Montana Code Annotated 2023

TITLE 77. STATE LANDS

CHAPTER 1. ADMINISTRATION OF STATE LANDS

Part 9. Commercial Leasing of State Trust Land

Definitions

77-1-902. Definitions. As used in this part, unless the context requires otherwise, the following definitions apply:

(1) "Cancellation" means the cessation of a lessee's possessory rights and privileges under a lease due to the lessee's breach of some term of the lease, applicable statutes, or applicable administrative rules.

(2) "Commercial lease" means a contract to use state trust land for a commercial purpose.

(3) (a) "Commercial purpose" means an industrial enterprise, retail sales outlet, business and professional office building, warehouse, motel, hotel, hospitality enterprise, commercial or concentrated recreational use, multifamily residential development, and other similar business.

(b) The term does not include the following uses:

(i) agriculture;

(ii) grazing;

(iii) exploration or development of oil and gas, minerals, and resources from geothermal, wind, or solar;

(iv) single-family residences, home sites, and cabin sites; and

(v) utility rights-of-way.

(4) "Land value" is the monetary value of the land determined by an appraisal by a certified general appraiser or a department staff appraiser or by a limited valuation.

(5) "Limited valuation" means estimating the land value of commercial lease land by analyzing comparable land valuations conducted within 2 years of the lease commencement date as provided by real estate appraisers, local tax assessors, local realtors, an evaluation of local market rents, or a combination of those methods.

(6) "Termination" means the automatic completion or ending of the term of a contract according to its provisions. Upon termination, the lessee ceases to have any possessory rights or privileges under a lease.

History: En. Sec. 2, Ch. 404, L. 2003; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 412, L. 2017; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 313, L. 2021.