Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Zephyr outlines housing strategy: community land trusts, parking limits and landlord‑tenant overhaul
Summary
Representative Zoe Zephyr described housing policies she pushed and hopes to advance — community land trusts, caps on parking requirements, limits on local height restrictions up to six stories, and a long‑term goal to rewrite the Landlord Tenant Act to increase mobility and limit rent pressure.
Representative Zoe Zephyr told the Western Montana DSA that housing will be a primary focus for future legislative sessions and described several policy tools she supports to increase supply and mobility.
Zephyr described community land trusts as “market‑insulated housing” in which "the land is leased on a hundred year lease. You own the home and you can buy and sell it basically at construction value as opposed to general market value." She said a community land trust home in Missoula runs about half the typical market price, and she used that example to argue CLTs can promote mobility for retirees and renters.
At the policy level, Zephyr cited this session's regulatory changes as partial progress: she said lawmakers limited local councils from blocking housing up to six stories, and reduced required parking minimums so some units under 1,200 square feet now require one half parking space per unit. "We decreased, we put caps on what a city council can do..." Zephyr said.
Zephyr said the body of law known as the Landlord Tenant Act currently favors landlords and that a broader rewrite of the code would be required to enact rent protections, longer notice periods for rent increases, limits on short‑term rentals and stronger municipal zoning powers. "We need probably four more seats in the house... before we can get some landlord tenant policy, affirmative, good policy through," she said, describing committee control as the key obstacle.
Why it matters: Zephyr argued that without policies that increase mobility — allowing older homeowners to downsize without losing generational value, and enabling renters to build equity or move into ownership — housing supply strains will persist.
Zephyr presented examples of targeted approaches she favors: propagating community land trusts beyond small pilots, creating infill development outside the city core, and setting aside funds in larger projects to support CLT units. She framed these changes as incremental and contingent on committee composition and legislative majorities.
Representative Zoe Zephyr spoke; Bridal Work introduced the session.
