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Billings staff proposes annexation-map updates for landfill corridor, Hesper/48th and Heights bypass node
Summary
Planning staff presented four potential map amendments: add city-owned landfill property and nearby parcels to the short-term annexation zone, move a Hesper/48th development parcel into the annexation zone at the applicant's request, add long-range area around the Billings bypass/Five Mile Road, and shrink the long-range zone west of Zimmerman Trail/Highway 3.
Planning staff asked council to consider a set of map amendments to the city’s Annexation Policy in order to better align future service planning with likely development nodes.
Key recommended changes included: (1) moving the city-owned landfill area and adjacent parcels into the near-term annexation (green) zone so the city can consider annexation and provide services if requested; (2) moving an applicant’s 52-acre parcel at Hesper Road and 48th Street West from long-range (yellow) into green to support a proposed mixed-use neighborhood when water and other services are available; (3) adding roughly 240 acres in the Heights near the Billings bypass/Five Mile Road to the long-range yellow area in recognition of corridor planning and potential future commercial nodes; and (4) reducing the long-range yellow zone west of Zimmerman Trail and Highway 3 to reflect current city infrastructure focus to the east and the high cost of serving remote parcels.
Staff emphasized these map changes are not annexations; they are planning steps that change whether a parcel could petition for annexation in the future and align the Annexation Policy with capital improvement planning. Several council members voiced caution about expanding long-range areas until infrastructure (water, storage tanks, sewer) is budgeted and in place; staff said the map changes are intended to be conservative and to guide future analyses.
Public comment from the applicant’s agent and nearby property owners was supportive of the Hesper/48th proposal, citing proximity to the city’s new water project and reservoir. Staff will prepare a formal public hearing/resolution on the map amendments for future council action.
