Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use And Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planners brief council on Billings 2045 update and warn state law will limit local notice starting July 2027
Summary
City planning staff told the Billings City Council that the Billings 2045 land-use map and code updates can provide capacity for projected growth but said a new state law will eliminate some local notice and signposting after July 1, 2027, raising concerns among council members about reduced local control and public notice.
City planning staff updated the Billings City Council on the Billings 2045 land-use map and proposed zoning and subdivision ordinance changes, and warned that a recently enacted state law will substantially reduce the city’s ability to require local notice and property signs after July 1, 2027.
Why it matters: The planning team said the future land use map and code adjustments were designed to give Billings enough capacity to meet long-range housing and economic needs while conforming to the state law. Council members voiced frustration that the state-driven timetable could remove long-established local opportunities for neighbors to receive notice and to appear at hearings.
Planning staff walked the council through the schedule and analytical work underpinning the draft plan. Wyeth Merritt said the city’s planning numbers show the community will need about 26,200 housing units by 2045 — a figure staff used to test whether the map and different residential categories can accommodate projected demand. “We have projected we will need in Billings by 2045” the acreage to support those units, Merritt told the council, and staff reported that the current permitting pace of roughly 800 units a year will need to increase to meet that target.
Staff also described code changes that are primarily process-focused: a standardized parking rule (one space per dwelling unit, with a half‑space for units 1,200 square feet or smaller and no extra parking required for change of use), clarified definitions for when a structure’s primary use is residential, and a new temporary-use category to streamline food-truck permitting and enable master-planned food‑truck parks. Anna, the planner leading the zoning review, said the code adds language directing more intense neighborhood-mixed uses to block ends rather than mid‑block to protect single-family cores.
On subdivisions, staff reported they will keep parkland dedication but add temporary language to cap dedication at 0.03 acres per dwelling unit to reflect the Montana Land Use Planning Act; they also described consolidating subdivision types and making pre‑application meetings optional while combining completeness and preliminary plot reviews into a single 20-business‑day review window.
Council members asked detailed procedural and legal questions. Several expressed anger that the Interim Planning Commission (IPC) delayed its recommendation until days before the council’s adoption hearing; others pushed back on the state law’s removal of local notice and signs. City Attorney’s Office attorney Jessica McKee advised the council that the state statute is mandatory: “Malupa is a state law, and under the supremacy clause, the city is required to follow state laws,” she said, and added there is no explicit monetary penalty in the statute but that the council is legally compelled to adopt ordinances consistent with the law.
What’s next: Staff said the IPC was scheduled to finish its review and provide a recommendation before the council’s adoption meeting the following Monday. Planning staff urged council members to study the clean ordinance text that accompanies the packet and offered to circulate the IPC action immediately after that body meets.
