Enabling statute

Montana

Montana Code Annotated, Title 76 (Land Resources and Use), Chapter 2 (Planning and Zoning)

Verified against the sourceAll states →

Summary

Montana delegates zoning authority to local governments through Title 76, Chapter 2 of the Montana Code Annotated, following the Standard State Zoning Enabling Act lineage. Municipal zoning is authorized for cities and incorporated towns under Part 3 (§ 76-2-301, traceable to a 1929 act), empowering their councils to regulate building height, lot coverage, density, and the use of land and structures. County zoning is authorized under Part 2 (§ 76-2-201, originating in 1963), allowing a board of county commissioners that has adopted a growth policy to zone all or parts of the unincorporated jurisdictional area, with regulations required to be made in accordance with that growth policy (§ 76-2-203). Montana counties and cities/towns may also exercise these powers through self-government (home-rule) charters, so the authority model is both county and municipal with a home-rule overlay.

The delegation

76-2-201. County zoning authorized. (1) For the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare, a board of county commissioners that has adopted a growth policy pursuant to chapter 1 is authorized to adopt zoning regulations for all or parts of the jurisdictional area in accordance with the provisions of this part. (2) For the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare, a board of county commissioners that adopted a master plan pursuant to Title 76, chapter 1, before October 1, 1999, may, until October 1, 2006, adopt or revise zoning regulations that are consistent with the master plan. 76-2-301. Municipal zoning authorized. For the purpose of promoting health, safety, morals, or the general welfare of the community, the city or town council or other legislative body of cities and incorporated towns is hereby empowered to regulate and restrict the height, number of stories, and size of buildings and other structures; the percentage of lot that may be occupied; the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces; the density of population; and the location and use of buildings, structures, and land for trade, industry, residence, or other purposes.

Verification

Read the verification audit

Verified against current (2025) Montana Code Annotated via Justia, FindLaw, and Montana Legislature sources. (a) Citation is real and current: Title 76 (Land Resources and Use), Chapter 2 (Planning and Zoning) is the live zoning chapter. Part 2 = County Zoning (76-2-201 et seq.), Part 3 = Municipal Zoning (76-2-301 et seq.). All three cited section ranges resolve to current statutes. Confirmed verbatim text of 76-2-201(1): "For the purpose of promoting the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare, a board of county commissioners that has adopted a growth policy pursuant to chapter 1 is authorized to adopt zoning regulations for all or parts of the jurisdictional area in accordance with the provisions of this part." 76-2-301 ("Municipal zoning authorized") empowers "the city or town council or other legislative body of cities and incorporated towns" to regulate height, number of stories, size of buildings, etc. — classic SSZEA language. (b) Genuinely the enabling authority: Yes. Title 76 ch. 2 is the dedicated planning-and-zoning enabling chapter (not an unrelated or repealed provision). 76-2-203 ("Criteria and guidelines for zoning regulations") confirmed as a current section requiring county regulations be made in accordance with a growth policy. The growth-policy prerequisite for county zoning (76-2-201) is confirmed. (c) Authority model accurate: county_and_municipal is correct — counties zone unincorporated areas under Part 2, cities/incorporated towns under Part 3. The home-rule overlay is accurate: Montana Const. Art. XI sec. 5-6 and Title 7 (7-1-101, MCA) authorize self-government (home-rule) powers for both counties and municipalities (43 of 127 municipalities have self-governing powers), under which local governments may exercise any power not expressly prohibited — confirming the "home_rule overlay" characterization. Minor note: the summary's historical dates (municipal traceable to a 1929 act; county originating in 1963) are plausible and consistent with Montana's SSZEA lineage but I could not independently confirm the exact years from the statutory annotations in this session (the MSU Local Government Center handbook returned HTTP 403). These dates are non-load-bearing color and do not affect the accuracy of the citation, the enabling-authority determination, or the authority model. The substantive, load-bearing claims are all confirmed.