About The Association
I just wanted to take a moment to clarify what the Tiny Town Association is and is not for those that have not visited our website. We do not own or operate any tiny home communities but are advocating for governments to make changes to allow people to live tiny. We have identified 4 key ways that zoning bylaws can change to accommodate tiny homes, and while we have an affinity for our Tiny Town concept (hence the Association name), we strongly support all ways that allow tiny homes to exist alongside traditional housing.
We are advocating for tiny homes on vacant land/lots, as inFILL housing, in Pocket Communities, and in Tiny Towns. Expanded explanations are on our website, but in a nutshell, here is what we mean:
Vacant land is rural, divided but undeveloped land that an individual tiny homeowner would purchase, make the needed improvement to and live on. Building lots are the same but within a city. In both these scenarios, we expect that the city/municipality would assess a tax rate equal to the smallest traditional house size that could be built on the land, in place of the tiny home. The land is owned by the tiny homeowner.
InFILL Housing is where a homeowner with a big enough yard that met the city requirements could apply and receive an annual permit to provide services for and rent space to a tiny homeowner. This would be like the coach house or laneway housing model that many cities are adopting, but for tiny homes on wheels. The site is rented by the tiny homeowner.
Pocket Communities would be developed on vacant lots within a city. The lots would either be cooperatively owned or owned by a developer. Cooperative Pocket Communities would be permanent sites, whereas undeveloped sites we expect would be temporary. However, some temporary communities could exist for many years. The site is rented by the tiny homeowner, but in the coop model, they could have the stability and rent geared to cost that a coop offers.
Tiny Towns we feel are the most exciting and offer the most potential for tiny home living. Cooperatively owned and built on rural properties of 100 acres or more, we envision that they would be connected to their host city through public transit. Tiny home sites would be larger than within the city and offer lots of community space. The towns themselves would be off-grid providing the utility services to its citizens in an environmentally responsible way. We see this growing into a network of Tiny Towns connected to all major cities so that a tiny homeowner can relocate to another city (for work or family) in a similar way that traditional homeowners would, but taking their tiny home with them when they move. The site is rented by the coop-member tiny homeowner enjoying a cost-based rental rate.