ROGERS -- A "tiny house" project has been delayed because it doesn't fit in with the city's land zoning rules.
The city staff will need to look at rewriting its standards to adapt to modern manufactured homes, which fall under the city's "mobile home" definition, said John McCurdy, community development director.
Council action
Rogers’ City Council met Tuesday and approved:
• A request by Mathias Shopping Centers to allow warehousing and storage at 1702 W. Industrial Drive.
• A request by Miami Indian Cabinet Shop to allow warehousing and storage at 1706 W. Industrial Drive.
• A request by 1st Street Neighborhood Storage to allow warehousing and storage on about 4 acres on South First Street, south of East New Hope Road.
• A request by Michael Villegas to rezone 1316 S. Fourth St. from neighborhood residential to the neighborhood transition zoning district.
Source: Staff report
The Planning Commission on Tuesday tabled a request by D&C Holdings to rezone 410 N. 13th St. from highway commercial to residential multifamily to allow the project, which would put 39 houses on about 4 acres. Each of the houses would be about 400 square feet, said David Gallo, a developer on the project.
"You can move them, but it's costly to move them," he said.
The city allows mobile homes in areas zoned for them, but it doesn't allow land to be rezoned to allow mobile homes, said Lori Ericson, planning administrator.
"This is essentially a mobile home park," McCurdy said during a Plans and Policies Committee meeting. "We tried to look at it as a condominium complex."
If the commission wanted to treat the project like a condominium complex, the tiny house park would need to include amenities, such as a club house or dog park, that condominium complexes typically have, he said. He added he didn't see how the project could be allowed, given the city's rules.
"This is not your mom's mobile home park," McCurdy said. "This is a new type of structure that's a manufactured home. It's got a pitched roof. It's got residential siding on it, and we should consider whether our prohibition against mobile homes is valid in today's market."
Chris Gallo, another developer on the project, said she and David Gallo own property on West Olive Street with more than 20 tiny homes. The project they proposed Tuesday would be similar to that development, she said.
The homes generally cost between $45,000 and $75,000 and are intended to be quality, affordable homes for people who don't need or want a lot of space, David Gallo said.
The developers asked the commission to table the request, and the commission voted to do so unanimously with commissioner Tony Noblin absent.
"I think what we've identified is we need more tools in the tool box, and we need more time to develop those tools," said Kevin Jensen, commission chairman.
No one spoke for or against the rezoning during a public comment period at the commission meeting.
NW News on 07/17/2019