Montana § 76-25-502 - Variances

§ 76-25-502. Variances

Variances. (1) All land use regulations must include a process for the submission and review of variances. (2) The application for a variance must be for relief from land or building form design standards or subdivision design and improvement standards. (3) Variance applications must be considered and approved or approved with conditions before application or in conjunction with application for a zoning permit or subdivision approval. (4) The granting of a variance must meet all of the following criteria: (a) the variance is not detrimental to public health, safety or general welfare; (b) the variance is due to conditions peculiar to the property, such as physical surroundings, shape, or topographical conditions; (c) strict application of the regulations to the property results in an unnecessary hardship to the owner as compared to others subject to the same regulations and that is not self-imposed; (d) the variance may not cause a substantial increase in public costs; and (e) the variance may not place the property in nonconformance with any other regulations. (5) Additional criteria may apply if the variance is associated with a floodplain or floodway pursuant to the requirements of Title 76, chapter 5. (6) Variance requests must be reviewed and determined by the planning administrator. The planning administrator's decision is final and no further action may be taken except as provided in 76-25-503 .