(a) To encourage the construction of off-street parking facilities in buildings and structures, to relieve traffic congestion in parking lot districts and provide parking spaces for the benefit of the public and the property owners in the districts, a parking building or other parking structure that provides off-street parking facilities, public or private, is totally exempt from the taxes prescribed in Section 60-3.
(b) The exemption applies only to the building or other structure, and not to the land on which it stands. If the off-street parking facilities are part of a structure used for other purposes, or are under a structure used for another purpose, this exemption applies only to that portion of the building structure or improvement used for off-street parking purposes. Land under the building or structure, and portions of the building or structure used for purposes other than off-street parking, are not exempt from the tax unless the owner or lessee otherwise complied fully with the provisions of this Chapter relating to exemption.
(c) The Department of Permitting Services must approve the location and design of entrances and exits to public streets to ensure that the location and design will prevent traffic hazards. Individual parking spaces in such structures must be at least 180 square feet in area.
(d) A space for the storage, sale, or display for sale of new or used automobiles, or a space used to repair automobiles does not qualify for the exemption under this section. (Mont. Co. Code 1965, § 44-10; 1973 L.M.C., ch. 25, § 8; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 20, § 1; 1998 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1; 2001 L.M.C., ch. 14, § 1; 2002 L.M.C., ch. 16, § 2.)