TINY HOUSE AND MOVEABLE TINY HOUSE VILLAGES

RESULTS OF THE 2022 TINY HOUSE VILLAGE SURVEY ARE AVAILABLE!

Survey

County Planning will be recommending zoning changes in the coming months to accommodate Tiny House Villages. In order to generate meaningful recommendations we published an online survey to collect community input. The results below consolidate 667 responses between Sept. 8 and Nov. 28,, 2022.

The survey sought input about the following topics: Types of structures, Best Village locations, Village setting, Village Community characteristics, Land ownership preferences, and Obstacles to building Tiny House Villages.

The survey asked these 10 questions. Participants chose among answers provided or wrote in answers (long answers).

Here are examples of a few key results:

Survey Results
Tiny house Links
Land Trusts

Results of Online Survey, 2022

Background - Tiny House Villages

Definitions

A Tiny House Village is defined in the 2019 Housing Element as "a grouping or clustering of three or more tiny houses or moveable tiny houses", or "three or more detached bedrooms with central sanitary, laundry, cooking and dining facilities."

Purpose

In an effort to improve housing diversity, encourage development of new low-cost housing, and affirmatively further fair housing, the Housing Element envisions amending the Zoning Regulations to allow tiny house villages as multifamily dwellings permitted by right in certain zones, and moveable tiny house villages permitted either by right or with a use permit.

Current Situation

At present, multiple small residential units on a single parcel are not recognized in the County's zoning regulations. The closest analogies are mobile home parks, special occupancy parks, RV parks, campgrounds, and planned unit developments. Tiny house villages and moveable tiny house villages differ from all these in the forms of housing they contain, limitations on length of tenancy, acceptance as permanent residences, and the forms of ownership and operation.

RV and special occupancy parks are currently most commonly run as commercial enterprises regulated by the State, which can prevent residents from having a stake in the land that the tiny houses occupy.

The survey attempts to identify community needs in order to guide regulations.

View this Summary to see the main points taken from the survey.
Here is a link to the survey questions.
Here is the compiled data used to generate statistics.
Here is a file containing the raw responses to surveys.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Purpose of the Amendments

The proposed amendments are part of the 2019 Housing Element update, funded by an HCD planning grant to help increase low income housing.

Lay of the Land for Tiny House Villages

Tiny House Villages and Moveable Tiny House Villages were envisioned in the Housing Element as groups of three or more tiny houses or moveable tiny houses, or three or more detached bedrooms with central sanitary, laundry, cooking and dining facilities. At present, multiple small residential units on a single parcel are not recognized in the County's zoning regulations. In addition, State Law prevents moveable tiny houses from use as permanent residences outside a mobilehome or other park setting.

Why the Ordinance is Needed

The closest analogies to groups of small residences that are currently legal are mobilehome parks, special occupancy parks, RV parks, campgrounds, and planned unit developments. The tiny house villages and moveable tiny house villages proposed here attempt to address some of the shortcomings of these housing types, such as:

Tiny houses on foundations are allowed as permanent dwellings if they meet building codes, however, groups of tiny houses on a single parcel are not allowed by current zoning.
Moveable tiny houses (tiny houses on wheels) are classified under state law as RVs, and only allowed for temporary residency, or as a permanent residence in parks.
Groups of two or more moveable tiny houses are classified under State Law as Special Ocupancy Parks, subject to the Special Occupancy Parks Act.
Most parks are currently run as commercial enterprises regulated by the State, which may prevent residents from having a long-term interest in the land or structure.
Tiny houses and moveable tiny houses are cheaper to build than full size dwellings but when they are built individually as single family residences, the land, water and sewer, and other development costs can cancel the savings realized by the smaller structure size.