Housing, development bills progressing through Montana Legislature

HELENA — Montana lawmakers have taken up a variety of payments this session which are aimed toward tackling the continued want for housing within the state. Now, a few of the proposals have cleared their first chamber and are into account within the second.

“I am simply excited that we’re speaking about housing, and we have seen some actual motion on addressing this challenge that is affecting lots of Montanans throughout the state,” mentioned Sen. Forrest Mandeville, R-Columbus.

Mandeville is sponsoring Senate Invoice 382, which handed the Senate 44-6 earlier this month. It’s scheduled for a listening to within the Home Native Authorities Committee on Thursday.

SB 382 would make a considerable overhaul to the principles for native land use planning.

“If we will mesh these acts collectively a bit higher and do our planning on the entrance finish, we will have a extra predictable course of each for the builders and the neighborhoods, and we will have a extra streamlined course of,” Mandeville mentioned.

The invoice would apply to cities and cities with greater than 5,000 residents which are in counties with greater than 70,000 residents. At the moment, that would come with Billings, Laurel, Bozeman, Belgrade, Missoula, Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Nice Falls and Helena.

One of many primary provisions would require these municipalities to undertake 5 out of a “menu” of 14 methods for growing housing entry. These methods may embody decreasing minimal lot sizes, permitting multifamily improvement in additional areas and loosening restrictions on accent dwelling models.

“What we’ve on the menu possibility can be a record of greatest practices, I feel,” mentioned Mandeville.

Lawmakers have labored on SB 382 along with teams just like the Montana League of Cities and Cities, and Mandeville mentioned extra amendments are prone to handle stakeholders’ suggestions.

Different payments that handed the Senate and are actually awaiting hearings within the Home embody Senate Invoice 245, sponsored by Sen. Daniel Zolnikov, R-Billings, which might require bigger cities to permit multifamily housing and mixed-use improvement in business areas, and Senate Invoice 323, sponsored by Sen. Jeremy Trebas, R-Nice Falls, which might require massive cities to permit duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes in residential areas.

Mandeville mentioned he believes these payments might be complementary to SB 382.

“If we’re encouraging housing in a accountable means and in areas that we have deliberate for housing, then that is a win-win-win,” he mentioned.

A number of housing-related payments didn’t move their first chamber earlier than the deadline for common payments to maneuver ahead. They embody Home Invoice 337, from Rep. Katie Zolnikov, Billings, which might have prohibited cities and cities from requiring a minimal lot measurement of greater than 2,500 sq. ft, if loads has each municipal water and sewer service, in addition to Home Invoice 553, from Rep. Alice Buckley, D-Bozeman, which might have required municipalities to permit accent dwelling models in all residential areas and to deal with manufactured properties the identical as different properties of their zoning. Each of these payments had been tabled within the Home Native Authorities Committee.

Regardless of that, Home Speaker Rep. Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, mentioned Tuesday that he believes many within the Home are open to having a look on the concepts that came visiting from the Senate.

These are removed from the one housing payments that lawmakers are speaking about. Legislators have launched quite a few proposals that will direct funding or supply tax credit for housing. As a result of these payments cope with cash, they’ve a later transmittal deadline and should clear the primary chamber by Apr. 3.