2023 Montana Code Annotated › Title 76. Land Resources and Use › Chapter 25. Montana Land Use Planning Act › Part 1. General Provisions › 76-25-103. Definitions

76-25-103. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, unless the context or subject matter clearly requires otherwise, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Aggrieved party" means a 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.
(2) "Applicant" means a person who seeks a land use permit or other approval of a development proposal.
(3) "Built environment" means man-made or modified structures that provide people with living, working, and recreational spaces.
(4) "Cash-in-lieu donation" is the amount equal to the fair market value of unsubdivided, unimproved land.
(5) "Certificate of survey" means a drawing of a field survey prepared by a registered surveyor for the purpose of disclosing facts pertaining to boundary locations.
(6) "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.
(7) "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 pursuant to this chapter. The conveyance of a tract of record or an entire parcel of land that was created by a previous division of land is not a division of land.
(8) "Dwelling " means a building designed for residential living purposes, including single-unit, two-unit, and multi-unit dwellings.
(9) "Dwelling unit" means one or more rooms designed for or occupied exclusively by one household.
(10) "Examining land surveyor" means a registered land surveyor appointed by the governing body to review surveys and plats submitted for filing.
(11) "Final plat" means the final drawing of the subdivision and dedication required by this chapter to be prepared for filing for record with the county clerk and recorder and containing all elements and requirements set forth in this chapter and in regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.
(12) "Four-unit dwelling" or "fourplex" means a building designed for four attached dwelling units in which the dwelling units share a common separation, such as a ceiling or wall, and in which access cannot be gained between the units through an internal doorway, excluding common hallways.
(13) "Immediate family" means a spouse, children by blood or adoption, and parents.
(14) "Irrigation district" means a district established pursuant to Title 85, chapter 7.
(15) "Jurisdictional area" or "jurisdiction" means the area within the boundaries of the local government. For municipalities, the term includes those areas the local government anticipates may be annexed into the municipality over the next 20 years.
(16) "Land use permit" means an authorization to complete development in conformance with an application approved by the local government.
(17) "Land use plan" means the land use plan and future land use map adopted in accordance with this chapter.
(18) "Land use regulations" means zoning, zoning map, subdivision, or other land use regulations authorized by state law.
(19) "Local governing body" or "governing body" means the elected body responsible for the administration of a local government.
(20) "Local government" means a county, consolidated city-county, or an incorporated municipality to which the provisions of this chapter apply as provided in 76-25-105.
(21) "Manufactured housing" means a dwelling for a single household, built offsite in a factory that is in compliance with the applicable prevailing standards of the United States department of housing and urban development at the time of its production. A manufactured home does not include a mobile home or housetrailer, as defined in 15-1-101.
(22) "Ministerial permit" means a permit granted upon a determination that a proposed project complies with the zoning map and the established standards set forth in the zoning regulations. The determination must be based on objective standards, involving little or no personal judgment, and must be issued by the planning administrator.
(23) "Multi-unit dwelling" means a building designed for five or more attached dwelling units in which the dwelling units share a common separation, such as a ceiling or wall, and in which access cannot be gained between the units through an internal doorway, excluding common hallways.
(24) "Permitted use" means a use that may be approved by issuance of a ministerial permit.
(25) "Planning administrator" means the person designated by the local governing body to review, analyze, provide recommendations, or make final decisions on any or all zoning, subdivision, and other development applications as required in this chapter.
(26) "Plat" means a graphical representation of a subdivision showing the division of land into lots, parcels, blocks, streets, alleys, and other divisions and dedications.
(27) "Preliminary plat" means a neat and scaled drawing of a proposed subdivision showing the layout of streets, alleys, lots, blocks, and other elements of a subdivision that furnish a basis for review by a governing body.
(28) "Public utility" has the meaning provided in 69-3-101, except that for the purposes of this chapter, the term includes a county water or sewer district as provided for in Title 7, chapter 13, parts 22 and 23, and municipal sewer or water systems and municipal water supply systems established by the governing body of a municipality pursuant to Title 7, chapter 13, parts 42, 43, and 44.
(29) "Single-room occupancy development" means a development with dwelling units in which residents rent a private bedroom with a shared kitchen and bathroom facilities.
(30) "Single-unit dwelling" means a building designed for one dwelling unit that is detached from any other dwelling unit.
(31) "Subdivider" means a person who causes land to be subdivided or who proposes a subdivision of land.
(32) "Subdivision" means a division of land or land so divided that it creates one or more parcels containing less than 160 acres that cannot be described as a one-quarter aliquot part of a United States government section, exclusive of public roadways, in order that the title to the parcels may be sold or otherwise transferred and includes any resubdivision and a condominium. The term also means an area, regardless of its size, that provides or will provide multiple spaces for rent or lease on which recreational camping vehicles or mobile homes will be placed.
(33) "Subdivision guarantee" means a form of guarantee that is approved by the commissioner of insurance and is specifically designed to disclose the information required in 76-25-413.
(34) "Tract of record" means an individual parcel of land, irrespective of ownership, that can be identified by legal description, independent of any other parcel of land, using documents on file in the records of the county clerk and recorder's office.
(35) "Three-unit dwelling" or "triplex" means a building designed for three attached dwelling units in which the dwelling units share a common separation, such as a ceiling or wall, and in which access cannot be gained between the units through an internal doorway, excluding common hallways.
(36) "Two-unit dwelling" or "duplex" means a building designed for two attached dwelling units in which the dwelling units share a common separation, such as a ceiling or wall, and in which access cannot be gained between the units through an internal doorway.
History: En. Sec. 3, Ch. 500, L. 2023.