Pleasant Grove Legalizes Tiny Homes

By now you've probably heard the exciting news that Pleasant Grove has joined several other cities and towns across the country in legalizing tiny homes. Being there for the meeting was tense and exciting. We weren't sure how the vote was going to go, but we knew that there was a lot riding on this decision. Several local tiny house enthusiasts were on hand to offer opinions and support during the public hearing, and we were all thrilled with the unanimous decision.

But before we all start planning to roll into Pleasant Grove en masse, we need to talk about what exactly this means and what kinds of tiny houses are allowed. Bear with me, this is about to get a little technical.

This ordinance has been added as part of Pleasant Grove's zoning laws regarding accessory dwelling units, which were passed earlier this year. An accessory dwelling unit (ADU) is meant to be a subordinate dwelling on the same lot as a traditional residence. In Pleasant Grove you can live in the ADU or in the main house, as long as the lot is not subdivided and the same owner owns both residences. What happened last night is that the laws concerning ADUs have now been extended to include tiny homes.

But there are some caveats. The tiny home cannot be smaller than 192 square feet (which means 24 feet if you're building on a standard trailer). And no matter what size it is, the house must have its own eating, sleeping, and sanitation facilities and be permanently connected to city utilities. The ADU/tiny home must also be permanently installed on a foundation.

At first this might seem like it rules out all tiny houses, and it does rule out some. However, there are options to make this route work for you if you're interested in doing so. It all depends on what you're looking for in your tiny home experience. I also think it's important to note the precedent this sets for surrounding cities and all of Utah. While this ordinance may not be the perfect answer to your tiny house placement problems, it's a start, people. And I still think it's exciting.

Here are some additional specifics from the ordinance:
1. Only one accessory dwelling (tiny home) per lot, meaning you can't build a tiny village in your backyard, even if you own multiple acres.
2. As mentioned, you must connect to all city utilities, so no composting toilets.
3. You have to attach your house to a site-built foundation.
4. And that foundation has to be inspected by the city to make sure it's up to code.
5. All the wheels and trailer (anything that makes the house portable) must be removed at the time of installation as an ADU.
6. The house must be built from weather-resistant and aesthetically pleasing materials, consistent with the main dwelling on the property.
7. Deviations from these stipulations can be approved by the city.
8. And finally, parking requirements for the property are the same as the ADU ordinance that was passed earlier this year, which likely means that additional off-street parking will need to be installed. And from what I heard last night, this doesn't include just laying down some gravel. It needs to be actual cement parking.

So are you discouraged yet? Don't be. This really is a step in the right direction. For some lucky folks this means they can start building their houses today, now that they finally have a legal option for their dream homes. For others, this will mean figuring out if Pleasant Grove is a place you'd want to settle down permanently and then finding someone there who would like to make some extra money by renting out a spot in their yard.

I understand that this provision will not work for all tiny housers. Some of you, like me, would prefer to be mobile because you don't feel like you can commit to any one place just yet, even a place as nice as Pleasant Grove. Some of you, like me, want to live in a house that's smaller than 192 square feet. And some of you, like me, plan to use composting toilets or other off-grid set ups.

But let me tell you why I felt so energized as we clapped our hands and left that meeting last night. It's because there was a conversation. There were people there who had actively pursued change for the greater good of their community. There were kind and helpful government officials who were receptive to that change. I listened to people talk about all the different reasons they wanted to go tiny, and I watched city council members nod and smile in encouragement. We answered questions and calmed fears and ultimately we convinced them that this was the right thing to do.

People should be allowed to live in whatever size house they want. And what I saw last night was a city that recognized that truth and took a big step forward to make things right and to welcome good people into their community who would not otherwise be able to own a home of their own.

Was it perfect? No. Was it progress? Yes. And you made it happen, tiny housers. Yesterday was a good day to be a tiny house person in Utah. And I couldn't have been more proud of the people who showed up to represent our community. Thank you for your efforts thus far and for all you're going to do in the future.

March Meetup

Hey, tiny housers!

I know several of you wanted to attend our March meetup but weren't able to for one reason or another. I promised that I'd write up a summary of the important points we discussed, but to be perfectly honest, we spent a lot of time just chatting and I didn't actually take notes, so this summary may not be what you were hoping for. My bad. I will do a better job of documenting our next meeting.

But basically, here's what you missed:

On March 9, we met at the Millcreek Community Center. We began with a few introductions. Most of our group are interested in tiny houses and would love to move into one someday but haven't yet because of financial, legal, or other issues. There were a few attendees already living tiny or currently building. And there were one or two folks who were just dipping their toes in the tiny house waters. I hope we didn't scare them off.

Since I introduced myself there, at this point, I should probably introduce myself here on the blog. My name is Heidi and I recently took over as one of the admins on the Utah Tiny Homes Community Facebook page. I learned about tiny houses about five years ago and have been following the movement ever since, waiting for the day when I could go tiny. Recently I put in a deposit on a tiny house shell that will be ready in August, and I'm super excited about finishing it off and living in it. If you're interested, feel free to check out my tiny house blog or my personal blog. I look forward to meeting as many of you as I can and helping you learn more about tiny housing.

Anyway, back to the meeting. We spent a few minutes talking as a whole group about general issues facing the tiny house movement in Utah, including parking options and restrictions in Salt Lake and the surrounding area. Though there's still some confusion about specific areas, there are a few things we know:

1. Accessory dwelling units are acceptable, but only near trax stations.
2. Summit County is the only nearby area in which you can camp out in your tiny house year round.
3. There are several RV parks in the area (some are nicer than others), and quite a few of them will welcome tiny housers
4. It sounds like Pleasant Grove is accepting tiny houses as additional units on single-family zoned properties.
5. There's a prominent tiny houser in the area (whose name I've forgotten--comment below if you know it) who owns property in Draper that is already zoned for a mobile home park, but he is attempting to convince the city to accept tiny houses there instead.
6. There's an RV park in between Park City and Salt Lake City that is selling its lots, and the park is open to tiny houses

 Around this point we found out that several members of our group had wound up in a room adjacent to our meeting space. When they realized that we were actually in a different location and joined us, our numbers swelled to around thirty people. It was exciting to see how many people actually made the time to attend.

Shortly after that we broke into smaller groups to chat more informally about our tiny house plans and specific issues that we're passionate about. A couple of groups concentrated on legal actions and how to push those efforts. Other groups talked about design, minimalism, flexibility, financing, and other reasons we like tiny houses.

We also passed around a signup sheet to join a Yahoo group. If you're interested in joining that and receiving updates via email, please message us on Facebook or comment below and we will get you in touch with the person handling that.

In general, I felt like it was a great meeting. We all know that there will be challenges in our way as we try to legalize tiny living in Utah and educate others about its benefits. But we also recognized that we have strength in numbers and that together we can accomplish a lot more than we'd be able to do alone.

Thanks to those who attended. And for those who couldn't make it, we hope you'll join us at our next meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 9. The location for that meeting is still to be decided, but I'm thinking it will probably be somewhere in the South Jordan/Draper area. Stay tuned for more info to come soon or subscribe to our Facebook events so you'll never miss another invite.

Welcome to the Community!

Hey everyone! Glad you made it here. This blog is currently under construction but I'm hoping it will serve as a good place for us to interact with fellow tiny housers in Utah. Comment below if there's something you'd like to have included here that you don't see yet.

And thanks for your patience as I get it up and running.