Join Virginia Tiny House Supporters Facebook
THIA advocate, Melanie Copeland, and the Virginia Tiny Hause Supporters Facebook group have graciously shared their blood, sweat, and tears of countless hours of research for tiny hames living legally as dwellings in Virginia with THIA. They have a private Facebook group of more than three hundred dedicated advocates that are # Making Tiny Possible in Virginia. They have an extensive list that can be accessed when you join their group.
From Melanie Copeland
The search for legal parking across my state has been near and dear to my heart. Our first experience with the tiny living was clouded by the fact that we could find nowhere to park. Instead, we hid in a friend’s backyard for about a year. Spending every day waiting for a notice to leave or a fine.
Having been through the illegal parking side of tiny living, I worked to form a group of people to help find parking in this state! Our group has been quite successful in finding parking and I want to give a fabulous shout out to all the amazing people who have stepped up in their spare time to help make calls and work for legal parking! In no particular order, Roger, Jaycee, Cat, Elizabeth, Stephanie, Mary Elizabeth, Cathie, Gene, Christian, Derryl, Adele, Nancy, Amy, Maria, Prosie! A very special thank you to Lisa who is my team member in arranging meetings, helping with the Facebook page, and hosting events for us! Thank you all for working hard to find and make legal parking information available to everyone!
Having been through the illegal parking side of tiny living, I worked to form a group of people to help find parking in this state! Our group has been quite successful in finding parking and I want to give a fabulous shout out to all the amazing people who have stepped up in their spare time to help make calls and work for legal parking! In no particular order, Roger, Jaycee, Cat, Elizabeth, Stephanie, Mary Elizabeth, Cathie, Gene, Christian, Derryl, Adele, Nancy, Amy, Maria, Prosie! A very special thank you to Lisa who is my team member in arranging meetings, helping with the Facebook page, and hosting events for us! Thank you all for working hard to find and make legal parking information available to everyone!
In our first year, we managed to find a significant amount of information and I am so grateful for all the help this group has been for not only myself but for others in Virginia!
Here is what we did and continue to do to find parking in Virginia! We created a list of all the counties in the state.
Individuals in those areas volunteered to call RV parks, campgrounds, and zoning and report back to the group on what they found.
Each campground or RV park was vetted with the following information :
Campground name
Did they accept tiny houses on wheels
Did they have on or off-grid options
Cost to stay
Did they require certifications/insurance
Did they accept pets
What is the maximum amount of time a tiny house on wheels can stay?
If they didn’t accept tiny houses then what was the reason or roadblock because if it was a lack of knowledge there might be a way to talk our way in.
Here is what we did and continue to do to find parking in Virginia! We created a list of all the counties in the state.
Individuals in those areas volunteered to call RV parks, campgrounds, and zoning and report back to the group on what they found.
Each campground or RV park was vetted with the following information :
Campground name
Did they accept tiny houses on wheels
Did they have on or off-grid options
Cost to stay
Did they require certifications/insurance
Did they accept pets
What is the maximum amount of time a tiny house on wheels can stay?
If they didn’t accept tiny houses then what was the reason or roadblock because if it was a lack of knowledge there might be a way to talk our way in.
We also tracked who we spoke to, so others could talk to the same person if they had to call back.