations to be more than required to accomplish good neighborhood design. Accessory building locations have also been adjusted to allow a street side yard location and not just a rear yard. Staff is also proposing to eliminate the requirement to match a block-face average build-to setback. Staff proposes to make the build-to averaging an option for builders. This ordinance also includes some changes to Section 27-1800 for definitions and measurements to conform the changes. Mr. Wild also stated his support for these proposed changes.

The third ordinance is related to fence materials, specifically metal panels (un-corrugated or corrugated) are proposed to be added as an allowed fence material in commercial and residential zone districts. The material has become more common as more durable and its ability to withstand hail damage and lasts longer than other common fence materials. The ordinance specifies metal panels must be framed and coated with non-reflective materials.

The final ordinance concerns changes to the sign code. The proposal includes changes to the nonconforming sign section that would allow existing business to change and update their signs so long as the nonconforming aspect of the sign is not increased. New businesses would need to install a conforming sign. The next set of changes in the code will allow a specific amount of wall sign area for each tenant in a building. The current code requires the building owner to allocate this wall sign area across the tenants in the building. This is not a tenable approach to sign budgeting for wall signs. Most building owners do not track tenant signage other than to require the tenant to get permits and comply with sign code. The code amendment keeps the maximum area for any single wall sign regardless of building frontage.

The final part of the sign code amendment is related to billboard signs or off-premise signs. The existing code section is built off a moratorium on new off-premise signs put in place in 1999. This moratorium allowed existing sign owners to receive a sign face "credit" whenever a non-conforming billboard sign was removed. The sign face credits do not expire and can be used by the owner to install a new billboard sign in a conforming location. Lamar Montana has accrued the most sign face credits since the moratorium was put in place. Lamar does look for new locations whenever the market and traffic volumes on arterial streets meet minimum requirements for outdoor advertising. The current billboard sign code allows these types of signs in Corridor Mixed Use 2 (CMU2), Heavy Commercial (CX), Light and Heavy Industrial (I1 and I2), and on boulevard streets in the EBURD zones. In the CMU2 zone only, there is a minimum separation to a residential zone of 200 feet. If a sign is less than 200 feet, but at least 150 feet from a residential district can be allowed by special review approval. Lamar applied last year for a location of a new back-to- back digital billboard in a parking space in front of the Den on Grand Avenue. The location met the 200-foot rule since the code does not include County zone districts that allow residential use. The West End Task Force learned of the proposed new billboard sign and the application was withdrawn by Lamar. This area of Billings is on the urban/rural interface and there are not many structures or developments to contain the visibility of these types of signs. Staff chose the 700-foot distance to match the distance of two city blocks. In addition, staff is proposing to add County zones that allow residential uses and Planned Development zones that allow residential zones as districts to include in the spacing requirement. Kelly Strobel of Lamar Montana, stated he doubts the staff direction came from the City Council and believes the existing language is protective of the residential neighborhoods in Billings. He stated they applied for a new sign in front of the Den and then the West End Task Force got wind of the new location. Mr. Strobel stated the permit was withdrawn, but he was questioning why the sign was not approved. Allie Carley from Lamar stated the 700-foot separation will be detrimental to their business and to other businesses in the community that rely on billboards for advertising. She stated the Commission should vote to deny this amendment. She stated Lamar is interested in cleaning up the old billboards and converting them to digital sign faces. She stated the amendment will tie their hands by making most of their signs nonconforming.

Staff provided clarification on how nonconforming signs can be updated and what is meant by "rebranding". Staff explained the right to continue a nonconforming aspect of a sign for an existing business. Rebranding will not include a company name change since that would be a new business. Rebranding is the creation of a new look and feel for an established product or company. It typically includes changes to a market strategy that include color, design and images. Staff provided information on billboard signs, spacing, and process for identifying nonconforming billboard signs.

The Zoning Commission closed the public hearing. The Zoning Commission members chose to vote on each individual ordinance for its recommendation to the City Council.

• On the ordinance concerning front-load garages in the NX1 and NX2 zones, Commission member Trina White made a motion to recommend approval and adoption of the 10 review criteria. The motion was seconded by Commission member David Goss and was approved on a 3-0 vote.
• For the ordinance for building and siting standards in Neighborhood and Mixed Residential zone districts, Commission member Trina White made a motion to recommend approval and adoption of the 10 review criteria. The motion was seconded by Commission member David Goss and was approved in a 3-0 vote.
• For the ordinance on fence materials, Commission member Trina White made a motion to recommend approval and adoption of the 10 review criteria. The motion was seconded by Commission member David Goss and was approved in a 3-0 vote.
• For the ordinance on sign code amendments, Commission member David Goss made a motion to recommend approval and adoption of the 10 review criteria. There was no second of this motion. A new motion was made by Vice Chair Greg McCall to recommend approval with an amendment to reduce the 700-foot separation to 500 feet for new billboard signs in CMU2 zones and adoption of the findings of the 10 review criteria. The motion was seconded by Commission member David Goss and approved on a 2-1 vote with Commission member Trina White voting against the motion.

City Council First Reading Hearing
The Zoning commission recommendation was reviewed by the City Council at a public hearing on May 22, 2023. Staff answered questions on the recommendations and on the draft ordinances. There was testimony from Doug Wild, President of the Home Builders Association (HBA) in favor of the amendments to the Neighborhood zone districts and the amendment to allow the front entry garages in the NX1 and NX2 zones. Mr. Kelly Strobel and Ms. Allie Carley of Lamar Outdoor testified in opposition to the sign code amendments for billboard signs. They were opposed to the code that increases the separation distance to residential districts in the CMU2 zone from 200 feet to 500 feet, as recommended by the Zoning Commission. Mr. Strobel stated the billboard industry is highly regulated, and it is not common for a new location to become available. He stated the proposed new sign at the Den on Grand Avenue would have been a large investment - over $300,000 dollars - for the new sign. He stated it was their intent as a company to work with the community to find new locations that fit the needs of everyone. He stated the company more often looks to upgrade and refresh existing signs with digital EMD displays. Even for existing locations these upgrades are expensive. He stated the code adopted in 2021, and the map updates to CMU1 have put more of their signs into the nonconforming category and those signs are not allowed to be updated with digital displays. Ms Carley stated the billboard industry and in particular Lamar does a lot of work with nonprofits and community organizations to get information to the public quickly such as Amber Alerts, most wanted criminals and missing/endangered indigenous women. She stated it is always their goal to work with the community to manage their signs well. She stated the proposed amendment would be damaging to their business and would not help improve their signs or the community relationship. 

The City Council took separate votes on each ordinance.

• The Council approved the two ordinances related to Neighborhood zone districts and the allowance for front garage entries in NX1 and NX2 zone districts on a unanimous vote.
• The Council approved the fence materials ordinance on a unanimous vote.
• The Council approved the proposed sign code amendment ordinance except for Section 7 related to billboards, on a 9-2 vote. CM Purinton and CM Tidswell voted in opposition.
• The Council approved an amended Section 7 of the sign code ordinance to remove the language increasing the separation distance from residential zones for new billboard signs in CMU2 zone districts. The amended Section 7 will require billboards to be located 200 feet from any residential zone which includes Planned Developments and county zones which allow residential uses. The motion was approved on a 9-2 vote with CM Joy and CM Choriki voting in opposition.

The City Council may take one of the following actions:

• Approve and adopt the findings of the ten review criteria on second reading of the proposed ordinances as amended and corrected by the Council on first reading; or,
• Deny one or more of the ordinances on second reading and adopt different findings of the ten review criteria; or,
• Delay action on one or more of the zone change ordinances for up to 30 days.

 

Adoption of code amendments may affect the Planning Division budget. Municode is the official codification company for Billings. Every amendment to the code has a fee that has usually been assessed and paid for by a department or division. However, the City Code is not particular to one Division or Department. It is utilized by many City staff and is designed to benefit and protect all City residents. It is appropriate and accurate for the cost sharing of codification costs for zoning code updates through the general fund.
 

Before making a decision on the proposed zone change, City Council shall consider the proposed findings of the ten review criteria.

1) Whether the new zoning is designed in accordance with the growth policy;
The proposed Zoning Amendments are consistent with the 2016 Billings Growth Policy Statement and Growth Guidelines:

Growth Policy Statement :

In the next 20 years, Billings will manage its growth by encouraging development within and adjacent to the existing City limits, but preference will be given to areas where City infrastructure exists or can be extended within a fiscally constrained budget and with consideration given to increased tax revenue from development. The City will prosper with strong neighborhoods with their own unique character that are clean, safe, and provide a choice of housing and transportation options.

Growth  Guidelines :

• Essential Investments (relating to public and private expenditures to public values)
• Infill development and development near existing City infrastructure may be the most cost-effective Place Making (enhance, maintain, preserve and improve existing public places):
• Public and private partnerships are valuable for creating enhanced entryways into Billings Community Fabric (attractive, aesthetically pleasing, uniquely Billings)
• Attractive street scapes provide a pleasant and calming travel experience in urban and suburban neighborhoods Strong Neighborhoods (livable, safe, sociable and resilient neighborhoods)
• Zoning regulations that allow a mixture of housing types provide housing options for all age groups and income level
• Safe and livable neighborhoods can be achieved through subdivision design walkable access to public spaces Implementation of the Infill Policy is important to encourage development of underutilized properties
• Home Base (healthy, safe and diverse housing options)
• A mix of housing types that meet the needs of a diverse population is important
• Common to all types of housing choices is the desire to live in surroundings that are affordable, healthy and safe
• Mobility and Access (transportation choices in places where goods and services are accessible to all)
• Connecting people to places with transportation choices is vital to the well-being of Billings' residents, businesses and visitors
• Safe and accessible transportation systems benefit everyone's quality of life
• Prosperity (promoting equal opportunity and economic advancement) A diversity of available jobs can ensure a strong Billings' economy
• Successful businesses that provide local jobs benefit the community
• Retaining and supporting existing businesses helps sustain a healthy economy

Since the growth policy is a general guiding document that contemplates the overall vision and growth of the community, these amendments that better tailor the regulations to meet local needs are not contrary to the document. The code amendments address the parts of the code that have created challenges or are too general. These amendments will allow the code to be adjusted to meet the community goals and match the expectations of the City Council, community developers, neighborhood builders and citizens. The proposed code amendments will allow the city to better meet the needs of all its residents, businesses and visitors now and into the future. These amendments will integrate nicely into the existing a code, and when working as a whole, will meet the intent of the growth policy.

2) Whether the new zoning is designed to secure from fire and other dangers;
The zoning amendments will not change the code in a way that will create safety concerns related to fire and other dangers. Once integrated, these amendments will not prevent the code from providing adequate building separations and density limits to provide security from fire and other dangers. Considering the nature of these specific amendments, these criteria do not directly relate to most amendments. More specifically, this criteria does not relate to wall signs and fence materials, but is more applicable to the amendments related to garage location in the NX districts. The alteration of the code still allows for appropriate setbacks and site requirements to ensure security of fire and other dangers.

3) Whether the new zoning will promote public health, public safety and general welfare;
Public health, public safety and the general welfare will be promoted by the proposed zoning code amendments and the existing code as a whole. These amendments do not drastically alter the originally adopted code which was found to have met the criteria for promoting public health, safety and general welfare. The proposed adjustments to the neighborhood zone districts will allow more creativity and flexibility in building design in Billings' first and second neighborhoods, as well as Billings' new neighborhoods where more housing choices will be available. The fence material and wall sign amendments are also not contrary to promoting public health, safety and general welfare. The amendments work in coordination with the code as a whole to ensure the minimum standards for health, safety and welfare are being met.

4) Whether the new zoning will facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks and other public requirements;
Transportation: The existing zoning code and these amendments as a whole should help the city provide safer transportation modes including non-motorized travel and safer routes to school. Sprawling development patterns of homogenous land uses separated by miles from different land uses is an unsustainable development pattern. It unnecessarily increases vehicle trips, drives up demand for parking spaces, wider and more abundant high speed arterial streets, contributes to air pollution and unhealthy life-styles. The existing code and the amendments will allow flexibility with design standards so small multifamily apartments can provide similar conveniences such as covered parking accessible from the street, without compromising traffic safety.
Water & Sewer : The proposed code amendments should have no effect on city water and sewer services.
Schools and Parks : Schools and parks should not be effected by these code amendments.

5) Whether the new zoning will provide adequate light and air;
The proposed zoning code amendments, as does the current zoning, provides for sufficient setbacks to allow for adequate separation between structures and adequate light and air. The portions of the zoning code that pertain to adequate light and air are similar to criteria 2 and 3 which specify setback requirements, height requirements, and other siting requirements. The amendment that is most related to this criteria is the garage location of the NX1 and build-to area. The proposed amendments still regulate the siting requirements to provide for adequate light and air.

6) Whether the new zoning will effect motorized and non-motorized transportation;
The proposed zoning amendments will not directly effect motorized or non-motorized transportation. Several zone districts, and now in limited circumstances, the NX1 and NX2 districts will allow for front facing garages. This is not inconsistent with the safety of motorized and non-motorized transportation. The guidance on when front facing garages are allowable and limited and designed in such a way to still allow for eyes on the street and promote safety principles.

7) Whether the new zoning will promote compatible urban growth;
The zoning amendments will promote compatibility with urban growth through adjustments to add flexibility, new materials for fencing and new signs for older commercial buildings without compromising the intent of the new code. The zoning code as a whole, is compatible with the City's growth policy and vision for the community as it grows. These amendments should integrate nicely and continue to provide residents and business owners design options as they move forward with housing, signs and fencing.

8) Whether the new zoning considers the character of the district and the peculiar suitability of the property for particular uses;
All the amendments have been considered in a way that continues to carry out the intent of the zoning code as a whole and considers how garage location, wall signs and fence materials can have greater options yet still integrate in existing built environments. Neither garage location, wall sign signage and the addition of a fence material type should be considered intrusive to new or existing neighborhoods. Garages were previously built in the front of most housing types in Billings, and while the amendments will allow for this location it does provide guidance on how to lessen the dominance of the garage and still focus on the living units. Further, the wall sign allowances consider scale developments in a way the existing code does not currently contemplate. These amendments will better suit existing business needs in existing developments while still lessing overall sign clutter and dominance over time. Finally, the addition of certain types of metal to be used in combination with framing will not create compatibility issues with neighborhoods. There are existing examples where fences built to the intent of this amendment have integrated seamlessly into neighborhoods. Generally, these amendments are consistent with existing fabric of both commercial and residential neighborhoods.

9) Whether the new zoning will conserve the value of buildings;
In general, the code amendments should conserve the value of buildings throughout the City and the amendments do not alter the code in a way that would decrease values. In particular, some adjustments may ease some nonconformity burdens.

10) Whether the new zoning will encourage the most appropriate use of land throughout the City of Billings.
The code amendments when working with the code as a whole encourage appropriate and compatible uses, design and siting of land in Billings.