DALTON, Mass. — The Planning Board will be discussing the possibility of amending the current Accessory Dwelling Units bylaws to include tiny homes during its meeting next week. 

 

During the board's meeting in February, Tiny Home Industry Association President Dan Fitzpatrick joined the meeting via Zoom to give a presentation on tiny homes. 

 

Fitzpatrick is interested in working with the town to amend its bylaws to permit movable tiny homes especially as Accessory Dwelling Units. A change like this would have to be approved during a town meeting. 

 

A tiny home is defined as a unit under 400 square feet and has all the requirements to meet someone's daily needs, including sanitation, cooking, and other facilities.

 

He has been working with communities and states across the nation advocating for legalizing tiny homes through building code changes, ordinance updates, bylaw amendments, or statute changes. 

 

There are benefits to tiny homes for both the buyer and the community, including affordable housing, energy efficiency, ease of location, hookup and maintenance, and are perfect for infill, Fitzpatrick said.

 

Permitting ADUs and movable tiny homes is a way to provide more affordable housing. A significant number of tiny home units are built as ADUs but 60 percent of American cities are zoned for single-family homes, he said. 

 

"One could buy a movable tiny home and they generally cost between $60,000 and $90,000," Fitzpatrick said. 

 

If a resident chooses to put it in as an ADU it would cost another $20,000 to cover trenching, bringing it in, and hooking it up to the water sewer electric system. 

 

"So, you got a total investment of anywhere from $80,000 to $100,000. So that's very affordable, for one or two people within your community," he said.

 

"Your median family income is approximately $73,000. So, as you can see, these units can supply housing for low and very low incomes, so a significant portion of your area's households can afford a movable tiny home again, without any taxpayer subsidy." 

 

Tiny homes are sustainable and energy efficient because they have very low water and sewer consumption, Fitzpatrick said. 

 

"That's very important in today's world. A lot of communities I work with have they want to cut their energy and carbon footprint. They have drought issues that they need to save water," he said and that tiny homes are a way to do that. 

 

A common misconception that raises concerns amongst residents is the idea that movable tiny homes are conventional travel trailers or motorhomes; they are not. 

 

"A movable tiny home is not that movable, a tiny home is built to resemble a typical cottage or bungalow," Fitzpatrick said. 

 

A number of the communities that he has worked with say the units meet the requirements for certain areas, such as historic areas.

 

Tiny homes would allow communities to limit sprawl by working within boundaries that already have resources and services available, Fitzpatrick said.

 

As a former city manager and county administrator, he said urban sprawl costs more money than working within the current community boundary. 

 

"You get double bang for your buck and thus at the end of the day, there's no taxpayer subsidy required for an affordable accessory dwelling unit or infill unit," he said. 

 

Based on how long the tiny home will remain on a property it can be taxed different ways, Fitzpatrick said.

 

"In terms of taxation, these units get taxed basically the same way you would do manufactured homes. Sometimes if they're there for a non-permanent basis they get taxed on as personal property and if they're more permanent and affixed to the property, they can be taxed as real property," he said. 

 

The current ADUs permitted in town are only slightly different than tiny homes, Fitzpatrick said. The only difference is that most tiny houses have wheels. 

 

If the town wants to amend its current bylaw, the same way Great Barrington has, then it has to amend its codes, Fitzpatrick said. 

 

Great Barrington approved amending its ordinance to include tiny homes about four years ago. Town Planner Janko Tomasic will reach out to Great Barrington's planning department for insight.

 

Many communities also include in their bylaws that the tiny home requires double-pane glass, exterior trim, and has to have a minimum R requirement for the walls and ceiling. The association recommends a minimum R13 requirement for the walls and R19 for the ceiling. 

 

These requirements prevent the approval of conventional recreational vehicles or park models, he said. 

 

"So, you just put those in, you eliminate them. Now you're going to only get true tiny homes and you have a requirement that the tiny home shall be designed and built to look like it conventional housing units," Fitzpatrick said. 

 

Under the bylaw, the town would require a special permit and no one gets a special permit until they submit a plan that adheres to these requirements, "so you're in charge, and no one is trying to sneak a RV into your back yard and call it a tiny home."

 

The amendment has to define a movable tiny home, point to the building code and certifications that are going to be required, including site hookup and provisions for utilities and foundation base, and incorporate details for community specific needs, such as snow load requirements. 

 

The amendment must also include the fact that the home requires two licenses, one for the Registry of Motor Vehicles and a certificate stating the home was built to the appropriate building code standards, 

 

The owner is responsible for the permits to hook it up to the water, sewer, and electric system, he said.  

 

A number of communities require that the wheels are removed and that the structure sit on the same type of foundation used for manufactured housing or if the wheels aren't removed, that it sits on a level surface that's substantial enough to handle its weight, Fitzpatrick said. 

 

Following the presentation board, Chair Andrew Perenick said he is interested in touring some tiny homes. 

 

The idea of tiny homes is not anything new, Fitzpatrick said. "I grew up as a kid in the 1950s and I call it 'back to the future.'"

 

During that time, the average home size was about 1,000 square feet but due to increase in family sizes homes started to get bigger. 

 

"So what's happened since the 1950s to today the housing size has more than doubled, but the number of people per household has actually decreased," Fitzpatrick said. 

 

A number of the city and county leaders and state legislators described tiny homes as a "fad" that will pass, Fitzpatrick said. 

 

However, he urged they look at the demographics saying we desperately need smaller housing.

 

"Nationally 30 percent of the population are single-person units," he said, and 70 percent of households in the United states have two people or less. 

 

Tiny homes are a "perfect example of a product that helps" provide the need for smaller and more diverse housing, he said. "We need different types of housing to deal with and present to our various constituents to meet their housing needs."

 

Especially for seniors who are living in 2,000 to 3,000 square foot homes, he said. 

 

Millennials are not the only ones buying tiny homes. A number of buyers are baby boomers for a variety of reasons including downsizing, buying it for their kids, grandkids, caregiver, or to make additional income, Fitzpatrick said.