Tiny Homes

In 2011, I objected to the cookie-cutter ordinances that were provided by ICLEI Consultants from the American Planning Association adopted by the Dunwoody GA City Council.  When City Staff pushed back hard, I knew this was part of UN Agenda 21 implementation.  The old zoning code was normal. It had evolved over decades and centuries with voter input to elected officials. You had categories for the normal ½ acre to 1 acre lots for single family housing.  You had a category for apartments and condos and even trailer parks in the exurbs. There was a push for “high density” and transit villages and sounded like we were being “encouraged” to be like Europe, where UN Agenda 21 implementation started. This “high density” model was rejected wherever voters still had some influence.  It created horrible traffic congestion on rotten roads and the public transit costs were astronomical. Starting in 2008, we saw “Regional Commissions” created to introduce “appointed governance” to replace elected officials and a myriad of other laws designed to remove the voters from local decision making. In 2016, a new propaganda TV program is promoting “Tiny Homes” and HUD is attempting to take over local zoning with their new rules in exchange for federal bribes to cities. Section 8 Project Housing had failed in the 1960s, so this looked like the new low-income housing model the feds were pushing.  Obama’s open borders and migrant welfare policies would certainly increase poverty, so I figured that migrants on welfare would join a growing population of poor “wards of the state”. Now I’m seeing “tiny home” ordinances are being implemented and voters are finally pushing back after they see what is in store for their neighborhoods.  See article below: 'Tiny Homes' Meet Code, Homeless Shelter Or No, Judge Says, By Matthew Perlman, Law360, New York, 5/27/16 A Florida Administrative Law Judge on Wednesday recommended the approval of a Tallahassee residential development consisting of two dozen “tiny homes” despite objections from neighbors that they’ll be used as a homeless shelter, because the project meets all applicable codes. Judge D. R. Alexander of the Division of Administrative Hearings issued the recommendation after residents living nearby the project and an adjacent homeowners’ association filed a petition for formal proceedings objecting to Leon County’s approval of the development plan in February. Among other issues, they claimed the project — which is set to include 24 low-income, single-family condominium units of less than 500 square feet apiece — is incompatible with the surrounding area, largely because the developer Floresta LLC and the county did not refute their suspicion that it would be used to house formerly homeless people, the recommended order said. Judge Alexander said that while these concerns were valid, there’s nothing in the county codes to prevent construction of the homes, even if they were to be used for the purpose they suspect. “While petitioners' objections are genuine and well-intentioned, there is nothing in the existing code or plan that prevents the introduction of extremely small low-income housing units into a residential district, assuming all other requirements are met,” the recommended order said. “The project is compatible with the surrounding area.” The Wolf Creek Homeowners’ Association, which covers about 200 townhomes in an adjacent subdivision, and several individual residents argued that in addition to being incompatible with the community, the planned project also failed to meet a number of other building requirements. They said that the “tiny homes” development, which would be situated on just 4.09 acres of land, did not include enough setback space around the structures, but Judge Alexander found that the county properly interpreted the code to understand the setback requirements as applying to the project as a whole. The residents also pointed out that codes require conventional detached homes to have 1.5 parking spaces for each unit, and that the planned project only calls for about 20 spaces. Judge Alexander said that the development is unique in its catering towards low-income residents, and that it should be able to secure a special approval from the county which cannot be challenged. “The applicant does not anticipate that all residents will have automobiles. Because the project will serve low-income residents, this is a logical assumption. The applicant also proposes grass parking to be located closer to each unit,” the recommended order said. The neighbors also contended that the road on which the plan site sits lacks sidewalks and that there is not a bus stop nearby. But Judge Alexander said all the developer is required to do is make a sidewalk connecting the parking lot to the edge of the property line, which it has agreed to do. Judge Alexander noted that the greatest concern from residents was really that formerly homeless individuals could be moving into their area, which they claim could lead to safety concerns and a decrease in property value. But, he said, there’s no code to prevent low-income housing, or to mandate the size of the “tiny homes” beyond basic state regulations. “There is no prohibition in the code that restricts low-income housing from occurring in any residential zoning district. Also, the plan and code do not regulate the size of dwelling units, outside of minimum housing standards found in the Florida Building Code,” the recommended order said. The county, the homeowners’ association and an attorney for the developer did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday. The residents and homeowners’ association are represented by Timothy J. Perry of Oertel Fernandez Bryant & Atkinson PA <http://www.law360.com/firms/oertel-fernandez>. The county is represented by Patrick T. Kinni and Jessica M. Icerman of the Leon County Attorney's Office. Floresta is represented by Claude Ridley Walker. The case is Wolf Creek Homeowners’ Association et al. v. Leon County Department of Development Support and Environmental Management et al., case number 16-1278, in the Division of Administrative Hearings for the State of Florida. Editing by Ben Guilfoy.  Law360 Comments I am looking forward to a Trump Presidency that would end all of this federal meddling and overreach.  Nothing our Marxist elected officials have done has worked so far.  I would return to families taking care of their own and get the government out of the homeless and welfare business. Trailers cost $37 for a single and $74 for a double and land rental is $200 to $300 per month.  That amounts to a monthly cost of about $800.  For city dwellers, apartment rental costs from $600 a month to $900 a month, but high-end apartments can cost $1000 to $1500 a month.   Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader