Tiny Home Community Development

Common Frameworks to Meet State and Municipal Requirements

Written by Thom Stanton for Tiny House Magazine, March 2020 Edition

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Interest in Tiny Homes remains on the rise, and frequently challenges well established forms of land use that still sadly suppress wide-spread opportunities to “go tiny.” Tiny home communities offer paths for solving homelessness, creating sustainable forms of affordable housing, and realizing community revitalization in urban, small town, and rural settings. But setting up a community of tiny homes faces challenges that we must collectively overcome.

Managing Change for Challenging Norms 

While tiny home communities offer advantages to tiny home owners, community developers, and local municipalities, developers frequently face opposition when requesting use of established dwelling types in new forms of land use. 

Real property used for housing is intrinsically tied to dwelling unit classification, and tiny house people are pushing hard against firmly defended boundaries for land use. As such, we remain stymied by the fact that — at least for practical purposes — we are encouraged to propose land use plans that remain more narrowly defined and restrictively aligned with the norm. 

Tiny home people are anything but “narrowly defined and restrictively aligned,” so while U.S. government agencies repeatedly exemplify tiny homes as an icon of innovative housing, the Tiny Home Industry remains “disruptive” down in the ditches at the grassroots level. 

For nearly a decade, many around the world have worked in concert to introduce tiny home design concepts in international standards documents, state held construction codes, and local zoning ordinances that otherwise would restrict the construction and use of tiny homes as safe, efficient, affordable, flexible, and resilient yet permissible forms of housing. 

Efforts to expand tiny housing opportunities illustrate how existing land use regulation and municipal zoning ordinances often limit innovation in meeting the increased needs for affordable housing and expanded/combined land use scenarios. 

This article introduces the framework for a “blended” scenario where multiple types of tinies may be permissibly used together in a community setting. 

The two sidebars offer info and tools to help you consider how a tiny housing community, is right for you, your civic organization, educational institution, faith group, and local community at large.

It’s kinda cute, but what is it… exactly?

As an industry, we have a “brand” issue that has stymied our growth. 

To date, the term “tiny” varies so broadly that it’s difficult for national governments, state housing departments, local building officials, and supervisory boards to green light tiny homes. 

From the perspective of those engaged in managing land use and permitting processes, it may seem daunting — if not feasibly impossible — to institute use of a product under terms that aren’t formally recognized:

• Tiny Home
• Tiny House
• Tiny House RV (TH/RV)
• Movable Tiny Home (MTH)
• Tiny House on Wheels (THOW)
• Tiny House on Foundation (THOF)

And further derivatives for tiny houses and homes seem endlessly ambiguous and blended to the point where they confuse officials who are responsible for the regulations they impose. 

From the perspective of state legislators, building officials, and zoning boards, it seems reasonable to ask: 

“Well, what exactly are ‘tiny homes?’ Are they vans and busses? Are they simply ‘well secured loads’ that resemble a house? Are they converted backyard garden sheds? Are they certified RVs? Are they registered in the state for use as modular housing? Are they manufactured HUD code homes? Or are they all just ‘whimsical expressions of art?’”

For many, our answer in resounding chorus is: “YES!” However, to be all of those things, we are truly none, and that’s a big problem for tiny house people and our goals to bring forth tiny housing solutions and community development opportunities. 

Regulating bodies, housing development entities, and planning/permitting departments often seek answers in absolute form of  “is it or is it not” rather than “check all that apply.”

Our industry was borne upon individuals exercising small and simple living principles, grew more formally into a widespread social movement, and has now formed an industry. To expand wide-spread adoption of tiny home definitions and successes in using them as bona fide forms of housing, we must collectively address similar questions with the same succinct answers. 

Without broad scale agreement for how we meet any one form of housing requirement in “uniform fashion” (i.e. meeting of same formally recognized thresholds), our advocacy and the allowances we are granted will remain hit or miss.

Know Needs and Derive Solutions

Like it or not, to secure permissible use of land for housing — whether temporary, emergency, recreation, accessory dwelling, principal residence, multi-family, or multi-unit housing development — there needs to be formal agreement for meeting any state mandated construction criteria, unit certification requirements, and permissible municipal land use.

For community design and development, it helps to “seek first to understand” the why, who, what, where, and how of housing by asking:

1. Social Interests: Why do we need housing? 
2. Constituency: Who are we serving? 
3. Market Demand: What do people want?
4. Type: What class(es) of housing units?
5. Intent: For what purpose are units used?
6. Permit: Where are units to be used?

Tiny housing needs and interests vary greatly, though there are enough common “use case scenarios” that a broad form of support of land use already bound to specific dwelling units types and classifications. 

Tiny Home Use and Allowance

If we understand the existing framework, we may build upon it to extend an allowance for the development of tiny home communities that often seek to blend usage beyond the usual and customary boundaries.

Here’s a summary of how a zoning discussion might approach balancing the nuances of land use with dwelling types to support common Tiny Housing scenarios.

Workforce

Designation of units for Workforce Housing on land ordained for agricultural use is commonly sought as a clause of allowance for fixed and movable tiny homes. 

However, housing permitted for workforce use often comes coupled with restriction for temporary/seasonal use and/or a rotation of migrant workers. 

Further, Workforce Housing offers an opportunity for some, but may disqualify use as:

• Prospective resident’s intent may not be deemed suitable use, like using a Tiny House RV as a full-time dwelling without being part of a specific workforce;
• Housing type may be unpermitted or unrecognized, which would include non-certified or unregistered movable tiny homes and conversion of accessory structures into dwelling units without proper permits and approvals; 
• Land for which zoning ordinance restricts such use, for example allowances for a Tiny House RV on farmland will vary from what may be deemed an extended form of illegal camping in a residential neighborhood.

Due to the intended use for housing migratory workers, the current definition and requirements for Workforce Housing may restrict access to special permits for use of private property, a variance of use without tie a commercial interest using migratory workforce, or difficulty making applicable changes to zoning ordinances via amendment. 

My counterpoint on behalf of progressive change is the knowledge and recognition is that the culture of careers and work have changed dramatically in the past 30 years. As such, many tiny house people are “digital nomads” and therefore part of a migratory workforce that brings revenue to many along the paths of our travels and times of longer stays in local communities. 

It seems reasonable that an allowance through amendment of local ordinance for Workforce Housing might be tied to Accessory Dwelling Units, extended stays in local RV parks (no limit for full-timers), and allowance of tiny community developments that support a more transitory workforce and a non-stop migration of people.

Shelters

There are many “tiny” villages/communities for which requirements are imposed that independent housing units (detached dormitories) do not include all the usual provisions for independent living (sleeping, food preparation, and personal sanitation).

Camping cabins are often necessarily supported by more centralized services for food preparation in a kitchen/dining hall, personal sanitation in a bath house, and laundry washing in facilities. Such support facilities and amenities may be located on-site in a park, resort, or community setting, or — as for disaster relief scenarios — as special services provided to support basic living needs and accommodations. 

“Sleeping shelters” don’t meet the criteria for “home,” and thus are often only granted permits for on-demand emergency, special temporary, and long-term recreational use. 

There may still be an application for this form of limited function sleeping shelter as part of a blended solution that offers a variety of tiny living accommodations. 

DIY Tiny House RVs

To pun, that these “tiny homes have no class” remains our biggest blessing and a curse. 

When compared to residential housing standards, Movable Tiny Homes built as DIY RVs are custom creations and personal property that are granted great leniency in construction that often begins without formal plans, proceeds without inspection, and ends without any formal certification. 

The blessing of “I can build what I want and use it where I want” is balanced by the knowledge that such DIY TH/RVs may be forever cursed by their “lack of proven conformance” and therefore may be deemed formally suitable only for use in a limited and temporary capacity like any other RV.

To be honest, our home fits this model, and we love her regardless of the restrictions. Like modifying your life to live with a pet, we have adapted where and how we live to fit this form of tiny house lifestyle. It’s not for everyone, but then again, neither is anything else.

Recreational

As definitions and classifications exist for modular housing, manufactured homes, and recreational vehicles, it is difficult to shoehorn today’s models of “tiny home” into any one category, regardless of whether it is fixed/permanent or movable/relocatable. 

In terms of qualifying RVs as housing:

• Few states hold oversight of RV manufacturing and quality assurance,
• HUD has declared that RVs may not be considered Manufactured Housing, and 
• Member associations uphold that signage in RVs should formally declare that such units are only suitable for temporary seasonal use and may not be permitted for use as residences. 

With increased liability brought forth through community development, certification of units may be required for long-term use of TH/RVs in a “park setting” per zoning ordinance, property variance, temporary/special use permit, and/or insurance held by a campground based community. 

To ensure the greatest long-term use of a TH/RV unit, a manufacturing facility may voluntarily submit to “independent 3rd-party arm’s-length inspection” of their production activities. Likewise, recording resources are readily available for pro and DIY TH/RV builders to aid in proving a specific unit’s conformance to baseline criteria that often blend recreational and residential standards.

From a community design perspective, there are pros and few cons to seeking use of the property as a “designated camping area” classified as a:

• Campground – Areas designated for “primitive” tent/car camping
• RV Park – Spaces with temporary utility hook-ups for travel trailers and motorhomes
• RV Resort – Lots rented long term with greater on-site amenities 
• Park Model Community – Designated for more permanently attached Park Model RVs 

A zoning ordinance or variance may qualify land use as more all-inclusive (less restricted), though may still require designation of areas within a property for specific types of use for recreational and residential use. As such, there are frequently different “length of stay” requirements for different forms of designated camping areas.

There may also be a requirement on how RV units retain their portability and meet provisions for use of temporary utility hook-ups. Likewise, Park Model RV units may be granted a more permanent yet “detachable” placement using foundation footings, piers, anchors, skirting, and permanent utility connections. 

Residential 

Incorporating housing as officially permitted dwelling units also offers a balance of pros and cons for tiny home community development.

In residential terms, dwelling units may be constructed to national standards, state building codes, municipal criteria, community HOA covenants, and site specific requirements as:

• Site-built homes on permanent foundations
• Site-assembled dwellings from prefab components 
• Off-site constructed and site-installed modular units
• Factory-built HUD certified Manufactured Homes 

Where Manufactured Homes must adhere to the HUD Code, which precludes work by anyone other than a certified factory, the other three methods offer latitude for different types of material, construction processes, and labor use that include a flexible mix of professional fabricators, contractors, job skills students, home owner/builders, and volunteer labor.

For tiny home communities, housing type and use should be carefully considered in terms of goals that support coaching of DIY-based building activities, housing unit customization, and potential for placement especially. This is especially true in tiny home communities seeking to provide a live/train/work scenario that blends housing with on-site workforce development and employment opportunities. 

Communities 

The relative abundance of land in rural areas often limits property use to the more conventional classes of housing models including single-family homes, multiple homes on family-held properties, and multi-family housing. 

Despite the needs and interest in small/tiny communities, limited scope land use ordinances create a challenge for introducing Pocket Neighborhoods and Cluster Community models in small towns and outlying areas in surrounding counties. 

Amending land use ordinances or seeking a variance can allow use for hosting multiple smaller-sized dwelling units in a community that might be presented as a tiny house village, an intentional community, age-in-place neighborhood, multi-generational housing, and workforce development models. 

Common Obstacles

Aside from needs for housing inventory, classification of type, intended use, and existing allowances via ordinance, other common barriers to tiny home community development include:

1. Confusing and time consuming processes
2. Costly application, planning, and permitting fees
3. Too-big-to-be-tiny minimum requirements 
4. Disproportionate infrastructure criteria
5. Costly and unscaled impact fees 
6. Adversity to innovation and systemic change
7. NIMBYism

While state-wide institution of relaxed land use requirements isn’t popular with municipalities, having state-led direction and support can help model alternate means and methods while providing precedent that institutes commonality within states and those with like geographies, proximity, populations, and social needs. 

Likewise, suitable relief from inordinately scaled construction requirements will bring forth uniformity in standards that are suitably scaled without adverse effect to dictates that ensure health, safety, and wellness within smaller than average homes. 

Introduction of training programs, an openness to new technologies, and the development of shared resources offers a means to further elevate construction quality while lowering costs across the board in design, engineering, plan review, manufacturing, inspection, registration, and certification for occupancy. 

And proactive investments from member associations as supported by proposals from local advocacy groups can help bring about social awareness, provide resources for appropriate testimony and arguments for allowance, and a means of ongoing advocacy that fosters implementation practices while easing adoption of tiny living scenarios that secures the long-term success of tiny home communities.

Without such measures, we will maintain a status quo that encourages builders/developers to develop large communities and multi-family housing units versus instituting an approach to innovation that models how a village-like atmosphere may be developed that includes tiny-sized independent dwelling units on smaller parcels of property.

Blending Types as Mixed Use

In our travels, we have seen and stayed at many RV and MH parks that have a single entrance with areas for Manufactured Homes placed in near proximity of RV sites and primitive camping areas. 

From a tiny home community standpoint, there are many models that illustrate how such a mixed use scenario could be used to create a community that combines:

• Primitive Camping to support transient campers in tents, cars, vans, and skoolies
• Camping Cabins leveraging centralized bath/kitchen services for short-term use
• Tiny House RVs built/certified to specs for travel trailers or park model homes
• Tiny Homes meeting reqs for permanent homes and relocatable residences

From a workforce development and housing production standpoint, there are many facilities that manufacture Modular Homes alongside Tiny House RVs and more shed-like Camping Cabins, all of which can be leveraged for supporting volunteer-based “quick builds” by teams, used as a certified workforce development program, and provision of live/work scenarios for migratory workers and/or employment of community residents. 

Tiny Community Development 

To break it down into action items and next steps, success in proposing and securing the right to develop a tiny home community will most likely to come down to a municipality’s comfort with:

1. Definition and specification for a Pocket/Cluster settings of dwelling units
2. Placing housing in near proximity to areas designated for camping (MH/RV park)
3. Allowance of property use for Primitive, RV, and Park Model RV recreation
4. Waiver or adjustment of impact fees to scale with size of dwelling units
5. Ordained use of campground with TH/RVs knowingly used as dwelling units
6. Creation of protocols for detachable modular homes as “Relocatable Residences”  
7. Phased approach that can unlock land use in successive development stages

Tiny Home Communities are likely to exercise a true mixed-use scenario that blends housing solutions with educational centers, workforce development opportunities, makerspace studios, micro-enterprises, multi-generational living, elder care, and support systems/services for home-bound residents, crisis/disaster victims, and homeless families and individuals.

Encouraged by Tiny Communities

The range of tiny home community development success stories is on the rise worldwide. 

Such efforts drive innovation, establish precedent, and create replicable models of TH/RV resorts, workforce development, village-like showcase communities, and resorts for recreation that support those with intrinsically transient careers and wanderlust lifestyles. 

History shows that an openness to diverse opportunities often invites — and necessitates — collaboration between internationational bodies, national governments, state legislators and housing departments, local municipalities, and varying constituencies of residents that fosters friendship and develops a truly holistic sense of community.

Tiny Changes: A Big Deal

Just because it’s new doesn’t make it wrong; it only makes it different. 

Change is hard, and tiny house people remain embroiled in challenging static norms to foster updates to otherwise outmoded conventions. While many deem these activities a disruptive enterprise, I prefer to remember that it takes innovation to generate progress. 

If you’re interested in building a tiny home community, consider that you are likely breaking new ground that actively develops best practices and models that may be shared, learned, taught, extended, and scaled to meet needs across the U.S. and around the world.

Many things are currently in great flux, and efforts of advocacy as found in the Tiny House Movement can help support housing needs, expand municipal interests, rebuild rural populations, and reinvigorate growth.

Here’s to all doing their part to support tiny homes and communities.