Montana Title 10. Military Affairs and Disaster and Emergency Services § 10-1-1511. Prior nonconforming uses

(1) All regulations adopted under this part must be reasonable and may not require the removal or alteration of any structure or require cessation or alteration of a use that is lawfully in existence when the regulations become effective. Those structures or uses must be treated as prior nonconforming structures or uses that may remain or continue.

(2) A nonconforming structure or use that is destroyed or substantially damaged by fire, flood, or other natural disaster may not be restored as a nonconforming structure or use unless a variance is issued by the appeals board provided for in 10-1-1514 or unless the restoration occurs within 24 months of the damage having occurred and the resulting structure or use occupies the same physical footprint and is used for the same purpose as the original nonconforming structure or use. A nonconforming structure or use is considered to be substantially damaged when 80% or more of a structure is damaged or destroyed.

(3) The regulations may require the owner of structures to permit the political subdivision, at its expense, to install, operate, and maintain the lights and markers necessary to warn pilots of the presence of a hazard in the vicinity of the military affected area.