|
A Condominium or Cohousing Development
<br />If the occupants of tiny houses in the com-
<br />munity do not need to have the right to sell.
<br />individual lots to others in the future, then
<br />a tiny house community could be structured
<br />as a condominium or cohousing develop-
<br />ment. Under this model, the land remains
<br />unsubdivided. Instead, a development plan is
<br />approved allowing many tiny houses, and per-
<br />haps support facilities like community build-
<br />ings or shared parking areas, to occupy a single
<br />parcel of land. Instead of owning individual
<br />lots, residents own shares in the development
<br />as a whole. If structured as a condominium,
<br />each resident's share includes the exclusive
<br />rights to occupy their individual tiny house
<br />and a parking space, and also a proportionate
<br />share in the land, community buildings, roads,
<br />and infrastructure serving the area. As with a
<br />nontraditional subdivision described above,
<br />the local government may well require that the
<br />roads and utilities be owned and maintained
<br />by the condominium association. Under this
<br />approach, residents who decide to sell their
<br />tiny house in the future are actually selling
<br />their package of rights in the development (and
<br />the maintenance obligations that go along with
<br />them)—they are not selling the land. Again,
<br />it is usually wise to avoid overregulating or
<br />"zoning to a picture" in ways that may require
<br />additional governing body approval for minor
<br />changes in the future.
<br />CONCLUSION
<br />At this point, most city and county zoning and
<br />subdivision ordinances are unprepared for
<br />tiny houses. Answers to questions about what
<br />tiny houses are, where they can be installed,
<br />and under what conditions can be found if you
<br />search hard enough—but they are not clear
<br />or obvious. The good news is that there are
<br />several examples of how land -use controls can
<br />be developed or modified to accommodate
<br />new and creative forms of housing and land
<br />development. RV park, manufactured home
<br />park, and subdivision, cohousing, and cottage
<br />development standards provide a deep pool of
<br />content from which tiny -house regulations can
<br />be tailored and developed.
<br />As with most land -use questions, howev-
<br />er, the appropriate tools cannot be crafted until
<br />some policy questions have been answered.
<br />To prepare for the arrival of tiny -house owners
<br />and community developers in the future, local
<br />governments should be prepared to answer
<br />these questions:
<br />• . Do we want to allow the installation of tiny
<br />houses for long-term occupancy, and if so,
<br />in what parts of our community?
<br />• Do we want to accommodate only those
<br />tiny houses that meet our current build-
<br />ing code or the federal manufactured
<br />home standards, or do we want to create
<br />exceptions for other tiny houses that can
<br />be made safe for long-term occupancy in
<br />other ways?
<br />• Do all tiny houses need to be installed on
<br />foundations and with connections to our
<br />electric, water, and sewer systems, or are
<br />there some areas (maybe rural areas) where
<br />we would allow them under other circum-
<br />stances?
<br />• Are there areas of the community where
<br />they should be permitted as primary dwell-
<br />ing units?
<br />• Are there areas of the community where
<br />they should not be permitted as primary
<br />dwelling units, but would be acceptable as
<br />accessory dwelling units?
<br />• What changes to our building code, zon-
<br />ing ordinance, and subdivision regula-
<br />tions need to be made to achieve those
<br />results?
<br />• With a little forethought, you can be
<br />prepared for the day a tiny -house owner
<br />shows up with some or all of the questions
<br />discussed above—and avoid that "deer -
<br />in -the -headlights" look that so annoys the
<br />town council.
<br />VOL. 32, NO. 11
<br />Zoning Practice is a monthly publication of the
<br />American Planning Association. Subscriptions are
<br />available for $95 (U.S.) and $120 (foreign).
<br />W. Paul Farmer, EAICP, Chief Executive Officer;
<br />David Rouse, AICP, Managing Director of Research
<br />and Advisory Services.
<br />Zoning Practice (ISSN 1548-0135) is produced
<br />at APA. Jim Schwab, AICP, and David Morley, AICP,
<br />Editors; Julie Von Bergen, Assistant Editor; Lisa
<br />Barton, Design and Production.
<br />Missing and damaged print issues: Contact
<br />Customer Service, American Planning
<br />Association, 205 N. Michigan Ave., Suite
<br />1200, Chicago, IL 606o1(312 -431-910o or
<br />customerservice@planning.org) within 90 days
<br />of the publication date. Include the name of the
<br />publication, year, volume and issue number or
<br />month, and your name, mailing address, and
<br />membership number if applicable.
<br />Copyright ©2o15 by the American Planning
<br />Association, 205 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1200,
<br />Chicago, IL 60601-5927. The American Planning
<br />Association also has offices at 103015th St., NW,
<br />Suite 75o West, Washington, DC 20005-1503;
<br />planning.org.
<br />All rights reserved. No part of this publication
<br />may be reproduced or utilized in any form
<br />or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
<br />including photocopying, recording, or by any
<br />information storage and retrieval system, without
<br />permission in writing from the American Planning
<br />Association.
<br />Printed on recycled paper, including5o-7o%
<br />recycled fiber and io% postconsumer waste.
<br />Cover: "Tiny house, Portland" by Tammy
<br />(Weekend with Dee), Wikimedia (CC -
<br />by -2.o); design concept by Lisa Barton.
<br />REFERENCES
<br />Bemidji (Minnesota), City of. 2015. Greater Bemidji Area Zoning and Subdivision Ordinance. Article XI: Subdivisions and Planned Unit Devel-
<br />opments. Section iio1: Subdivisions of Land. Part F: Tiny House Subdivision. Available at tinyurl.com/pzl19uf.'
<br />Mccann, Conor. 2015. "The Workhouse Postmortem." May 27. Available at theworkhouse.co/postmortern.
<br />Spur (Texas), City of. 2014. "A Resolution Establishing the Designation of the City of Spur, as America's First 'Tiny' House Friendly Town," July
<br />17. Available at spurfreedom.org/hooray-for-our-city-council.
<br />Tumbleweed Tiny House Company: tumbleweedhouses.com.
<br />ZONINGPRACTICE 11.15
<br />AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Ipage 7
<br />
|