2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 76. Land Resources and Use › Chapter 25. Montana Land Use Planning Act › Part 3. Zoning › 76-25-301. Authority to adopt local zoning regulations

76-25-301. Authority to adopt local zoning regulations.
(1) (a) A local government subject to this chapter, within its respective jurisdiction, has the authority to and shall regulate the use of land in substantial compliance with its adopted land use plan by adopting zoning regulations.
(b) The governing body of a county or city has the authority to adopt zoning regulations in accordance with this part by an ordinance that substantially complies with 7-5-103 through 7-5-107.
(c) A municipality shall adopt zoning regulations for the portions of the jurisdictional area outside of the boundaries of the municipality that the governing body anticipates may be annexed into the municipality over the next 20 years. Unless otherwise agreed to by the applicable jurisdictions, zoning regulations on property outside the municipal boundaries may not apply or be enforced until those areas are annexed or are being annexed into the municipality.
(2) Local zoning regulations authorized in subsection (1) include but are not limited to ordinances prescribing the:
(a) uses of land;
(b) density of uses;
(c) types of uses;
(d) size, character, number, form, and mass of structures; and
(e) development standards mitigating the impacts of development, as identified and analyzed during the land use planning process and review and adoption of zoning regulations pursuant to this chapter.
(3) The local government shall incorporate any existing zoning regulations adopted pursuant to Title 76, chapter 2, into the zoning regulations meeting the requirements of this chapter.
(4) The local government shall adopt a zoning map for the jurisdiction in substantial compliance with the land use plan and future land use map and the zoning regulations adopted pursuant to this section, graphically illustrating the zone or zones that a property within the jurisdiction is subject to.
(5) The local government may provide for the issuance of permits as may be necessary for the implementation of this chapter.
(6) (a) The zoning regulations and map must identify areas that may necessitate the denial of a development or a specific type of development, such as unmitigable natural hazards, insufficient water supply, inadequate drainage, lack of access, inadequate public services, or the excessive expenditure of public funds for the supply of the services.
(b) The regulations must prohibit development in the areas identified in subsection (6)(a) unless the hazards or impacts may be eliminated or overcome by approved construction techniques or other mitigation measures identified in the zoning regulations.
(c) Approved construction techniques or other mitigation measures described in subsection (6)(b) may not include building regulations as defined in 50-60-101 other than those identified by the department of labor and industry as provided in 50-60-901.
(7) The zoning regulations and map must mitigate the hazards created by development in areas located within the floodway of a flood of 100-year frequency, as defined by Title 76, chapter 5, or determined to be subject to flooding by the governing body. If the hazards cannot be mitigated, the zoning regulations and map must identify those areas where future development is limited or prohibited.
(8) The zoning regulations must allow for the continued use of land or buildings legal at the time that any zoning regulation, map, or amendment thereto is adopted, but the local government may provide grounds for discontinuing nonconforming uses based on changes to or abandonment of the use of the land or buildings after the adoption of a zoning regulation, map, or amendment.
History: En. Sec. 18, Ch. 500, L. 2023.