In recent years, most of the development in Montana has been occurring beyond the boundaries of cities and towns. A study conducted two years ago by the Department of Commerce showed that Missoula was the only city in Montana that grew at a rate faster than the unincorporated area of the county in which it is located. If this pattern of development continues, those natural qualities that make Montana a special place to live will be lost forever. State and local governments must cooperate to establish growth and land use policies that recognize private property rights while protecting the natural assets of Montana.
Be it resolved that the League will support Legislation to:
1. encourage the use of community sewer systems to protect water quality across the state, including a measure that may be introduced to increase the minimum lot size required for the installation of septic systems
2. promote development practices that assure the best use of the land and cost efficient delivery of services
3. require local governments provide written explanations and justification to only those conditions imposed on a subdivision to which written objections are submitted
4. repeal Section 76-2-312 MCA which, for some strange and inexplicable reasons, denies extraterritorial planning and zoning jurisdiction to cities organized under the Commission-Manager form of government
5. repeal or amend the Mega Landfill Siting Act to assure that large solid waste facilities currently serving cities are not required to pay licensing fees and comply with unnecessary regulations when they reach a volume of 200,000 tons per year.
Be it further resolved that the League will oppose Legislation to:
1. restrict the annexation authority of cities and towns
2. allow the incorporation of new municipalities within three miles of existing cities as a method of avoiding annexation
3. reduce the percentage of protests necessary to block the creation of a Special Improvement District for sanitary sewer service. As an alternative, cities could consider amendments that would allow a 50% protest to be overridden by a regulatory agency or two-thirds majority of the council to protect public health and water quality
4. make unnecessary or unworkable changes to the Subdivision Laws that were last revised in 2005
5. amend provisions of the Impact Fee Law that were agreed to by cities, counties, developers and builders after long and difficult negotiations before and during the 2005 Legislature.
