ZoningOrdinances

Zoning ordinances

Zoning in Great Falls is assigned by ordinance, one property at a time, under Title 17 of the OfficialCode, the Land Development Code.

The pattern

Nearly every zoning ordinance in the record follows the same shape. The property is identified by legal description — lot, block, addition or certificate of survey, section, township, range, in Cascade County, Montana — the ordinance assigns a classification, and it is accepted on first reading, heard at a public hearing at a later meeting, and adopted, taking effect thirty days later.

Classifications you will see

R-2 single-family medium density, R-3 single-family high density, R-10 mobile home park
C-2 general commercial, M-2 mixed-use transitional, I-1 light industrial
PUD — planned unit development, a negotiated classification with its own conditions, used for larger or unusual projects

Recent zoning ordinances

3273 — PUD, Beebe Tracts lots 8-10 and 13-15, adopted June 3, 2025
3275 — PUD for Benefis Health Systems, superseding Ordinance 3074, Mount Olivet Addition, adopted July 1, 2025
3276 — PUD, Mercedes Minor Subdivision, requested by KIB Homes, adopted August 19, 2025
3277 — R-3, 1420 17th Avenue SW, adopted October 7, 2025
3281 — R-10 mobile home park, Portage Meadows Ranch and COS 4970, requested by Nine Blessings LLC, adopted December 2, 2025
Ordinance3284 — PUD, COS 3779, the Little Shell Tribe, adopted July 21, 2026
Ordinance3285 — R-2, 305 21st Avenue South, adopted August 4, 2026

Rezonings that accompany an annexation are heard together with the annexation resolution and the improvement agreement — see AnnexationProcess. Conditional use permits, by contrast, are granted by resolution, not ordinance.

Eveery one of these goes to the PlanningAdvisoryBoard first.

Ordinances: https://greatfallsmt.gov/260/Ordinances Zoning map: https://greatfallsmt.gov/340/Zoning-Map

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Revision 2, last edited 2022-12-07T17:06:54Z by ElectricCityEd.