SUGGESTED LANGUAGE ZONING
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CONTENTS
1. Overview
2. What is a Manufactured Home
3.City Zoning Ordinances
  3.1 Helena
  3.2 Billings
  3.3 Great Falls
4. Code Requirements
5. Objectives of Zoning Ordinances
6. Appearance Comparisons
7. Value Considerations
8. Suggested Zoning Language
8. Suggested Language for Zoning Regulations

     Zoning ordinances designed to restrict placement of manufactured housing should be considered only after fully evaluating the legal ramifications and the impact that such restrictions may have on the affordable housing market. Generally, zoning that specifically restricts manufactured housing and not other forms of housing should be avoided.
     Montana law has defined a minimum standard of size and appearance for manufactured
housing. 

Title 76-2-203(6), MCA (municipal and county zoning statutes) ... „manufactured housingâ means a single-family dwelling, built offsite at a factory on or after January 1, 1990, that is placed on a permanent foundation, is at least 1,000 square feet in size, has a pitched roof and siding and roofing materials that are customarily, as defined by local regulations, used on site-built homes, and is in compliance with the applicable standards of the United States department of housing and urban development at the time of its production. 

     This standard effectively assures that manufactured housing will be comparable or better than conventional housing that would be permitted in similar circumstances, particularly for housing that
is directed toward the affordable housing market.  

     Manufactured housing can compete at mid- and high-end markets, as well. Because a home is fabricated under controlled and monitored conditions should not be a reason to deny its availability to any market. The test should be one of construction quality and comparable appearance. If a factory built home can compare to conventional housing, the market should not be denied the value and cost saving inherent in controlled construction. It is that standard of quality and appearance that should appear in zoning regulations without any intention of denying one particular method of construction.

 

Montana Manufactured Housing and RV Association
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