{"data":{"id":"us-mt/76-2-304","jurisdiction":"us-mt","citation":"76-2-304","heading":"(Temporary) Criteria and guidelines for zoning regulations.","body":"(1) Zoning regulations must be:\n(a) made in accordance with a growth policy; and\n(b) designed to:\n(i) secure safety from fire and other dangers;\n(ii) promote public health, public safety, and the general welfare; and\n(iii) facilitate the adequate provision of transportation, water, sewerage, schools, parks, and other public requirements.\n(2) In the adoption of zoning regulations, the municipal governing body shall consider:\n(a) reasonable provision of adequate light and air;\n(b) the effect on motorized and nonmotorized transportation systems;\n(c) promotion of compatible urban growth;\n(d) the character of the district and its peculiar suitability for particular uses; and\n(e) conserving the value of buildings and encouraging the most appropriate use of land throughout the jurisdictional area.\n(3) In a city with a population of at least 5,000 residents, duplex housing must be allowed as a permitted use on a lot where a single-family residence is a permitted use, and zoning regulations that apply to the development or use of duplex housing may not be more restrictive than zoning regulations that are applicable to single-family residences.\n(4) (a) In a municipality that is designated as an urban area by the United States census bureau with a population over 5,000 as of the most recent census, the city council or other legislative body of the municipality shall allow as a permitted use multiple-unit dwellings and mixed-use developments that include multiple-unit dwellings on a parcel or lot that:\n(i) has a will-serve letter from both a municipal water system and a municipal sewer system; and\n(ii) is located in a commercial zone.\n(b) Zoning regulations in municipalities meeting the requirements of subsection (4)(a) may not include a requirement to provide more than:\n(i) one off-street parking space for each unit and accessible parking spaces as required by the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 12101, et seq.; or\n(ii) an equivalent number of spaces required under subsection (4)(b)(i) provided through a shared parking agreement.\n(5) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:\n(a) \"Duplex housing\" means a parcel or lot with two dwelling units that are designed for residential occupancy by not more than two family units living independently from each other.\n(b) \"Family unit\" means:\n(i) a single person living or residing in a dwelling or place of residence; or\n(ii) two or more persons living together or residing in the same dwelling or place of residence.\n(c) \"Mixed-use development\" means a development consisting of residential and nonresidential uses in which the nonresidential uses are less than 50% of the total square footage of the development and are limited to the first floor of buildings that are two or more stories.\n(d) \"Multiple-unit dwelling\" means a building designed for five or more dwelling units in which the dwelling units share a common separation like a ceiling or wall and in which access cannot be gained between units through an internal doorway, excluding common hallways.\n(e) \"Single-family residence\" has the meaning provided in 70-24-103.","path":["TITLE 76. LAND RESOURCES AND USE","CHAPTER 2. PLANNING AND ZONING","Part 3. Municipal Zoning"],"source_url":"https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0760/chapter_0020/part_0030/section_0040/0760-0020-0030-0040.html","current_through":"Montana Code Annotated 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T04:59:59Z","sha256":"2447e3b9943b29796e3210fd6faf60f7511c2380102dec02ee39409a1042f1a6","source_id":"us-mt","stale":false,"prev":"us-mt/76-2-303","next":"us-mt/76-2-304--2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}