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Council approves special review for daycare at 2291 Bench Boulevard with sidewalk condition
Summary
The Billings City Council approved a special-review permit allowing a daycare serving more than 13 children at 2291 Bench Boulevard, adding a condition requiring a sidewalk on the Caroline side with the option to use a special-improvement-district assessment or applicant payment.
The Billings City Council on Monday approved a special review that allows a daycare center to operate at 2291 Bench Boulevard, adding a sidewalk requirement to mitigate safety concerns at the primary drop-off area.
Planning presenter Karen Husman summarized the application and the zoning commission—onditions, saying the special review is required when a daycare serves more than 13 children in a residential zone and listing six conditions of approval, including licensing through DPHHS and site-obscuring fencing.
During council discussion members pressed the applicant on circulation and pedestrian safety. Council members said the property lacks an existing sidewalk on Caroline Street and worried about parents lining up for drop-off and children boarding from the roadway.
Co-owner Jeanette Myers told the council they plan to provide two drop-off options and said, “we do not have the money to do that at this point in time,” when asked whether the business could afford to install the sidewalk immediately.
Councilmember Denis Pitman moved to approve the special review with an amendment requiring a sidewalk connection on the Caroline side as a condition of approval and making the city ssessment (SID) program an available financing option. The motion clarifies the condition may be satisfied either by the applicant paying for construction or by opting into the city's SID program, which spreads the cost over a multi-year tax assessment.
The council voted unanimously to approve the measure. Staff will incorporate the sidewalk requirement into the permit conditions and advise the applicant how to access the SID process or other financing options when they apply for building permits.
The decision allows the facility to proceed toward final permitting, licensing and the change-of-use review required by the building division; operations remain subject to the standard city and state childcare licensing requirements.
