Study says more multi-family zoning would ease Montana housing crunch

A new study published by a Republican-aligned Montana think tank argues that zoning reform intended to make it easier to build duplex, triplex and fourplex-style homes in urban neighborhoods represents a key strategy for Montana as the state grapples with a housing crunch driven by lagging home construction and surging in-migration.

The report, from the Helena-based Frontier Institute, says current zoning regulations in many Montana cities make it unnecessarily difficult to redevelop urban lots with buildings that can provide homes for multiple households, or to convert existing structures into multifamily units...