Livingston Commission approves first reading of sweeping zoning overhaul, removes riparian setbacks for later study

The Livingston City Commission voted to approve the first reading of Ordinance 3064, a comprehensive rewrite of Chapter 30 of the Livingston Municipal Code that replaces the cityzoning text. Vice Chair Noots moved the ordinance; Commissioner Kale seconded. The motion passed on a roll call vote with Chair Quentin Schwartz, Vice Chair Noots, Commissioner Kale and Commissioner Lyons voting yes.

The update, presented by Planning Director Jen Severson and city manager Grant Gager, bundles text and (separately considered) map changes intended to implement the cityadopted 2021 growth policy and to conform the code to recent state law changes. Severson told the commission the project included four focus groups, two in-person open houses, three consolidated land use board meetings and more than 1,500 online comments from roughly 227 individuals.

"We are recommending that we remove the riparian setback requirements completely from chapter 30," Director Severson said, explaining staffs preference to delay codified riparian setbacks until the city completes a technical, stream-reach study that can tailor buffers to the Yellowstone River, Fleishman Creek and Gilman Creek. "To try to set that number without the information that a study would inform, I believe is just not the best way to go." The ordinance text presented to the commission omits riparian setbacks and directs that issue for a future, more detailed study or possible incorporation into a FEMA-driven floodplain update.

Severson outlined other major changes required or prompted by the 2025 state legislative changes: municipalities cannot impose height limits below 60 feet in certain commercial and industrial districts; off-street parking requirements are constrained by state law (for example, single-family residences may be limited to one on-site space, accessory dwelling units cannot be required to provide off-street parking, and units under 1,200 square feet may be limited to a maximum of 0.5 parking spaces per unit). "The state has determined that we don't need as much parking as maybe we think we do," Severson said.

Staff also proposed map changes to reduce the footprint of the central business district (CBD) in blocks that are predominately residential and to rezone much of the highway commercial strip approaching downtown to a new "light mixed use" (LMU) classification. The LMU district would generally cap heights lower (36 feet, or 40 feet as a PUD incentive) than the 60-foot minimum the state now limits cities from going below in higher-intensity commercial areas; staff said the rezone is intended to protect views and transition density near historic neighborhoods.

Commissioners and members of the public pressed staff on several points. Commissioner Lyons asked whether removing downtown height allowances would push density outward; Commissioner Lyons and others cited planning literature showing that strict downtown height limits can cause sprawl. Director Severson and city manager Gager said the proposed mix of text and map changes seeks to preserve community character while directing growth where infrastructure can support it; staff noted some downtown water and sewer mains date to the 1920s and would require upgrades if higher-density development were encouraged without infrastructure planning.

Public commenters split: Randy Carpenter of Prince of Park County and other commenters supported the LMU conversions as a tool to add downtown housing and limit auto-oriented commercial sprawl, while Montana Freshwater Partners and local residents urged caution on riparian setbacks and asked for higher-resolution flood- and habitat-mapping to be considered before enacting fixed waterfront buffers. Tara Eddie provided a petition opposing codified riparian setbacks; Becky Bird, who signed the petition, said removing the setbacks now was a pragmatic step to avoid taking private property rights before a technical study.

The commission made three specific edits or directions as it approved first reading: remove "supportive/transitional housing" as a discrete use (staff said the land use is better regulated as a residential use subject to site plan review), mark fireworks stands as "not allowed" (preserving the single existing nonconforming annexed stand), and direct staff to return with a fleshed-out agricultural / "open-pastoral" district option for large parcels east of the Yellowstone River. Staff told the commission the ordinance text second reading is expected at the commissions first December meeting, map amendments would be scheduled as a separate resolution (anticipated mid-December) and that the text changes are programmed to take effect January 1.

What this means now: the first reading clears the way for a public process on the maps and for staff to draft an agricultural/open-pastoral district that reflects commissioner direction (lot-size thresholds, allowable agricultural-support residences, and limits on commercial manufacturing using only goods produced on-site were listed as potential elements). Because the code changes are wide-ranging, staff and commissioners emphasized that final implementation will rely on subsequent administrative rules, permit standards and targeted studies, including a recommended technical stream-reach study before any riparian setbacks are reintroduced into Chapter 30.

The ordinance carries changes that will directly affect developers, property owners and neighborhoods: revised use tables with new LMU and high-intensity mixed-use categories, updated parking rules to reflect state limits, revised conditional use (formerly special exception) procedures, height caps in certain new districts, and the removal of riparian setback language pending future study. The commission voted to approve the first reading, with motion by Vice Chair Noots, second by Commissioner Kale; roll call was recorded as aye from Schwartz, Noots, Kale and Lyons.

Next steps: staff will (a) return to the commission with a proposed agricultural/open-pastoral district and suggested lot-size thresholds and design standards; (b) publish the draft map and materials in advance of the separate December resolution to amend the zoning map; and (c) scope and seek funding for a technical stream-reach study and the FEMA/state floodplain update that will help inform any future riparian setback policy.