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Current as of April 27, 2021 | Updated by FindLaw Staff
(1) The zoning regulations authorized in 76-25-301 must include a minimum of five of the following housing strategies, applicable to the majority of the area, where residential development is permitted in the jurisdictional area:
(a) allow, as a permitted use, for at least a duplex where a single-unit dwelling is permitted;
(b) zone for higher density housing near transit stations, places of employment, higher education facilities, and other appropriate population centers, as determined by the local government;
(c) eliminate or reduce off-street parking requirements to require no more than one parking space per dwelling unit;
(d) eliminate impact fees for accessory dwelling units or developments that include multi-unit dwellings or reduce the fees by at least 25%;
(e) allow, as a permitted use, for at least one internal or detached accessory dwelling unit on a lot with a single-unit dwelling occupied as a primary residence;
(f) allow for single-room occupancy developments;
(g) allow, as a permitted use, a triplex or fourplex where a single-unit dwelling is permitted;
(h) eliminate minimum lot sizes or reduce the existing minimum lot size required by at least 25%;
(i) eliminate aesthetic, material, shape, bulk, size, floor area, and other massing requirements for multi-unit dwellings or mixed-use developments or remove at least half of those requirements;
(j) provide for zoning that specifically allows or encourages the development of tiny houses, as defined in Appendix Q of the International Residential Code as it was printed on January 1, 2023;
(k) eliminate setback requirements or reduce existing setback requirements by at least 25%;
(l) increase building height limits for dwelling units by at least 25%;
(m) allow multi-unit dwellings or mixed-use development as a permitted use on all lots where office, retail, or commercial are primary permitted uses; or
(n) allow multi-unit dwellings as a permitted use on all lots where triplexes or fourplexes are permitted uses.
(2) If a local government's existing zoning ordinance adopted pursuant to Title 76, chapter 2, before May 17, 2023, does not contain a zoning regulation that is listed as a regulation to be eliminated or reduced in subsection (1), that strategy is considered adopted by the local government.
(3) If the adoption of a housing strategy allowed in subsection (1) subsumes another housing strategy allowed in subsection (1), only one strategy may be considered to have been adopted by the local government.
Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Montana Title 76. Land Resources and Use § 76-25-302. Encouragement of development of housing - last updated April 27, 2021 | https://codes.findlaw.com/mt/title-76-land-resources-and-use/mt-code-ann-sect-76-25-302/
FindLaw Codes may not reflect the most recent version of the law in your jurisdiction. Please verify the status of the code you are researching with the state legislature or via Westlaw before relying on it for your legal needs.
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