Overview
Code type
euclidean
Naming convention
mixed
| residential | letter-numeric (v1 asserted R-1/R-2/MHP but these were NOT confirmed against primary-source Townsend code; sub-district roster is status=not_found for v2) |
|---|---|
| commercial | letter-numeric (v1 asserted C-1/C-2/C-3; NOT confirmed against primary-source; status=not_found for v2) |
| industrial | letter-numeric (v1 asserted I-1; NOT confirmed) |
| agricultural | AG (likely county-level, since city boundaries are small; AG would typically be a Broadwater County regulation not a city-of-Townsend regulation) |
Townsend is a small incorporated city (1,787 residents per Census 2020), county seat of Broadwater County. Jurisdiction is dual-layered: within city limits, the City of Townsend Municipal Code governs; in the extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ, typically 1-mile ring per MCA §76-2-310) and unincorporated areas, Broadwater County Community Development & Planning administers land-use. The city code is hosted on municipalcodeonline.com but WebFetch was not able to retrieve its internal structure (FM-P: SPA-style platform; search-interface only without the content body visible). v1's full district/overlay inventory was inferred from 'typical rural MT county pattern' which is FM-1 pattern-overreach and FM-6 schema-projection — v2 demotes those inferences to not_found with explicit search_performed strings. | naming_convention_raw=hierarchical-letter-numeric (inferred regional convention; actual Townsend district codes not confirmed this pass) ; sub_flags_raw=[small-rural-city, below-state-preemption-thresholds, county-seat-mixed-jurisdiction] ; narrative_ref=narratives/townsend-mt/fleet-20260419T082804-15.json#section-02-code-type-classifier
Worth knowing
- Townsend is a small city (1,787 residents per Census 2020) that falls BELOW every 2023 Montana housing-law city-size threshold (SB 323 >=5,000; SB 245 >=7,000; SB 382 >=5,000 AND in a county >=70,000). Only SB 528 (ADU, no threshold) applies. v1 profile incorrectly applied SB 382/245 as if they preempted Townsend's lot size, setbacks, density, and parking — this is FACTUALLY WRONG and is the single biggest v1-to-v2 correction in this record. SB 382 does not impose per-se dimensional preemptions at all (it creates a plan-based ministerial-review regime for qualifying larger jurisdictions); SB 245 applies only above 7,000 residents. — [c§MT Free Press 2023-05-10 capitol-tracker coverage of SB 382/323/245/528 thresholds; c§MCA §76-2-345 (SB 528 codification, no threshold); c§Census 2020 Townsend city population 1,787]
- v1 profile population (1,974) and county population (12,800) were BOTH wrong by ~10-100%. Census 2020 values: Townsend 1,787; Broadwater County 6,774. The ~10% inflation on Townsend may reflect an ACS 5-year estimate snapshot; the 89% inflation on Broadwater County (12,800 vs actual 6,774) is either a blatant error or a confusion with a different jurisdiction. Both values corrected in v2 to match primary-source Census 2020. — [c§Census 2020 DP-1 (verified via Wikipedia and citypopulation.de); v1 values disputed]
- Townsend sits in the Missouri River valley immediately south of Canyon Ferry Lake (Bureau of Reclamation reservoir formed by Canyon Ferry Dam, ~1 mile north of town). Flood hazard is operationally significant but the specific local floodplain overlay ordinance text and BFE values were not retrieved this pass (FM-P: municipalcodeonline SPA block on Townsend's code portal; Broadwater County has no public PDF code viewer). v1's detailed floodplain parameters (BFE + 2 ft freeboard, specific substantial-improvement language) are consistent with Montana NFIP convention but are NOT primary-source-anchored for Townsend specifically. — [c§geographic fact (Canyon Ferry Lake adjacency); partial§Montana NFIP statewide convention]
+ 5 more in Quirks & notes
Districts
res_sf 1com 1ind 1ag 1
| Code | Name | Category | Min lot | Height | Coverage | FAR | Du/ac | Parking | Setbacks F/S/R |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-? | Residential — inventory not confirmed | res_sf | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| C-? | Commercial — inventory not confirmed | com | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| I-? | Industrial — inventory not confirmed | ind | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
| AG | Agricultural (county-level; NOT a Townsend city district) | ag | — | — | — | — | — | — | — / — / — |
Confidence: confirmed partial under review not found
Overlays
FPO
Floodplain Overlay District
FPFEMA-mapped 100-year flood zones (Special Flood Hazard Areas) along the Missouri River (which flows through the Townsend valley, impounded as Canyon Ferry Lake immediately north of Townsend) and Townsend Creek / Deep Creek tributary drainages. Primary-source FIRM panel verification not completed this pass.
RCP
Riparian Corridor / Wetland Protection Overlay
ENVv1 asserted streams, perennial water bodies, and delineated wetlands per USGS 1:24,000 quads; NOT primary-source-confirmed. Missouri River itself and Canyon Ferry Lake shoreline lie adjacent to Townsend.
HD
Historic Downtown Overlay (v1 speculation)
HPv1 speculated 'Main Street, Broadway vicinity; approximately 4-6 blocks; pre-1930s buildings potential eligibility' — no primary-source confirmation
State preemptions
MT-SB528-ADU-2023applies
Qualifying condition
SB 528 (2023) has NO population threshold. It applies statewide to all Montana municipalities with zoning. Townsend has zoning (city code exists on municipalcodeonline.com). Therefore SB 528 applies to Townsend in full.
Effect
Townsend must allow at least one ADU by-right on any lot or parcel containing a single-family dwelling. Detached ADUs may not exceed 75% of the primary dwelling's gross floor area or 1,000 sq ft (whichever is less — per statute). City may NOT impose owner-occupancy requirements, additional minimum lot size for the ADU, or additional parking requirements beyond what the primary dwelling requires. Effective January 1, 2024.
MT-PROPERTY-TAX-CAP-MCA-15-10-420applies
Qualifying condition
MCA §15-10-420 applies to all Montana local governments (always-trigger). Townsend is a Montana municipality; subject to the mill levy growth cap (half of prior-3-year inflation average + newly taxable property).
Effect
Indirect: limits Townsend's ability to fund planning, infrastructure, and zoning-administration staff through property tax mill levy growth. Does not preempt any specific zoning rule, but constrains the fiscal capacity to support entitlement processing.
Non-applicable laws (5)
MT-SB323-DUPLEX-2023under_review
Qualifying condition
SB 323 (2023) applies only to cities with population >=5,000. Townsend population = 1,787 (Census 2020) < 5,000 threshold. Arithmetic: 1,787 < 5,000 → does not apply. | reason=Population below 5,000 threshold. MT Supreme Court upheld SB 323 applicability in March 2026, confirming the 5,000 threshold remains operative. Threshold is based on decennial census population, not ACS estimates.
Effect
None. Duplex-by-right preemption does not reach Townsend. City retains authority to restrict duplexes to districts it designates for multi-family use, so long as it otherwise complies with SB 528 ADU mandate.
MT-SB245-DENSITY-2023under_review
Qualifying condition
SB 245 (2023) mandates mixed-use/apartment-style housing in commercial zones of cities with population >=7,000. Townsend population = 1,787 (Census 2020) < 7,000. Arithmetic: 1,787 < 7,000 → does not apply. Note: zoning/us/montana/overlays.json encodes MT_SB245_DENSITY_PREEMPTION_2023 with a trigger predicate on base_zone_category only (no population threshold), which conflicts with the statutory language as reported in Mercatus and MT Free Press 2023 coverage ('cities with 7,000 residents or more'). Resolution: follow the statute's city-size threshold per primary source; flag the overlay JSON for review. | reason=Population below 7,000 threshold per statutory language (SB 245 as reported in MT Free Press 2023-05-10 and Mercatus Center brief; statute text requires re-fetch for gold-standard confirmation of exact threshold — v1 applied this law to Townsend which is FM-9 roster-trust without the primary-data arithmetic).
Effect
None currently. Townsend retains authority to cap dwelling units per acre in its residential districts.
MT-SB382-MLUPA-2023under_review
Qualifying condition
SB 382 (Montana Land Use Planning Act) requires a growth policy only for cities with population >=5,000 AND located in a county with population >=70,000 (MT Free Press 2023-05-10 summary). Townsend population 1,787 (< 5,000) AND Broadwater County population 6,774 (< 70,000). Both conditions fail. Note: zoning/us/montana/overlays.json encodes MT_SB382_LAND_USE_PLANNING_ACT_2023 with trigger_predicate on city.population >=5,000 only, missing the county-population condition. This overlay JSON is incomplete vs. the statute. | reason=Both city population (1,787 < 5,000) AND county population (6,774 < 70,000) fail the conjunctive threshold. v1 profile incorrectly applied SB 382 as if it preempted Townsend's minimum lot size, setback, and parking requirements — this is WRONG. SB 382 does not impose those preemptions at all (those would be separate bills, e.g., a hypothetical min-lot-size cap bill that was NOT enacted in 2023); it only triggers the plan-based ministerial-approval framework for qualifying larger jurisdictions.
Effect
None. Townsend is not required to adopt an MLUPA growth policy. The by-right ministerial-approval regime for plan-consistent housing does not attach. Standard discretionary local review per MCA §76-2-301 et seq. (the pre-MLUPA Planning Act) remains the governance framework.
MT-HB819-CRA-2023under_review
Qualifying condition
HB 819 (2023) is the Montana Community Reinvestment Act — a $175M housing funding and CRA program bill, NOT a minimum-lot-size cap. v1 profile is SILENT on HB 819 but zoning/us/montana/overlays.json (MT_HB819_LOT_SIZE_CAP_2023) encodes it as a 2,500 sf lot-size cap applying to cities >=5,000. Primary-source verification of HB 819's actual content is REQUIRED. Per MT Free Press capitol tracker: 'HB 819 is a compromise spending package that puts $175 million toward housing initiatives as well as authorizing an extra $50 million for low-interest loans.' This is a spending/CRA bill, not a lot-size preemption. The state-overlays JSON entry appears to confuse HB 819 with a different bill (possibly a failed or withdrawn bill). | qualifying_condition_checked_supplemental=Requires state-overlays/montana.json audit — MT_HB819_LOT_SIZE_CAP_2023 encoding conflicts with MT Free Press capitol-tracker description of HB 819 as a CRA/spending bill. Until reconciled, treating as not-applicable to Townsend on both readings (spending bill = no preemption; lot-size-cap bill = below 5,000 threshold). | applies_raw=uncertain
Effect
If HB 819 is indeed a CRA/spending bill (per MT Free Press), it does not preempt Townsend's lot size at all; it creates funding opportunities that Townsend may or may not participate in. Under the state-overlays JSON's (incorrect?) framing as a lot-size cap applying to cities >=5,000, it would still be not_applicable to Townsend (1,787 < 5,000).
Retrieval issue
Primary-source HB 819 statute text at leg.mt.gov returned 404 on direct PDF fetch (archive.legmt.gov redirect chain did not resolve within tool-call budget). Flagging for the freshness auditor / state-overlay maintainer.
MT-HB337-PARKING-CAP-TRANSIT-2023under_review
Qualifying condition
HB 337 caps parking at 1.0 space/unit for multifamily within 1/2 mile of transit. Townsend does NOT have fixed-route public transit; the nearest public transit is in Helena (~30 miles north, MET bus service which does not extend to Townsend). Trigger predicate parcel.within_half_mile_transit evaluates to FALSE for all Townsend parcels. | reason=No qualifying transit in Townsend municipal boundary.
Effect
None. No parcels in Townsend qualify.
Adopted building codes
Local option to enforce
Click a code label to open its state-by-state adoption atlas.
Quirks & notes
- Townsend is a small city (1,787 residents per Census 2020) that falls BELOW every 2023 Montana housing-law city-size threshold (SB 323 >=5,000; SB 245 >=7,000; SB 382 >=5,000 AND in a county >=70,000). Only SB 528 (ADU, no threshold) applies. v1 profile incorrectly applied SB 382/245 as if they preempted Townsend's lot size, setbacks, density, and parking — this is FACTUALLY WRONG and is the single biggest v1-to-v2 correction in this record. SB 382 does not impose per-se dimensional preemptions at all (it creates a plan-based ministerial-review regime for qualifying larger jurisdictions); SB 245 applies only above 7,000 residents. — [c§MT Free Press 2023-05-10 capitol-tracker coverage of SB 382/323/245/528 thresholds; c§MCA §76-2-345 (SB 528 codification, no threshold); c§Census 2020 Townsend city population 1,787]
- v1 profile population (1,974) and county population (12,800) were BOTH wrong by ~10-100%. Census 2020 values: Townsend 1,787; Broadwater County 6,774. The ~10% inflation on Townsend may reflect an ACS 5-year estimate snapshot; the 89% inflation on Broadwater County (12,800 vs actual 6,774) is either a blatant error or a confusion with a different jurisdiction. Both values corrected in v2 to match primary-source Census 2020. — [c§Census 2020 DP-1 (verified via Wikipedia and citypopulation.de); v1 values disputed]
- Townsend sits in the Missouri River valley immediately south of Canyon Ferry Lake (Bureau of Reclamation reservoir formed by Canyon Ferry Dam, ~1 mile north of town). Flood hazard is operationally significant but the specific local floodplain overlay ordinance text and BFE values were not retrieved this pass (FM-P: municipalcodeonline SPA block on Townsend's code portal; Broadwater County has no public PDF code viewer). v1's detailed floodplain parameters (BFE + 2 ft freeboard, specific substantial-improvement language) are consistent with Montana NFIP convention but are NOT primary-source-anchored for Townsend specifically. — [c§geographic fact (Canyon Ferry Lake adjacency); partial§Montana NFIP statewide convention]
- Townsend has dual-jurisdiction land-use governance: City of Townsend Municipal Code within incorporated limits, Broadwater County regulations in the ETJ (1-mile ring per MCA §76-2-310) and unincorporated surroundings. Development straddling or abutting city-line parcels may require both-side approvals. The City code is hosted on municipalcodeonline.com; the County code is administered by Broadwater County Community Development & Planning at (406) 266-9211. Neither code was retrievable via WebFetch this pass (SPA block and no-public-viewer respectively). — [c§MCA §76-2-310 (ETJ enabling); c§broadwatercountymt.gov department listing]
- v1 profile asserted detailed dimensional standards for 8 districts (R-1, R-2/MF, MHP, C-1, C-2, C-3, I-1, AG) with ~40+ numeric values, ALL marked 'i' (inferred) with no primary-source citation. This is FM-6 schema-projection (filling slots because the schema has them) and FM-1 pattern-overreach (assuming 'typical rural MT county pattern' without reading the actual code). v2 demotes all inferred values to not_found and records the v1 assertions here as a future-verification starting point. Future pass should obtain either (a) the municipalcodeonline.com authenticated API access, (b) a PDF export from Townsend City Hall, or (c) direct contact with Broadwater County Planning at (406) 266-9211. — [v1 profile self-marked all dimensional values as 'i' (inferred); no c§ citations present]
- MT Supreme Court UPHELD the 2023 housing bill package (SB 382, SB 323, SB 245, SB 528) in March 2026, ending the multi-year constitutional challenge brought by Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification (MAID). This confirms that SB 528 (ADU) is fully enforceable against Townsend as of January 1, 2024. Townsend must permit at least one ADU by-right on any single-family lot, with no owner-occupancy requirement and no additional parking. — [c§Flathead Beacon 2026-03-18 'Montana Supreme Court Upholds Slate of 2023 Housing Laws'; c§MCA §76-2-345]
- Infrastructure (water, sewer, Missouri River flood risk) is likely the binding development constraint in Townsend, not zoning. v1 noted this as a quirk and v2 retains it as operationally accurate even though v1's underlying claim that 'zoning is preempted' was wrong — the infrastructure-as-binding-constraint observation stands independent of state preemption status because Townsend is small, rural, and dependent on municipal water/sewer for denser development. — [general observation; not primary-source-anchored]
- zoning/us/montana/overlays.json file contains probable encoding errors: (a) MT_SB382_LAND_USE_PLANNING_ACT_2023 trigger_predicate is city.population >=5,000 only, missing the AND county.population >=70,000 condition that the statute requires per MT Free Press coverage; (b) MT_SB245_DENSITY_PREEMPTION_2023 trigger_predicate is base_zone_category only, missing the city.population >=7,000 threshold; (c) MT_HB819_LOT_SIZE_CAP_2023 appears to describe a different bill (lot-size cap) than what MT Free Press capitol-tracker describes as HB 819 (a $175M CRA/spending bill). These encoding errors in the overlays JSON need review by the state-overlay maintainer. v2 applies statutes per primary-source language, not per the overlays JSON, where they disagree. — [c§zoning/us/montana/overlays.json (reviewed 2026-04-19); c§MT Free Press 2023-05-10 capitol-tracker coverage]
Formulas
Definitions
- height
- Grade to highest point of structure (assumed per regional convention; not re-confirmed against Townsend code text this pass — FM-P municipalcodeonline SPA block)
- lot_coverage
- Building footprint divided by lot area (assumed; not re-confirmed)
- far
- Gross floor area divided by lot area (assumed; not re-confirmed)
- du_ac
- Dwelling units per gross acre
- setback_front
- Front property line to nearest building face (assumed)
- setback_side
- Side property line to nearest building face (assumed)
- setback_rear
- Rear property line to nearest building face (assumed)
- parking
- Off-street spaces per dwelling unit
- elevation_requirement
- First floor elevation to BFE + 2 feet freeboard (Montana NFIP convention) in SFHA — if Townsend participates in NFIP; not re-confirmed this pass
Capacity calculations
- max_footprint_sf
lot_area_sf * lot_coverage- max_gfa_sf
lot_area_sf * far- max_units_from_density
lot_area_sf / 43560 * du_ac
Massing explorer
Interactive 3D comparison across every district. Drag to orbit, scroll to zoom, use the slider to walk districts, and toggle applicable overlays in the right-side panel.
Sort by
Max height
— ft
——
Floor area ratio
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Lot coverage
—%
——
Setbacks (F / S / R)
— ft
——
Parking
— /unit
——
Max density
— du/ac
——
Min lot size
— sf
——
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| District | Category | Height | FAR | Coverage | Setbacks | Parking | Density | Min lot | Overlays |
|---|
Research status
Publication gates
| primary url present | passed | code_source is the canonical Townsend city code portal https://townsend.municipalcodeonline.com/ with additional code_source_official_city_page (townsendmt.com) and code_source_county_planning (broadwatercountymt.gov) deep links. None is a platform homepage alias; all three are the correct entry points for Townsend's dual-jurisdiction governance. |
|---|---|---|
| no aggregator cited | passed | All citations point to primary sources: municipalcodeonline.com (authoritative city code host), townsendmt.com (city government), broadwatercountymt.gov (county), Census Bureau, Montana Legislature (leg.mt.gov / archive.legmt.gov), MT Free Press capitol tracker (news reporting on primary-source statute text), Flathead Beacon (news coverage of MT Supreme Court ruling), and Wikipedia (Census population verification only). Zero Zoneomics, Steadily, SitePlanGuide, SitePlanCreator, Propwire, Zonara, Unzoned references. |
| confidence tags full form | passed | All district standards use full-form status objects with status/search_performed/citation fields (all currently status=not_found, which is the correct disposition given the municipalcodeonline.com FM-P SPA block). All state-preemption rows use qualifying_condition_checked strings with numeric arithmetic inputs (population comparisons) and effective dates. Overlays use status/partial_reason/citation. No bare [confirmed] tags; no bare 'i' single-character codes; all citations are c§ form for confirmed or partial§/not_found for non-confirmed. |
| overlays have parameters trigger confidence | passed | All 3 overlay entries (FPO, RCP, HD) include ordinance_ref, geographic_trigger, parameters[], interaction_with_base, status, and citation. FPO is status=partial with explicit partial_reason pointing to the municipalcodeonline SPA block and missing primary-source ordinance text. RCP and HD are status=not_found with search_performed strings. v1's asserted parameters (100-ft riparian buffer, 50-ft wetland buffer, 40-45 ft historic height limit, etc.) are preserved in the parameters[] arrays for v1's speculation as 'v1 asserted ...' markers rather than being dropped silently. No inferred overlays materialized as confirmed. |
| preempt section city specific | passed | state_preemptions_applicable contains 7 Montana-specific rows: SB 528 ADU (applies=true, population-threshold-independent), SB 323 duplex (applies=false, 1,787<5,000), SB 245 density (applies=false, 1,787<7,000), SB 382 MLUPA (applies=false, both city<5,000 AND county<70,000 fail), HB 819 CRA (applies=uncertain, status=under_review with retrieval_failure_reason), HB 337 transit-parking (applies=false, no qualifying transit), MCA §15-10-420 property tax cap (applies=true, always). Each row carries Townsend-specific qualifying_condition_checked with numeric population inputs (1,787 / 6,774) and vintage (Census 2020). v1 profile's assertion that SB 382/245 preempted Townsend's zoning is explicitly refuted with primary-source arithmetic in v2. |
Data quality
30%completeness
Documented gaps
- City of Townsend Municipal Code zoning title/chapter structure — municipalcodeonline.com SPA block prevents WebFetch; requires authenticated API access or manual download
- Broadwater County zoning regulations (ETJ and unincorporated land) — no public document viewer; requires direct contact with County Planning at (406) 266-9211
- Specific residential/commercial/industrial district codes, names, and dimensional standards (all status=not_found)
- Flood damage prevention ordinance citation and BFE/freeboard parameters (status=partial)
- Confirmation of Townsend's NFIP participation status and current FIRM panel effective dates
- Primary-source HB 819 statute text (archive.legmt.gov PDF returned 404 this pass; overlays JSON description conflicts with MT Free Press capitol tracker)
- Any locally-adopted historic district or design overlay (status=not_found; NRHP search did not return a Townsend district listing, only the individual Broadwater County Courthouse listing)
- City code supplement effective date / most-recent amendment date
Known issues
data:gaps-present
Verification
| last_verified_at | 2026-04-19T08:28:04Z |
|---|---|
| verifier_specialist | verification-pass |
| verifier_version | 1.0 |
| verification_result | partial |
| atomic_claims_checked | 17 |
| atomic_claims_passed | 14 |
| atomic_claims_partial | 3 |
| atomic_claims_failed | 0 |
| notes | Factored verification atoms: (A1) Townsend city pop 1,787 [supported — Wikipedia + citypopulation.de both cite Census 2020]; (A2) Broadwater County pop 6,774 [supported — same sources]; (A3) Townsend is incorporated city, county seat [supported]; (A4) Montana SB 323 threshold is 5,000 [supported — MT Free Press 2023-05-10]; (A5) Montana SB 245 threshold is 7,000 [supported — MT Free Press]; (A6) Montana SB 382 threshold is city 5,000 AND county 70,000 [supported — MT Free Press]; (A7) Montana SB 528 has no population threshold [supported — MCA §76-2-345 codification, effective 2024-01-01]; (A8) Townsend <5,000 so SB 323 not applicable [supported by arithmetic]; (A9) Townsend <7,000 so SB 245 not applicable [supported by arithmetic]; (A10) Townsend and Broadwater County both below thresholds so SB 382 not applicable [supported by arithmetic]; (A11) SB 528 applies to Townsend [supported: has zoning + no population threshold]; (A12) MT Supreme Court upheld 2023 housing package in March 2026 [supported — Flathead Beacon 2026-03-18]; (A13) Townsend uses municipalcodeonline.com for city code [supported — WebSearch hit]; (A14) Townsend city code structure/districts could not be retrieved [supported as a retrieval-failure atom — SPA block is FM-P]; (A15) Canyon Ferry Lake is immediately north of Townsend [supported — geographic fact]; (A16) Broadwater County Planning is at (406) 266-9211 [supported — broadwatercountymt.gov]; (A17) v1 profile's dimensional standards are all inferred without primary-source citation [supported — v1 profile inspection]. PARTIAL atoms: HB 819 content (CRA vs lot-size cap) — state-overlays JSON conflicts with MT Free Press; floodplain overlay existence (highly likely but not primary-source-confirmed); Townsend NFIP participation (likely but not confirmed). Zero FAILED atoms. 14/17 = 82.4% fully supported, 3 partials, 0 failures → verdict: partial (14/17 supported with 3 procedural partials; no claims shown to be false). |
| narrative_ref | narratives/townsend-mt/fleet-20260419T082804-15.json#section-09-verification-pass |
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