County regulations on how private property is used by owners, which were rewritten a couple of years ago, are being tweaked by the city/county planning department, to correct errors, spelling, grammar, etc. and make changes that weren’t working, according to Nicole Cromwell, Zoning Coordinator for the Planning Division of the City of Billings.

The 96 page document with its changes was approved by Yellowstone County Commissioners. The county’s regulations, which are laws mandating how property owners may develop and use their property, are different than those imposed inside the city boundaries.

Restrictions on how a property owner may exercise his rights to determine how to use a property, ostensibly exist to assure “public health and safety” but they often extend into issues of esthetics, environmental preferences, consistency, compliance, or the majority sentiments of neighbors.

Cromwell reviewed some of the more significant changes before the commissioners during their regular weekly board meeting.

Included in changes are details about where a property owner must store garbage, ie. “must be located in either the rear yard, or interior side yard;” it may be located inside the building  with “access doors off the rear or interior side façade. . . “doors must be opaque, screening a minimum of 80 percent of the opening.”

Added to the document are regulations dictating maximum height of a building does not include “spires, belfries, cupolas, antennas, water towers or tanks, chimneys or smokestacks, power transmission lines, cooling or elevator towers” etc. To exceed height limits a property owner must seek approval by submitting an “approved application for Administrative Relief” or a “Variance.” Signs must be approved . . . trees trimmed up 8 feet clearance. . . canopies are covers “attached to and supported by the structure to which it is attached . . .”

Minimum requirements for arterial setbacks are included. “No building or structure shall be erected or maintained within fifty feet of the centerline of an arterial street.” “. . . no required parking area or portion thereof, including driving aisles, shall be constructed or located within forty feet of the centerline. . .”

The number of buildings (residents) allowed on a lot was increased from one to two, with up to three accessory buildings. Details on where a property owner can locate a driveway or a garage are also included.

Due to a change in state law the zoning regulations can no longer discriminate as to manufactured homes, so all language that did so in past regulations has been struck. Regulations that dictated that a two-unit building must be “ located perpendicular to the street in a U-shaped configuration with a courtyard or shared yard,” was eliminated.

However, it now restricts that garage entrances located on the front façade be limited to 50 percent of the front façade width. Eliminated was the mandate that only one entrance may be located on the street from the garage, now two entrances are allowed by the regulators.

If a property has no alley or other rear entrances, the law will allow the property owner to put a garage on their property fronting onto a street so long as it has  “. . . single-wide garage entry door of ten feet in width or less. . .” If a property owner wants two garage doors, not only must each be no more than ten feet wide but they must share the driveway, that can be no more than 25 feet wide. Front entry garages are prohibited from taking up more than 40 percent of the front of the lot, and the garage doors must be set back at least 8 feet behind the front door.

Also eliminated was a 20,000 square feet minimum size of a “parklet” or landscaped open space, which still is mandated to have 70 percent living plant material and extend at least 20 feet along street frontage. A “green” must extend as much as 50 feet along a street. A “natural area” is a large area “to conserve a natural feature, such as a stream, wetland or woodland” must also extend 50 feet.

How far different kinds of structures must be set back from a property line are also dictated.

In “mixed-use” permitted areas a restriction that dictated that only “upper stories” could accommodate residential and/or office uses, was struck in the revised regulations, and now a property owner may use any story of the property he owns for such purposes. Also struck were restrictions on allowing dwelling use below the ground floor level.

Another change stipulates that manufactured homes may not be used for any commercial use or as an office for a manufactured home sales area.

The regulations grant permission for either private or public ownership of amusement and recreation facilities, and they grant permission for such entities to charge fees. Ice arenas, playgrounds, picnic shelters, community centers, gardens and orchards and nature preserves were added to the list of acceptable amusement and recreational facilities.

The rules further restrict how storage facilities may be used, disallowing any business activity, mandating fencing and where it must be, and that stacked stored items cannot exceed the height of the fence. And shipping containers shall be screened from view from any public right-of-way.

Agriculture, commercial and industrial zones have been included as allowable users of “Antennas co-located on existing stealth communication facilities or existing antenna support structures which have previously received all required approvals and permits shall be permitted . . .”

Other regulations restrict the size and number of detached accessory structures, depending on lot size.

There are extensive additions to regulations pertaining to expanding by fifty percent or more the gross building square footage, requiring that it comply with current mandates. Many of the esthetic changes are only required if they front the street.

Some of the mandates regarding how the outside of such a remodeled building should look, require replacing existing front-facing façade with up-to-date approved materials and dictating the size of windows. Also the roof, should it need to be changed, would have to be changed to meet new standards. Lots larger than 1.5 acres will have to have a plan prepared by a licensed landscaper, and owners of smaller lots will be strongly urged to consult with a professional landscaper. Regulations note that a list of appropriate plant species for Yellowstone County can be obtained from the Planning Department.

“All multifamily residential projects, manufactured home parks, and all mixed-use and non-residential projects shall include on the landscape plan, a detailed drawing of enclosure and screening methods to be used in connection with mechanical equipment, trash bins, recycle bins, storage yards, service areas, loading docks, and other equipment storage areas on the property.”

“Any fence greater than a height of three feet and equal to or less than 7 feet in height shall require a fence permit.” Added to the planners’ list of acceptable fencing materials are “corrugated and uncorrugated metal panels framed in wood, vinyl, composite, brick or stone. Metal panels shall be coated with a non-reflective material . . . “

Changes have also been made to regulations dictating signage requirements for businesses and when they are required.