Frontier Institute Statement in Support of HB 492

Legislation addresses one of the leading cost drivers of building housing in cities

HELENA – Today, the Frontier Institute offered support for HB 492, a bill that follows recommendations from Frontier Institute’s 2023 Pro-Housing Platform to address harmful local zoning regulations that mandate excessive parking requirements and drive up housing costs.

“Excessive parking requirements imposed by zoning regulation are one of the leading cost drivers of building housing in cities, worsening Montana’s housing shortage,” said Tanner Avery, Policy Director of the Frontier Institute. “HB 492 places reasonable sidebars on local government zoning that dictates parking.”

Excessive parking requirements are routinely cited as significant contributors to limited housing supply and increased home costs. Parking mandates can add anywhere from $5,000 to $60,000 per parking space, to the cost of a home.

Frontier Institute has promoted extensive research showing excessive zoning requirements:

• Contributes to Montana’s housing shortage, driving up the cost of housing for everyone.
• Prohibits affordable starter homes in desirable and opportunity-rich areas of town.
• Forces landowners to jump through regulatory hoops to build affordable homes.
• Violates landowners’ right to build affordable starter homes on their own property.
• Drives urban sprawl, eating up surrounding open space and rural land with development.
• Inflates city infrastructure costs by forcing housing development to sprawl outward, requiring more government spending and higher taxes.
• Robs cities of new sources of revenue by blocking more residents and businesses in city limits.