Agenda - Planning Commission - 12/03/2015

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0 Outside of rural areas, most localities would not permit a tiny house to serve as a primary dwelling unit unless it was mounted on a permanent foundation and connected to local utilities. homes do not need to connect to water and sewer systems (i.e., they permit well and septic systems) or electric systems (i.e., they allow off -the -grid power), and those communities would presumably allow the same exceptions for tiny houses. NOW, ABOUT THOSE ZONING RULES So, if a buyer doesn't want to live in an RV park, and is willing to remove the wheels, install a foundation, and connect to utilities, and the lo- cal government allows long-term occupancy of tiny houses under those conditions, where can the unit be located? The answer depends on lo- cal zoning regulations. Most zoning ordinances do not list tiny houses by name; they simply treat them like other housing uses. For a tiny house to be used as a primary dwelling unit (i.e., there is no other house or primary use on the property), the question is whether the lot is zoned for single-family homes and whether the tiny house meets any minimum size requirements for houses in that zone. Most zoning codes across the U.S. do not include minimum floor space requirements for single-family homes. But some do, and that can be a barrier to installing tiny houses. Generally this occurs when a residential neighborhood has been developed for—orwith—largehomes, and some of the lots already have large homes on them. In those circumstances, the local government or neighborhood residents may want to protect against the remaining lots being occupied by smaller homes that they fear will reduce the neighborhood quality or character. Some communities, for example, have adopted minimum width or length -to -width require- ments for single-family homes in an attempt to keep "single -wide" manufactured homes out of neighborhoods where the housing stock is of a different character. Those requirements would likely prohibit the installation ofa tiny house, despite their charming appearance. Whether this is fair to the tiny -house (or manufactured home) buyer, and whether it repre- sents sound land -use policy, are emerging issues for debate. Minimum residential size limits are already in poor repute these days because they tend to drive housing prices up; however, these types of requirements are generally not illegal. One work -around for the eager tiny -house buyer may be to install a tiny house as an ac- cessory dwelling unit (ADU) (i.e., a second housing unit on a tot that already has a primary housing unit or another primary use of land). While ADUs are a fairly recent development, an increasing number of zoning ordinances now address where and under what conditions an ADU can be installed. Again, since most zoning ordinances do not address tiny houses by name, the question is whether your tiny house meets the requirements applicable to other forms of ADUs. One threshold question is whether the community allows detached ADUs or only allows internal ADUs constructed within the building envelope of an existing home. If the latter is true, a tiny house ADU will not be allowed. If the community allows detached ADUs, they often attach conditions like the following: • Either the primary housing unit or the ADU must be occupied by the owner of the land. • The ADU must not exceed a maximum size (generally 400 or 600 or 80o square feet). • An extra on-site parking space for the ADU occupant may be required. Q Local residential building codes typically require a minimum amount of habitable space per occupant, which may prevent legal habitation of tiny houses by more than one person. ZONINGPRACTICE 11.15 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Ipage 4