Council considering allowing tiny homes, RVs as accessory dwelling units

City Council seems poised to initiate changes to city zoning regulations that will allow tiny homes and recreational vehicles to be used as accessory dwelling units in single-family neighborhoods.

Council Member Leslie Pool is sponsoring a resolution on today’s Council agenda that notes that back in 2014, staff identified zoning as the largest obstacle to adding RVs as an allowable use in single-family residential districts. In her City Council Message Board post about the resolution, Pool said, “On this week’s agenda, I am excited to bring Item 83, which initiates code changes that would allow tiny homes within single-family zoning districts. Adding a tiny home to your property, if allowed, would be the easiest and most affordable way to provide much-needed housing. These homes could be used by a family member, caretaker, college student, or just add passive income to help cover the mortgage.”

According to Atha Phillips, senior policy adviser to Pool, Council members wanted to make changes to zoning rules during the CodeNEXT process that would allow tiny homes and RVs to be used as ADUs. None of that went as planned.

Now Pool, along with Council members Chito Vela, Zo Qadri, Natasha Harper-Madison and Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis, propose changes that they hope will help provide affordable housing options for Austinites. The item on Thursday’s agenda directs the city manager to propose changes to the Land Development Code and bring the proposed code changes back to the Housing and Planning Committee and to Council by Nov. 30.

As the resolution states, Austin’s current Land Development Code only allows RVs within lots zoned for campgrounds, mobile homes and some other commercially zoned uses, but not within single-family zoned districts. The resolution also says that tiny homes would allow property owners to “easily and affordably add an additional unit to their property.”

Vela was particularly enthusiastic in his support for the item. He said Tuesday, “If you’re on a single-family SF-3 type property and you were thinking about putting an ADU in the back and … you looked at the cost of building an ADU and you’re like, you know what? I don’t have … $350,000. You know, you could potentially get a tiny home, put it in the back, plumb it, add electricity, and then that would essentially be your ADU.”

Pool did not attend Tuesday’s work session and will be absent from today’s meeting because she is out of town attending training sessions. However, Phillips is keeping her updated on developments.

During the work session, Council Member Mackenzie Kelly expressed concerns about people using tiny homes or recreational vehicles as short-term rentals. In response to Kelly’s questions, Pool wrote a second draft of her resolution, which Phillips posted on the City Council Message Board. That version asks the city manager to propose regulations that would require registration with the city if the unit is to be used as a short-term rental.

In addition, the manager is directed to make sure that the new regulations include compliance with the city’s residential code, including fire distance requirements between dwelling units. Finally, the new version of the resolution makes clear that the property owner must ensure that they are in compliance with city regulations regarding the maximum number of dwelling units, regardless of the type.

Phillips told the Austin Monitor that Pool and her staff began thinking about using tiny homes to provide more affordable housing options for Austinites after Phillips started building a tiny home on her own property. Phillips explained that she does not have to comply with city zoning regulations because she’s in the ETJ (extraterritorial jurisdiction). Phillips said her daughter is currently attending college in San Antonio but will be coming back to Austin to continue her education here next year. She will have a tiny home to live in.

Pool envisions tiny homes, typically less than 400 square feet, enabling homeowners to live “a more environmentally conscious, financially stable, and minimalist lifestyle.”

Photo made available through a Creative Commons license.

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