The debate over Lewis and Clark County zoning regulations again found its way to the Capitol on Tuesday, and folks on all sides of the issue again said the discussion has consequences for all of Montana.

A bill by Sen. Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena, would drastically change the law governing citizen protests of proposed zoning rules.

Current law gives citizens two ways to stop officials from implementing zoning rules. If 40 percent of the property owners in a district protest, or if the owners of 50 percent of the agricultural and timber lands in the area protest, county officials cannot impose zoning regulations for a year.

Kaufmann's bill removes both of those options and requires 40 percent of registered voters in the affected area to protest in order to halt the regulations, a change both opponents and proponents agreed was a major shift in policy.

At least three bills regarding the zoning protest process have made their way to the Capitol this session.

Supporters of Kaufmann's bill said it gives power to all voters instead of those who are landowners and prevents a handful of large landowners from nixing regulations supported by the majority.

Opponents said the change would disenfranchise those large landowners, putting them at the mercy of a majority who may not be affected by zoning regulations, and make protests of the rules virtually impossible.

Last fall, agricultural landowners in the Canyon Creek area overwhelmingly protested proposed zoning regulations.

The current state law regulating zoning protest procedures harkens back to this country's beginnings, when landowners -- the only residents given voting power -- held more power than other citizens, Kaufmann said.

She likened zoning rules to other regulations, like fire districts, specific to one area and said the rules affect all of the residents regardless of whether they own land.

Kaufmann said renters "have a tremendous interest" in issues regarding water quality, which Lewis and Clark County officials say is the driving cause behind the new Helena Valley zoning regulations -- which narrowly passed a protest that's now being disputed in state District Court. Those rules include a five-acre minimum lot size for new parcels with on-site septic systems.

All residents should have a say, Kaufmann said.

"Zoning is not just about land use," she said. "It's about protecting public health and safety through land use."

Deputy Lewis and Clark County Attorney K. Paul Stahl agreed. A handful of large landowners can disenfranchise thousands of residents -- who still have to drink the water.

"If you do nothing about this statute, some activist judge will have to declare it unconstitutional," Stahl said.

"This is not an attack on agricultural landowners who own large acreage," he said. "Rather, this amendment is in defense of other citizens -- the landowner who owns small acreage, the businessman and woman, and the non-landowner -- who are disenfranchised by the present law."

Opponents say the current law is on the books for good reason. Large landowners are the ones most affected by zoning regulations, they said, and should have a larger voice in the process.

"The people who own the land out there have a (larger interest), and for good reason," said attorney Michael Kakuk, who represents the Montana Association of Realtors.

"If the county would talk to the landowners in the first place and build (zoning rules) from the ground up, the county wouldn't have reason to be concerned about the landowners' extraordinary right to protest," Kakuk said.

Dustin Stewart, lobbying for the Montana Building Industries Association, said the change would prevent any zoning regulation from being protested. If an area included 10,000 voters, opponents to any new rules would have just 30 days to gather 4,000 signatures.

"It essentially eliminates the protest period," Stewart said.

Canyon Creek rancher and former legislator Ed Grady, who led the effort to protest zoning regulations in his community last fall, called Kaufmann's legislation a "revenge" bill.

He asked lawmakers to avoid changing state law for the sake of a local issue. County officials last week made the same argument when opposing a bill by Sen. Dave Lewis, R-Helena, which also stemmed from the local zoning dispute. Grady staunchly supported Lewis' bill.

"This bill takes away private property rights, and I don't think you're here to do that," Grady said of Kaufmann's proposal.

Sen. Rick Laible, R-Darby, asked Stahl whether counties had other methods to protect public health and safety -- noting all septic systems must receive a permit before they're installed.

Stahl said counties have other ways to safeguard residents, but said many are limited in scope -- subdivision regulations, for example, don't address properties outside of proposed developments.

The committee took no action on the bill, SB361.