Minnesota Tiny Home News
City Council Approves Zoning Changes To Make Building Tiny Homes Easier Oct. 29th, 2019
DULUTH, Minn. – Duluth City leaders are hoping to expand the use of tiny homes to address the ongoing housing shortage.
On Monday the Duluth city council approved a zoning change which will make it easier to build tiny homes in the city.
That change includes fewer restrictions for where people can build tiny homes.
A tiny home is a smaller house that is typically no more than four hundred square feet total.
City Councilor Joel Sipress says this approval will help minimize the barriers people face when trying to find affordable housing.
Duluth Proposes Tiny House Zoning Changes Sept. 9th, 2019
City staff has now drafted proposed language changes in the zoning ordinance that would designate Tiny Houses as fixed in place permanent dwellings while Tiny Houses on Wheels would be temporary buildings similar to recreational vehicles or travel trailers.
The amendments will go before the Planning Commission this week and the City Council in October.
Duluth may open door for tiny houses Sept 6th, 2019
At present all dwellings built in Duluth must be at least 20 feet wide, but that requirement could be dropped. On Tuesday, Planning Commission members will consider a proposal that would loosen the code, potentially allowing “tiny houses” into Duluth’s mix of residential options.
The change could significantly expand local housing opportunities, said Adam Fulton, interim director of Duluth’s planning and development division.
Article Source Duluth News Tribune
Minnesotans still seek affordable housing but are unsure tiny house trend is the answer Sept. 2nd, 2019
The predicted tiny house boom in Minnesota has been just that — tiny.
“To date, no one (in Minnesota) has responded to the tiny house market in any sort of viable, reasonable or comprehensive way,” said Jay Nord, general contractor at Singular Inc., and an affordable housing advocate.
Article Source Twin Cities Pioneer Press
CITY OF DULUTH PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Duluth Planning Commission will have a meeting and conduct a public hearing on Tuesday, September 10, 2019, starting at 5:00 PM August 23rd, 2019
PL 19-107 UDC Text Amendment Related to Tiny Houses and Small Lot Development
PL 19-108 UDC Text Amendment Related to Accessory Structures, Tree Preservation,
Craft Brewing and Distilleries, Temporary Structures and Shipping Containers
Article Source Duluth News Tribune
Four-house development receives commission OK July 20th, 2019
What was first going to be a tiny home village of rental properties has now transitioned into a small home village of single family homes that requires a conditional use permit (CUP) recommended by the Pipestone Planning Commission, with final consideration before the Pipestone City Council.
Article Source Pipestone County Star
How Minneapolis Freed Itself From the Stranglehold of Single-Family Homes July 11th, 2019
Thanks in part to activists like Flisrand and Edwards, Minneapolis just did away with the rules that gave single-family homes a stranglehold on nearly three-quarters of the city. In December, Neighbors for More Neighbors, the group co-founded by Flisrand and Edwards about two years ago to address Minneapolis’ affordable housing crisis, won a victory unseen in any other major American city. The city council approved the Minneapolis 2040 comprehensive plan, which declares the city’s intent to abolish single-family-home zoning and allow duplexes and triplexes to be built anywhere in the city.
Minneapolis’ new comprehensive plan has drawn praise from divergent political quarters—both Housing Secretary Ben Carson, who visited Minneapolis recently, and the New York Times editorial page. And cities and states with their own growth-driven housing crises are looking to Minneapolis for clues on how to navigate the political shoals inherent in any debate over development and growth. In June, Oregon’s Legislature followed Minneapolis’ lead, approving a bill to end single-family zoning in large cities.
Article Source Politico Magazine
Duluth Considers Tiny Home Zoning Changes June 25th, 2019
Many people consider things like tiny homes or shipping containers turned into houses as ways to live with a smaller footprint. The city of Duluth is considering changes to zoning for those types of houses.