We Are Making Progress For Movable Tiny Homes
Written By Janet Thome
Appendix Q for tiny homes on a foundation is becoming widely accepted and welcomed by jurisdictions that benefit the consumer, builder, and the jurisdiction to finally have a standard. I have been documenting the states and jurisdictions across the nation that have adopted Appendix Q and what I have discovered is the jurisdictions are grateful for a definition and a means to regulate tiny homes.
We have a long way to go regarding movable tiny homes as permissible and permanent dwellings, but there has been great successes thanks to all the American Tiny House Advocates ( ATHA) as they forge the path. We owe a special thanks to Dan Fitzpatrick, the Director of Government Relations of both ATHA and THIA for opening doors in many jurisdictions in California which can be used as an example across the nation. Nick Mosley, Vice President of ATHA and board member of THIA, has also been a key player in moving mountains in California, allowing moveable tiny homes as ADUs in backyards.
Tiny Houses: Affordable Sustainable Eco-Friendly
Dan Fitzpatrick gave lectures all across California and created a presentation on movable tiny homes that is an excellent tool if you are working with a jurisdiction.
How Do I Get Zoning Passed In My Area For Tiny Houses In My Area?
This is a great guide that we can all learn from written by Rene’ Hardee , Florida Chapter Leader of ATHA sharing her success story on Tiny House Talk. Details
Affordable Housing Cannot Wait
The New American Homeless
We are in a crisis and there is a New American Homeless. Housing insecurity in the nation’s richest cities is far worse than government statistics claim. Just ask the Goodmans.
Last August, Cokethia Goodman returned home from work to discover a typed letter from her landlord in the mailbox. She felt a familiar panic as she began to read it. For nearly a year, Goodman and her six children—two of them adopted after being abandoned at birth—had been living in a derelict but functional three-bedroom house in the historically black Peoplestown neighborhood of Atlanta. Goodman, who is 50, has a reserved, vigilant demeanor, her years trying to keep the kids out of harm’s way evident in her perpetually narrowed eyes.
She saw the rental property as an answer to prayer. It was in a relatively safe area and within walking distance of the Barack and Michelle Obama Academy, the public elementary school her youngest son and daughter attended. It was also—at $950 a month, not including utilities—just barely affordable on the $9 hourly wage she earned as a full-time home health aide. Goodman had fled an abusive marriage in 2015, and she was anxious to give her family a more stable home environment. She thought they’d finally found one.
Article Source The New Republic
Documenting Our Successes For Movable Tiny Homes
This will be a blog post in progress as I add the successes we are achieving for moveable tiny homes. Please share if you have a success story.
12 Tiny House Communities You Can Live In
If this sounds like an idyllic setting for your future tiny house on wheels, then good news! There’s a growing list of communities that fit the bill. Each has its own flair and varying amenities. One thing they all have in common is the idea that your living space extends beyond your personal itsy-bitsy square footage—your “bonus room” is the shared community spaces.
Alaska
Sitka, Alaska
Tonight, The City and Borough of Sitka, Alaska creates history for the tiny home industry. The second and final reading for ORD 20-02S (A) passed at a vote 6 to 0 and is a great win for movable tiny homes. Sitka, Alaska has approved tiny homes on a foundation, but what is groundbreaking, is they have written an ordinance that amends Appendix Q that applies to movable tiny homes. From the floor joists up, the tiny home will be built to the IRC Appendix Q.
The chassis on which a tiny house is placed or constructed, including all components attached to the chassis, shall be of adequate structural strength to resist all dead and live loads imposed upon it and/or required by applicable safety standards. The Building Official may require third-party certification to ascertain compliance with this section.
Both tiny homes on a foundation and movable tiny homes will require a building permit and will be subject to inspection during construction.
Ground Breaking Sitka, Alaska Tiny House Ordinance
Arkansas
Rogers adapts to ‘tiny homes’
The city is writing rules to allow more tiny homes in Rogers.
Kelso’s neighborhood near downtown was built in 2016 on land zoned for mobile homes. Developers David and Chris Gallo recently tried to do a similar project with 39 homes on about 4 acres about 2 miles west of the existing homes.
They found that zoning regulations don’t allow the homes there.
The city’s planning staff presented a “cluster housing” proposal to a Planning Commission committee last week that would allow tiny homes and cottage court housing in some residential areas.
Rogers City Planners Propose New Zoning for Tiny Homes
Arizona
Camp Verde: On Oct. 24, 2018, the Camp Verde Town Council approved an agri-tourism use permit for a community of tiny houses on wheels, vintage recreational vehicles and agri-tourism events. The 15-acre parcel that would house the complex is owned by Camp Verde residents Carmen Howard and her husband David.
Article SourceTinyPortableCedarCabins
Park Models
A Park Model is allowed as a Dwelling Unit per Section 565 of the Yavapai County Planning and Zoning Ordinance. A permit is required prior to installation of a Park Model Unit
Development Services Yavapai County
Tiny Homes On Wheels Are Legal In Mobile Home Parks In Arizona
According to Susan Brenton, Executive Director of Manufactured Housing of Arizona, Tiny Homes on Wheels are legal in mobile home parks in Arizona. The newer parks primarily cater to the modular market. The older parks are most appropriate for Tiny Homes.
Article Source Tiny Home Industry Association
California
“We are the first city in the nation to actually write into its development code authorization for ‘tiny homes,’ ” says Mayor Ashley Swearingen. “If there’s one thing that Californians should know about Fresno, it’s that we are full of surprises. And just when you think you’ve pegged us to be one type of community, we’ll surprise you.”
San Jose
Ordinance Approval Will Permit Movable Tiny Homes As Habitable Accessory Dwelling units (ADU).
Statement From Dan Fitzpatrick, President Of THIA
Awesome news from the City of San Jose, California’s third-largest city!
San Diego
Update on San Diego: San Diego Unanimously Approved Movable Tiny Homes As ADUs
San Diego officials say they plan to begin allowing movable “tiny houses” in backyards across the city, to help address the local homelessness and affordable housing crises.
The tiny houses, which are similar to granny flats but smaller, can be built more quickly and cheaply than granny flats and will create a new source of low-cost housing — without any government subsidies, city officials said this week.
Special Thanks To Dan Fitzpatrick: The Director Of Government Relations For ATHA and THIA
This is a week of good news in tiny house land! For the past several months ATHA and THIA have been working with the San Diego City Council and staff to legalize movable tiny houses as ADUs. As you may recall, I had the opportunity, several months ago, to present to the Council on the wisdom of including movable tiny houses as ADUs.
Today the Land Use and Housing council committee voted unanimously to direct City Attorney to draft an amendment to San Diego’s municipal code that would allow movable tiny houses as ADU’s.
San Luis Obispo
Sonoma County, Ca,
Tiny houses on wheels are allowed as caregiver dwellings in Sonoma County, CA, as well as Napa, Lake, Mendocino, Alameda, Contra Costa & Sacramento, according to Sonya Tafejian of
Tiny House Consulting Sonoma County, phone 707-779-9474.
Sonoma County Zoning Code: Section 26-88-010
Caregiver caravans legal in Sonoma and other northern CA counties
Los Angeles
LA Gives Green Light To Moveable Tiny Homes As ADUs!
Santa Clara
Santa Clara Gives Green Light To Movable Tiny Homes
Colorado
Colorado’s Tiny House Movement, Communities and Resources Galore
The tiny house movement in Colorado is booming. Despite limited legal parking opportunities for tiny homes on wheels. But that is changing in a big way, thanks to community developers and local advocates. Their efforts have been aided by all the positive press about the last few years’ exuberant festivals, from the first Tiny House Jamboree to the annual Colorado Tiny House Festival and the People’s Tiny House Festival.
Several smaller events and the gorgeous WeeCasa hotel have added to the growing tiny buzz. The roster of Colorado-based tiny home builders is ever-growing—there are over 24 to choose from! DIY building options are plentiful, as well. The Denver metro is home to TrailerMade Trailers, Einstyne Tiny Homes (tiny house shell specialists) and DIY build sites are available from Tiny Home Connection and Colorado Custom Coachworks.
Lyons, Colorado
The journey to legalize tiny homes on wheels in Lyons, Colorado was a three year journey. We need to thank Byron Fears, owner of SimBLISSity Tiny Homes for being on the forefront of this battle. Byron Fears is the Director Of Communications for the Tiny Home Industry Association ( THIA ).
Chuck Ballard, President of Pacific West Associates and Director of Standards for THIA was also instrumental in legalizing tiny homes in Lyons, Colorado.
Tiny Homes At River Run Built By Sprout Tiny Homes
A Tiny Home Community in Silt, Colorado.
Florida
Brevard, Florida -Cheatham said the tiny homes are now being allowed in some neighborhoods both in the city of Longwood and in Brevard County where the commission recently came to an agreement.
“Brevard County now has a new piece of property that has just opened up some lots, it’s called Braveheart Properties in northern Brevard, and they actually are gonna be the first ones here in Brevard that will have an actual tiny home community — both on wheels, like the one you’re staying in, and on foundations,” Cheatham said.
Maine
Massachusetts
Nantucket
In Nantucket, a citizen’s petition to allow tiny houses on wheels in most residential districts was approved by the town in 2016.
Isaiah Stover is on track to be a Nantucket folk hero — he is the man behind the tiny house movement on an island dotted with McMansions and median home prices of $1.2 million. Stover drafted the bylaw amendment to change the Zoning Code of the Town of Nantucket to include tiny house units -a dwelling of less than 500 square feet built on a moveable trailer — passed by a two-thirds voice vote at Saturday’s Annual Town Meeting.
North Carolina
Bear Pen Cove Tiny Village: Franklin. North Carolina.
Bear Cove Tiny Village: Franklin, North Carolina: A Development Of Owner Occupied Tiny Homes That Own Their Own Land: 9 Parcels Left. All homes are Compact Cottages. Perfect Destination For An AirBnB.
Affordable Tiny Home 1/2 Acre Lots For Sale And Compact Cottages: 400 Square Feet Luxury Park Model Tiny Homes
Lots Only $ 35,000 And Include Well Water, Gravel Pad And Underground Electricity To The Lot
Bear Pen Cove Tiny Home Village
Tennessee
Cocke County
It’s all happening off a side road in Newport, Tennessee. Now people are moving to a Cocke County and jobs are being created. “We’ve got 68 people moving to Cocke County from all over the United States. From New Mexico. From Washington. From Arizona. While this may have you itching to invest in a tiny home, be mindful of strict local regulations and coding. Cocke County has embraced them but regulations on what defines ‘a house’ haven’t caught up everywhere.
“The county is open to tiny homes. There’s no restrictions,” Jones said.
Wheeled Tiny Homes Welcome! Cocke County, TN.
Forest Tiny Home Community- has two spaces for lease left for your wheeled tiny home in Newport, Tennessee in Cocke, County. All styles of tiny home are welcome here! The Forest Incredible Community is the first phase of three tiny home communities planned by Incredible Tiny Homes.
Beach And Prairie: 30 People Needed For Each Development
Beach and Prairie are two more planned communities that have not started development yet, they will still have the same requirement of 30 people to start the development.
Article Source Tiny Portable Cedar Cabins
Texas
Azle
The Pines RV Community-The Pines -situated among beautiful oak and pine trees, close to downtown Fort Worth, and the DFW Airport with a dedicated phase just for tiny homes!
Article Source Tiny Portable Cedar Cabins
Franklin
Wildwood Forest, partnered with National Land Partners LLC created a residential/ vacation development of 26 lots from 10 to 15 acres. You are allowed to have one site-built home with a minimum of 1000 square feet, one outbuilding, and one guest home. You can also have a tiny home on wheels as your primary residence! Grand Opening is October 19th, 2019.
Lake Dallas Tiny Village: Approved As A Planned Development Referencing 2018 IRC Appendix V- Adapted By Approval Of Lake Dallas For Tiny Homes On Wheels
Amended Ordinance 20190502-LD Ord Amending Tiny Home PD Ordinance-107709
Amended Ordinance Ordinance 2017-14 Amending Zoning Ordinance Gotcher
Note: Appendix Q was previously called Appendix V
Yantis
Vintage Grace Tiny Home Community
Vintage Grace is a tiny home community of park model homes in Yantis, Texas on 25 wooded acres. It has four scenic ponds and is minutes from Lake Fork. Year round living is allowed and encouraged at Vintage Grace. The community is owned by Jim and Kathie Brown, a retired couple who created a community of residents with similar values and desires to live a simpler life in a caring close-knit community. They desired to be close to all the amenities of the small and large cities but tucked away privately in a gated community in the woods.
Article Source Tiny Portable Cedar Cabins
Ohio
New Paris
Ohio’s first tiny home village
Pennsylvania
The Ruscombmanor Township supervisors approved a zoning amendment on Sept. 5 allowing accessory dwellings such as tiny homes in residential districts. According to township Solicitor Paul T. Essig, the revision will allow one accessory dwelling unit (ADU) per property, and the unit may house relatives or caregivers for the owners of the main house. They cannot be rented.
The ordinance targets tiny homes that usually can be wheeled onto a space near but separate from the home, and can either be removed or converted into non-residential use, such as storage, once they’re no longer needed.
Essig said residents with the tiny homes would be required to obtain a permit, which the board set for $150, and have the permit reviewed every six months by a township zoning officer. Details.
Our Tiny Home Is A Legal Dwelling: Zone Approval Buckingham County, Virginia
We just closed on my land today…….the letter that is attached references that our tiny home will be considered a dwelling and taxed as a home/dwelling while still being able to reside on wheels, and not even forced to skirt the home unless we want to. They have only requested that we tie our dwelling down. We have the freedom to roll away when we want and come back when we want because of some wonderful people who were really willing to look at what we owned and make it happen. They do exist. You just have to find them.
Article Source Tiny Home Industry Association
Washington State
Washington state has adopted Appendix Q Tiny Houses, with amendments. The effective date is July 1st, 2020. Appendix Q Tiny Houses was adopted into the 2018 International Residential Code ( IRC ) building code to provide regulations and standards for tiny homes on a foundation that is 400 square feet or less. Tiny homes on wheels will go through the approval and inspection process with the Washington State Department of Labor And Industries.
Washington state adopts Appendix Q Tiny Houses: Effective Nov. 1st, 2020
Senate Bill ESSB 5383 that went into effect July 28th, 2019 is a great win for moveable tiny homes. The provided a definition -“Tiny house” and “tiny house with wheels” means a dwelling to36be used as permanent housing with permanent provisions for living, sleeping, eating, cooking, and sanitation built in accordance with the state building code.
Individual cities and counties may allow tiny houses with wheels to be collected together as tiny house villages using the binding site plan method articulated in chapter 58.17 RCW.
Except as provided under subsection (4) of this section, a city or town may not adopt an ordinance that has the effect, directly or indirectly, of preventing the entry or requiring the removal of recreational vehicle or tiny house with wheels as defined in section165 of this act used as a primary residence in manufactured/mobile home communities.
Washington state is in the public comment stage regarding the adoption of Appendix Q until Sept 27th, 2019.
Check Back As I Add More Wins For Our Industry!
Please review the Where Can I Live Legally page, there are a lot of resources for finding tiny home villages and creative ways to find a place to live in a moveable tiny home.