Zoning for Tiny Houses Starts with the Fundamentals

Clarion Director Don Elliott, FAICP, recently joined Olympia, Washington, Deputy Planning Director Leonard Bauer and New York State Building official Erika Kreiger for a panel discussion on “Tiny Houses: Big Questions” in New York City. Leonard’s presentation focused on the story of Quixote Village – an innovative Tiny House replacement for a homeless tent city, while Erika focused on barriers in the New York State building code that make it difficult for many Tiny Homes to be approved as habitable structures. Don’s presentation focused on key areas of key zoning and subdivision barriers (other than building codes) to the approval of Tiny Homes as forms of permanent housing. As communities consider whether, how, and where they want to approve tiny homes, the first question is where you want to approve Tiny Homes – and where do you not want to see them located. This is the question that what zoning was traditionally designed to address. The three key options are:
1. Approve them as Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs). This does not require major regulatory changes, and many communities have revised their zoning to do this. However, almost all of them still require that the Tiny Home meet the residential building code, be mounted on a permanent foundation, and be connected to municipal utilities (just like other long-term dwelling units).
2. Approve them as a primary long-term dwelling units on individual lots. Fewer communities have made this decision, and those that do almost always impose the same requirements regarding the building code, foundation, and utilities. Communities should also consider whether Tiny Houses that meet those requirements should be allowed in all residential (and/or mixed-use) zone districts, or just in some of them. Like most other land uses, there are places where Tiny Houses could be an innovative new land use that could increase housing options, but there are probably also places where a Tiny House on a big residential lot surrounded by large houses would not be welcome or helpful to neighborhood stability.
3. Approve them as a community of Tiny Houses – either on individual lots or on a larger parcel of land. Almost all of the (few) examples of this around the U.S. have been approved through some form of “one-off, “Planned Unit Development,” or other negotiated zoning. Very few communities have designed a zone district specifically intended to be used for an entire neighborhood or development with multiple Tiny Homes that could be applied through a standard (non-negotiated) rezoning process. However, that kind of zone district could easily be created by modifying existing standards for manufactured home parks (on a single parcel) or mobile home subdivisions (on individual parcels). The key changes to be considered include how much land area should be required for each Tiny Home (which should probably vary based on the size of the Tiny Homes being accommodated), whether there should be a maximum size for the development, whether any communal facilities (such as additional storage areas for household goods) should be required, whether changes to the city’s road and infrastructure standards are warranted, and what type of management structure (such as an HOA) should be required to maintain community facilities and assets.