Madison’s Common Council voted in favor of an affordable housing solution for homeless city residents Tuesday, which amended city ordinances to allow tiny houses on volunteered religious and nonprofit organizational property.
Occupy Madison, the organization behind the Tiny Homes Initiative, plans to offer small, economically efficient and eco-friendly portable structures as housing alternatives for those living on the streets. Prospective residents must first pledge to help build other tiny houses, paying for their own future home with their time.
“It’s not just a shelter, it’s a commitment to a lifestyle,” said Brenda Konkel, the executive director of the Tenant Resource Center. “It’s a co-op mixed with Habitat for Humanity mixed with eco-village as the long-term goal.”
With the first home 90 percent complete, organizers sought council approval and cooperation to make tiny houses readily accessible and permissible under Madison city zoning laws.
Some members of the council expressed concern regarding whether or not the tiny houses would comply with city building and safety codes.
“It sounds like they were sized to circumvent it,” said Ald. Paul Skidmore, District 9.
However, as Konkel countered, the tiny house project is so new that there is just no code that covers them.
“We can’t build them to a code, but we are building them to meet safety standards,” Konkel said.
It was suggested the council refer the motion to its Oct. 29meeting in order to allow time for further logistical questions to be addressed. However, alders decided against postponing, citing there simply isn’t the time as temperatures continue to drop.
“I would remind everybody that it’s already very cold tonight,” said Ald. Lisa Subeck, District 1.
Following the council’s favorable passage of the motion, local churches and nonprofits can begin the approximately two-month-long application process to permit tiny houses on their land, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
“In the case of the tiny houses, it will take some time for individuals to directly benefit, but hopefully it will be sooner rather than later,” Verveer said.
