City of HelenaCommunity Development
Helena UDO — Working Primer 0.9.4

Map

Crosswalk: Title 11 & Title 12 → UDO

Every chapter of the current zoning code (Title 11) and subdivision code (Title 12) mapped to its proposed UDO destination, with disposition.

How this crosswalk reads

Chapter-level migration map. Coarse granularity by design — every current Title 11 and Title 12 chapter mapped to its UDO home. Section-level depth deferred to a later pass for the chapters that genuinely scramble (definitions consolidation, subdivision split, CSR seating). 'disposition' values: carried_forward | absorbed | retired | split | new | repurposed | external. Rows are individually editable; ids are stable.

Proposed UDO spine

ChapterNameRole
Ch. 1General Provisions, Administration, Definitions, and MeasurementWhat the ordinance is, how it is administered, who decides, what terms mean, how things are measured. Definitions and measurement rules consolidated and placed early.
Ch. 2Districts and Use StandardsZoning district families and intensities (RMX/CMX/IMX/SP); use tables; supplemental use standards including use-specific operational standards for mobile home and RV parks, home occupations, daycare facilities, licensed premises (alcohol, casinos), and marijuana operations.
Ch. 3Procedures and Review TypesCommon procedural mechanics for all development review — including subdivision review's common mechanics and CSR — plus the Process Crosswalk. Subdivision-specific process stays in Chapter 5.
Ch. 4Form, Dimensional, and Site Design StandardsBuilding-scale form. Calibrated by zoning district and by the A-grid and B-grid. Includes integrated site design standards: parking, landscaping and screening, signs, and outdoor lighting. Holds one tightly-scoped coordination provision interfacing with Chapter 5.
Ch. 5Subdivision Design and Public RealmLand-division-scale form: blocks, connectivity, cul-de-sac policy, street-type assignment, the public-realm review hook, plus subdivision-specific process (plat submittal, exemptions, phasing). Construction detail delegated to the Engineering Standards by cross-reference.
Ch. 6Subdivision Improvements and DedicationsPublic improvements, park dedication, improvements agreements, extension of capital facilities.
Ch. 7Overlay DistrictsMapped overlay districts that add standards in addition to, or in lieu of, the underlying zoning district. Consolidates the federal-interface overlays (Airport Noise Influence, Wildland-Urban Interface) and provides the framework for future overlays added through the regular zoning text and map amendment processes.
Ch. ReservedReserved chaptersDeliberate empty chapters preserved for future expansion.

Source-to-destination mapping

30 / 30
ID Current source UDO destination Disposition
T11-01 Title 11Ch. 1 — Administration and Enforcement Ch. 1 — General Provisions, Administration, Definitions, and Measurement carried forwardNoteAbsorbed largely intact. Definitions (current 11-1-2) stay in Chapter 1 but become the consolidated, ordinance-wide definitions section. Measurement rules promoted up from current Chapter 4 to sit alongside. The administration section consolidates into one article naming the land-use decision-makers Title 76, chapter 25 establishes — the Planning Administrator, the Planning Commission, and the governing body. The City Engineer is not codified in this Title; the engineering and fire-code seam is handled as a drafting constraint. The Planning Commission provision (replacing the retired Zoning Commission) is drafted from 76-25-104.
T11-02 Title 11Ch. 2 — Land Uses Ch. 2 — Districts and Use Standards carried forwardNoteBecomes the districts-and-uses chapter. Use tables reorganized into three family tables (RMX/CMX/IMX) built on the statutory dwelling-type vocabulary (single-unit, two-unit, three-unit, four-unit, multi-unit dwelling) defined at 76-25-103. Supplemental use standards consolidated here. Must be drawn to the 76-25-303 limitations on zoning authority. Phase 1 already amended this chapter; Phase 2 carries that forward into the family structure.
T11-03 Title 11Ch. 3 — Conditional Uses Ch. 3 — Procedures and Review Types absorbedNoteThe CUP folds into the consolidated procedures chapter as a ministerial process under 76-25-305, consistent with Helena's adopted April 2026 CUP process. Current 11-3-4(B) criteria 1-11 are imported and expressed as objective standards; criterion 12 (public comment collection) is dropped because the 76-25-305 impact path supplies the public-comment mechanism. The CUP is not a divergence Helena has to defend — the City's adopted practice already runs it this way.
T11-04 Title 11Ch. 4 — District Dimensional Standards Ch. 4 — Form, Dimensional, and Site Design Standards (form content); Ch. 1 (lot/dimensional definitions and measurement rules) splitNoteThe current chapter splits. Lot and dimensional definitions migrate to the consolidated definitions in Chapter 1. Measurement rules migrate to Chapter 1 alongside definitions. The new Chapter 4 absorbs the form vocabulary currently isolated in Chapter 9 and generalizes it citywide. This split is the heart of the form-based migration.
T11-05 Title 11Ch. 5 — Board of Adjustment (retired — Board of Adjustment retired per the working file's structural decisions; variance authority moves to the Planning Administrator under 76-25-502) retiredNoteThe Board of Adjustment is retired. Under 76-25-502, the variance is the single relief mechanism and is decided by the Planning Administrator (or designated land use decision-maker). The appeal path is 76-25-503's two-tier de novo review. No separate administrative-adjustment tier.
T11-06 Title 11Ch. 6 — Nonconforming Uses and Buildings Ch. 2 § 11-2-9 (nonconforming uses); Ch. 4 (nonconforming form, dimensional, lots, and signs); Ch. 5 (no-new-nonconformities rule for subdivisions) splitNoteNonconformities split three ways under the form-based architecture. Use nonconformities live in Chapter 2's supplemental use standards (operations, abandonment, change of use). Form, dimensional, lot, and sign nonconformities live in Chapter 4 alongside the standards they are exceptions to. Chapter 5 carries one operating rule: a subdivision may not create a new nonconformity, with variance under Chapter 3 as the only relief. Substantive standards from current Title 11 Chapter 6 carry forward and divide across the three new homes.
T11-07 Title 11Ch. 7 — Mobile Home Parks Ch. 2 § 11-2-9 — Supplemental use standards (Mobile Home and RV Parks, consolidated with current Chapter 8) relocatedNoteMobile Home Parks and RV Parks/Campgrounds (current Title 11 Chapters 7 and 8) consolidate into a single use-specific operational standard within the supplemental use standards section of Chapter 2. Operational standards (lot configuration, density, services, manager's quarters, etc.) carry forward; the standalone topical chapter pattern is abolished per the form-based restructure decision.
T11-08 Title 11Ch. 8 — Recreational Vehicle Parks and Campgrounds Ch. 2 § 11-2-9 — Supplemental use standards (Mobile Home and RV Parks, consolidated with current Chapter 7) relocatedNoteRV Parks and Campgrounds consolidates with Mobile Home Parks (current Chapter 7) as a single use-specific operational standard. The two share enough operational structure (lot configuration, services, occupancy duration, manager's quarters) that one section reads cleaner than two.
T11-09 Title 11Ch. 9 — Downtown District and Transitional Residential District Ch. 4 (form vocabulary generalized citywide); UDO 7+ block (phased-reduction chapter) splitNoteChapter 9's form-based vocabulary is the source material for the new Chapter 4 and gets generalized citywide; Chapter 9's Downtown calibrations become the baseline for CMX-5. The Downtown district itself becomes CMX-5; TR is absorbed into RMX-3/RMX-4. A phased-reduction chapter holds what is left during transition. Phase 1 already deleted Chapter 9's conflicting building-height definition so it uses the citywide one.
T11-16 Title 11Ch. 16 — T Transitional District (retired as a standalone district — the T Transitional District is absorbed into the RMX/CMX/IMX district family ladders; calibration formerly provided by the T overlay is now provided by the A-grid and B-grid and by district intensity selection) retiredNoteThe T Transitional District functioned as a calibration overlay between residential and non-residential districts. The form-based architecture handles transition through district intensity selection (RMX-5 vs. CMX-1 at a boundary) and through the A-grid and B-grid's frontage-level calibration in Chapter 4. The standalone T district is not carried forward.
T11-22 Title 11Ch. 22 — Off Street Parking Ch. 4 — Form, Dimensional, and Site Design Standards (off-street parking as an integrated site design section, conformed to 76-25-303(1)(b)) relocatedNoteOff-street parking standards relocate from a standalone topical chapter to an integrated site design section within Chapter 4. Statutory caps under 76-25-303(1)(b) (one space maximum per dwelling unit; no minimum for several categories) are reflected in the rewrite.
T11-23 Title 11Ch. 23 — General Sign Regulations Ch. 4 — Form, Dimensional, and Site Design Standards (signs as an integrated site design section) relocatedNoteSign regulations relocate from a standalone topical chapter to an integrated site design section within Chapter 4. The section is a full rewrite of the current Chapter 23 sign code.
T11-24 Title 11Ch. 24 — Landscaping Ch. 4 — Form, Dimensional, and Site Design Standards (landscaping and screening as an integrated site design section) relocatedNoteLandscaping standards relocate from a standalone topical chapter to an integrated site design section within Chapter 4.
T11-25 Title 11Ch. 25 — Planned Unit Developments (retired — Planned Unit Developments are not carried forward; flexibility delivered through district intensity ladders and the A-grid and B-grid) retiredNotePUDs are retired. The form/dimensional flexibility a PUD historically provided is delivered through the district intensity ladders (RMX-1 through RMX-5; CMX-1 through CMX-5) and through the A-grid and B-grid. Site-specific master-planned development is handled through subdivision review under Chapter 5. The discretionary site-by-site PUD negotiation is inconsistent with 76-25-102(3)(d)'s streamlined administrative review.
T11-26 Title 11Ch. 26 — Home Occupations Ch. 2 § 11-2-9 — Supplemental use standards (Home Occupations as a use-specific operational standard) relocatedNoteHome Occupations relocates from a standalone topical chapter to a use-specific operational standard within Chapter 2's supplemental use standards section, adjacent to the residential use rows in the use tables that route to it.
T11-27 Title 11Ch. 27 — Commercial Site Review (new in Phase 1) Ch. 3 — Procedures and Review Types (Commercial Site Review as review type PX-CSR within the Process Crosswalk) carried forwardNoteCommercial Site Review (added in Phase 1, December 2025) stays in Chapter 3 as one of the twelve review types in the Process Crosswalk. Application-materials detail and submittal checklist remain in the Phase 1 process document; Chapter 3 captures the procedural mechanics.
T11-35 Title 11Ch. 35 — Airport Zoning Regulations Ch. 2 — Districts and Use Standards (Airport zoning becomes an SP district within the Special Purpose family) relocatedNoteAirport zoning standards relocate to a Special Purpose (SP) district within Chapter 2's district family structure, not to an overlay. The airport is a zoning district in its own right; the overlay treatment is reserved for the noise-influence area that surrounds the airport district (handled in Chapter 7).
T11-36 Title 11Ch. 36 — Airport Noise Influence District Ch. 7 § 11-7-4 — Airport Noise Influence Overlay relocatedNoteThe Airport Noise Influence District becomes an overlay within the new Chapter 7. Substantive standards carry forward from current Chapter 36.
T11-38 Title 11Ch. 38 — Daycare Facility Ch. 2 § 11-2-9 — Supplemental use standards (Daycare Facilities as a use-specific operational standard, conformed to 76-25-303(1)(d)-(e)) relocatedNoteDaycare Facilities relocates from a standalone topical chapter to a use-specific operational standard within Chapter 2's supplemental use standards section. The 76-25-303(1)(d)-(e) statutory protections for registered family/group daycare homes and small community residential facilities are drafted explicitly into the section.
T11-40 Title 11Ch. 40 — Areas Allowing Sale of Alcoholic Beverages and Casinos Ch. 2 § 11-2-9 — Supplemental use standards (Licensed Premises — alcohol and casinos — as a use-specific operational standard) relocatedNoteLicensed Premises (alcohol service, casinos, and related state-licensed uses) relocates from a standalone topical chapter to a use-specific operational standard within Chapter 2's supplemental use standards section. Relationship to state licensing handled as a cross-reference to Title 16 MCA.
T11-41 Title 11Ch. 41 — Wildland-Urban Interface District Ch. 7 § 11-7-5 — Wildland-Urban Interface Overlay relocatedNoteThe Wildland-Urban Interface District becomes an overlay within the new Chapter 7. Substantive standards (fire-rated roofing, vent screening, renovation triggers) carry forward from current Chapter 41.
T11-NEW-42 Title 11(no current chapter) — Marijuana / Cannabis Ch. 2 § 11-2-9 — Supplemental use standards (Marijuana Operations as a use-specific operational standard, consolidating provisions currently scattered across the use tables and definitions) relocatedNoteMarijuana operations consolidate into a single use-specific operational standard within Chapter 2's supplemental use standards section. The current code's scattered treatment (use-table entries plus definitions for cultivator, manufacturer, dispensary, testing laboratory, transporter) gathers into one section with clear operational standards for each license type.
T12-01 Title 12Ch. 1 — Title, Purpose, Definitions Ch. 1 (definitions); Ch. 3 / Ch. 5 (purpose, authority, jurisdiction) splitNoteSubdivision definitions migrate into the consolidated Chapter 1 definitions section — part of curing the cross-chapter definitions precarity. Many subdivision terms are statutory (defined at 76-25-103) and the UDO adopts the statutory meaning. Purpose, authority, and jurisdiction provisions distribute to the procedures chapter and the subdivision chapter. Phase 1 amended this chapter; the half-migrated statutory citations (the 76-3 vs. 76-25 part 4 mix, the '76-3-25-103' hybrid typo) are cleaned up here — and the cleanup matters because 76-25-105(4) makes Title 76, chapter 3 inapplicable except for the narrow 76-3-609 carve-out.
T12-02 Title 12Ch. 2 — Procedures Ch. 3 (common procedural mechanics); Ch. 5 (subdivision-specific process) splitNotePer the Missoula split. Common mechanics — completeness, notice, the 76-25-305(5) new-or-increased-impacts path, appeal — fold into the consolidated procedures chapter. Subdivision-specific process — preliminary and final plat submittal requirements, exemptions, phasing — stays in the subdivision chapter. Phase 1 already rewrote this chapter to a fully administrative review model and deleted the old hearing apparatus; Phase 2 carries that forward and cleans up the double variance track, which 76-25-502 settles in favor of the administrative process.
T12-03 Title 12(no current Chapter 3 — current Title 12 numbering jumps 2 to 4) n/a newNoteCurrent Title 12 has no Chapter 3. The gap is noted only to record that the current code skips it; it is not a migration item.
T12-04 Title 12Ch. 4 — Public Improvements (incl. streets, alleys, easements, lots, park dedication) Ch. 5 (form intent and review hooks); Ch. 6 (improvements and dedications); Engineering Standards (construction detail, external) splitNoteThe most consequential subdivision split. Current 12-4-2 through 12-4-6 hold the only subdivision design standards in the current code, and they are thin and largely delegate to the Engineering Standards already. Form intent — block length (current 600 ft max), connectivity, lot-adjacency-to-street — is stated in Chapter 5 as land-division form. Park dedication, public improvements, and capital facilities migrate to Chapter 6, drawn to 76-25-404 (which limits park dedication to 0.03 acres per dwelling unit and lists the cases where dedication may not be required) and 76-25-413 (public improvements and extension of capital facilities). Construction specifications remain in the Engineering Standards by cross-reference. Phase 1 marked all of 12-4-2 through 12-4-11 'NO CHANGE'; Phase 2 is where these are actually opened.
T12-05 Title 12Ch. 5 — Administrative Minor Subdivisions (formerly Minor Subdivisions) Ch. 5 — Subdivision Design and Public Realm (subdivision-specific process) carried forwardNotePhase 1 rebuilt this chapter around the administrative minor subdivision process under 76-3-609. Carried into the UDO subdivision chapter. This is the carve-out the memo affirmatively defends: small, low-impact divisions handled administratively end-to-end, including final plat, without Commission action. Final plat approval at the City Commission is otherwise required — this carve-out is the narrow, statutorily-grounded exception, and it runs its own appeal path (City Commission review via the City Manager, arbitrary/capricious standard) distinct from the 76-25-503 two-tier de novo path. The memo should keep both the carve-out and its separate appeal path prominent because they are a predictable confusion point.
T12-06 Title 12Ch. 6 — Amendments; Fees; Violations Ch. 1 (fees, violations, severability — ordinance-wide); Ch. 3 (amendment procedure) absorbedNoteOrdinance-wide administrative provisions — fees, violations, validity — consolidate into Chapter 1's general provisions, drawn to 76-25-501 (fees) and 76-25-504 (enforcement and penalties). Subdivision amendment procedure folds into the common procedures chapter. Phase 1 amended this chapter; the violations provision's citation to the older Title 76, chapter 3 penalty section is part of the citation cleanup.
T12-07 Title 12Ch. 7 — Appeals (new in Phase 1) Ch. 3 — Procedures and Review Types (appeals) absorbedNotePhase 1 created this chapter to establish the subdivision appeals path. In the UDO it absorbs into the consolidated appeals provision in Chapter 3 — but the consolidation must reflect that subdivision appeals run on two tracks: most subdivision decisions (preliminary plat, final plat) follow the 76-25-503 two-tier de novo path shared with zoning appeals, while the administrative minor subdivision under 76-3-609 follows its own separate City-Commission-review path. The earlier framing that subdivision and zoning appeals 'share one home' is too clean — Chapter 3 carries one consolidated appeals provision, but it must describe both tracks.
ENG-EXT Engineering and Design Standards (external)Part 5 Transportation Standards (and related) — block definition, street typology, connectivity, cul-de-sac geometry, ROW cross-sections, curb-cut frontage rule Ch. 5 (form intent and review hooks stated in the UDO); construction specifications remain external, coordinated by cross-reference externalNoteNot a chapter of the UDO and not being rewritten. Form intent and review hooks for some topics also addressed in the engineering manual — block length as urban form, street connectivity, cul-de-sac policy, street-type assignment, the curb-cut-as-percent-of-frontage rule — are stated in Chapter 5; construction specifications for those topics remain in the Engineering Standards. The relationship is modeled on Missoula's 'Manual' companion-document device. Vocabulary misalignment — the Engineering Standards' 'Local Office/Commercial Street' typology vs. the UDO zoning district families — is handled inside the UDO by a crosswalk provision, not by asking Public Works to renumber. The UDO does not renumber or rewrite those standards; it states land-use and form intent and is drafted so its subdivision design menus cannot conflict with the Engineering Standards or the fire code.