Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes the Montana Land Use Planning Act to overhaul the cities land-use planning processes.

Highlights:

• Defines this piece of legislation as the “Montana Land Use Planning Act" (Sec. 1).

• Defines the duty of the Montana legislature to protect and promote the health, safety, and welfare of the people of Montana through a system of comprehensive planning that balances private property rights and values (Sec. 2).

• Specifies that the montana legislature finds that coordinated and planned growth within cities and counties will encourage the following (Sec. 2):

• sufficient housing units for the state's growing population that are available for citizens of any and all income levels;

• the provision and availability to all of adequate public services and infrastructure in the most cost-effective manner possible, shared equitably among all residents, businesses, and industries;

• The protection and prospering of the natural environment, including wildlife and wildlife habitat, sufficient and clean water, and healthy air quality;

• The protection of agricultural, forestry, and mining lands for the production of food, fiber, and minerals and their economic benefits;

• the state's economy and tax base through job creation, business development, and the revitalization of older communities;

• Protections for persons, property, infrastructure, and the economy against natural hazards, such as flooding,  earthquake, wildfire, and drought; and

• Collaboration regarding local consideration, participation, and review of plans for projected population changes and impacts resulting from those plans.

• Defines the following (Sec. 3): 

• “Aggrieved party”- means person who can demonstrate a specific personal and legal interest, as distinguished from a general interest, who has been or is likely to be specially and injuriously affected by the decision;

• “Applicant”- means a person who seeks a land use permit or other approval of a development;

• “Built Environment”-means man-made or modified structures that provide people with living and working spaces;

• “Cash-in-lieu donation”-means the amount equal to the fair market value of unsubdivided, unimproved land;

• “Dedication”-means the deliberate appropriation of land by an owner for any general and public use, reserving to the landowner no rights that are incompatible with the full exercise and enjoyment of the public use to which the property has been devoted;

• “Division of Land”- means the segregation of one or more parcels of land from a larger tract held in single or undivided ownership by transferring or contracting to transfer title to a portion of the tract or properly filing a certificate of survey or subdivision plat establishing the identity of the segregated parcels; and

• “Dwelling Unit”-means one or more rooms designed to be exclusively held by a household.

• Establishes that each local government shall create by ordinance a multi-jurisdiction planning commission or join an existing commission pursuant to an interlocal agreement that will meet every six months and will tackle topics such as land use, zoning restrictions, subdivision regulations, and any other public use of lands (Sec. 4). 

• Specifies that this applies only to counties with a population that meets or exceeds 70,000 (Sec. 5).

• Specifies the public participation in land use and zoning plans especially in the adoption, amending, and drafting of plans (Sec. 6).

• Specifies that land use plans can only be implemented after the public has participated, has given feedback, and has been subject to public viewing (Sec.7). 

• Specifies that after Local governments adopt a land use plan and future land use map , the land use plan and future land use map must be reviewed by the planning commission every five years after adoption to determine whether an update to the land use plan and future land use map must be performed (Sec. 8).

• Specifies that the land use plan must include, at a minimum, inventories and descriptions of existing conditions of housing, local services and facilities, economic development, natural resources, environment, and hazards, and land use within the  jurisdictional boundaries of the land use plan (Sec. 9).

• Specifies that a local governing body shall identify and analyze existing and projected housing needs for the projected population of the jurisdiction and provide regulations that allow for the rehabilitation, improvement, or development of the number of housing units needed, as identified in the land use plan and future land use map (Sec. 10).

• Specifies that the land use plan must do the following (Sec. 11). 

• Determine effect on public safety; 

• Contain an inventory of public fire safety protection services and procedures; 

• Identify improvements for fire safety; 

• Determines level of utility needed for effective operations; 

• Determine deficiencies in the transportation network; and

• Request info on k-12 facilities.

Full Bill Text