Proposed ordinance change would limit development of ‘tiny homes’ in Belleville
“Tiny homes” have been popping up across the United States as an option for young couples who can’t afford high mortgages, retirees who want to downsize, military veterans and homeless people.
That has prompted Belleville city officials to propose zoning changes to regulate such developments.
The Zoning Board of Appeals voted last month to recommend that the full City Council amend an ordinance, setting a minimum standard of 1,000 square feet for single-family homes and 800 square feet for duplexes and apartments, unless property owners get variances.
Cliff Cross, the city’s director of economic development, zoning and planning, told Zoning Board members at a June 27 meeting that tiny homes could lower property values in some neighborhoods.
“We feel like (the ordinance change is) the best way to protect those neighborhoods while we look into how this grows in the future,” he said.
Most tiny homes range from 100 to 500 square feet. Some builders use upgraded materials and install fancy features, while others keep it basic. Some offer the homes for rent through Airbnb.
Belleville resident Michael Hagberg attended the Zoning Board meeting and questioned the ordinance change.
“Not that it would affect me personally, but in general I oppose it because I don’t think the government should be restricting what people can do on their property to that extent,” he said afterward.
Hagberg argued that developers of assisted-living and other senior-apartment complexes with 500-square-foot units might be discouraged from building in Belleville. He also asked about mobile-home parks.
The change wouldn’t affect senior-apartment complexes or mobile-home parks, according to Cross.
Hagberg said some cities have found success housing military veterans or homeless people in tiny homes, which can be grouped to share heating-and-cooling systems and other amenities.
“If you’re taking homeless and putting them into a tiny home, then they’re no longer homeless,” he said. “That’s a good thing.”
Cross told Zoning Board members that the city encourages home ownership, and he has nothing against tiny homes. But they could work against Belleville’s Infill Redevelopment Program in some cases, he said.
Under that program, developers who buy city-owned vacant lots for $1 are required to build homes that fit the character of existing neighborhoods in an effort to raise property values.
“Our goal is not only to protect whoever builds on that lot but also the neighborhood,” Cross said at the Zoning Board meeting.
No one else spoke for or against the ordinance change.
The full City Council is expected to vote on the change at its next meeting on Monday. If it’s approved, developers and others who want to build tiny homes could ask for variances, and decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis, according to Cross.
