by Gary Taylor
The Montana Human Rights Bureau (MHRB) has found reasonable cause to believe that a city of Bozeman housing ordinance illegally discriminates against people with disabilities, and on the basis of age. The ordinance prohibits more than four unrelated people from living together unless they meet certain criteria. The ordinance is similar, but not identical to ordinances that have been adopted in several Iowa cities, including the Ames ordinance that the Iowa Supreme Court found to be constitutional in a 2007 decision. Bozeman is home to Montana State University, which has an enrollment of roughly 13,000 students.
An article from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that includes an embedded PDF of the MHRB investigative report can be found here.
