Zoning changes essentially purge exclusive single-family home developments

Like most other cities in the state, Columbia Falls will see some significant changes to its zoning and subdivision laws in the next few weeks in order to comply with the Montana land Use Planning Act, which is designed to streamline housing starts in the cities.

The city planning commission went over the changes with city planner Eric Mulcahy and City Manager Eric Hanks last week.

Some notable changes include the public participation process. Under the new regulations, there is no public hearing on a new subdivision or housing project if it complies with the zoning and is inside the city limits.

If there’s an annexation or zone change that doesn’t comply with the city’s land use plan, there would be a public hearing, but only at city council, not the planning commission, though the planning commission would likely examine the application. Not all annexations require a hearing. For example, the city will annex a piece of property on Meadow Lake Boulevard for light industrial use, but the county zoning closely matches what the city has in place, so there is no public hearing on the annexation.

For subdivisions and housing projects that conform with zoning, the city plans on posting them on its website and the public can appeal the determination within 15 days.

“An appeal ... must be submitted in writing within 15 business days of the challenged decision, stating the facts and raising all grounds for appeal that the party may raise in district court,” the land use planning act reads.

The planning commission then hears the appeal.

“The planning commission is not bound by the decision that has been appealed, but the appeal must be limited to the issues raised on appeal. The appellant has the burden of proving that the appealed decision was made in error,” the law reads.

But the appellant can then appeal the planning commission’s finding to the  governing body (in this case, the city council).

The appellant can then sue in district court if unsatisfied with the findings, though they must go through the formal appeals process.

The appeals process, if fully realized, could drag out a project for months, even years if it reaches district court.

“We’ll see how it works,” Mulcahy noted.

Appeals aside, the law  basically abolishes single-family resident zoning, as anywhere a single-family home is allowed, a duplex is allowed. Accessory dwelling units, commonly called “grandmother apartments” units are also now allowed.

The state law trumps any previous local ordinances on ADUs.

“A municipality shall adopt regulations under this chapter that allow a minimum of one accessory dwelling unit by right on a lot or parcel that contains a single-family dwelling.

(b) An accessory dwelling unit may be attached, detached, or internal to the single-family dwelling on a lot or parcel.

(c) If the accessory dwelling unit is detached from or attached to the single-family dwelling, it may not be more than 75% of the gross floor area of the single-family dwelling or 1,000 square feet, whichever is less,” the law reads.

The ADU does not require any additional parking, however.

In fact, parking requirements under the Land Use Act are trimmed significantly in almost all instances.

“Personally, I think it’s short-sighted, but we don’t have choice,” Mulcahy noted.

The new law also does away with the board of adjustment and conditional use permits. It becomes an administrative process, though the city can regulate things like home businesses through writing performance standards.

In other housekeeping, the city did away with most rural zoning except for  SAG-5, as it doesn’t anticipate regulating farmland.

The zoning regs also change limits for building heights. In business districts, buildings can now be 60 feet tall. Same for light industrial.

The city also will look to add density bonuses for affordable housing in projects like planned unit developments.

The city plans on refining the zoning later in the year, such as adding areas where bear resistant garbage containers are required and stream setbacks, to name a couple of items.

The city has posted the changes to its Land Use Planning website at: www.cityofcolumbiafalls.org/1244/Montana-Land-Use-Planning-Act.

The most useful document is the “Title 18, revision comparison document, 4-28-2-26” as one can look at the new and revised law. The old law is struck out and the new law is inserted.

Public comment can be submitted using the form on the City of Columbia Falls website Montana Land Use Planning Act page, but can also be mailed to City Hall, Attn: Caleb Sobczak, 130 6th St W, Columbia Falls, MT 59912 or emailed to [email protected]. Please include your name, email address, the Title(s) to be changed, and the suggested changes referencing the section number(s) not the page numbers.