Riverbank panel advances Tiny Home Ordinance. How might it ease housing shortage?
Zoning rules aimed at making houses smaller and less costly won support Tuesday night from the Riverbank Planning Commission.
Members voted 4-0 to recommend City Council approval of the Tiny House Ordinance. It would allow standalone dwellings of 150 to 800 square feet, much less than the current rules for single-family homes.
The low end is truly tiny, about the size of a single room. The upper limit is more like a standard two-bedroom apartment.
Riverbank would be among the pioneers in this national trend if developers apply under the new rules. One of them, McRoy-Wilbur Communities, told the commission in July about 31 units that could be built on vacant land at Claus Road and Stanislaus Street.
These houses would be 647 to 792 square feet and sell for perhaps $350,000 each, a representative of the developer said in July. An update on the project was not available as of Wednesday morning.
The median sale price for a Stanislaus County home was about $430,000 in November, down from $469,000 in July, the California Association of Realtors reported. Much of the market is houses 1,500 square feet or larger.
Options for older and younger
The McRoy-Wilbur project aims at retirees looking for less property to maintain and at younger people hoping to build equity toward larger homes.
The ordinance could go to the council Jan. 10, said Donna Kenney, planning and building manager for Riverbank.
She said the changes would help Riverbank meet a state mandate to build at least 1,800 or so housing units over the next eight years.
“We’re hoping that some of the people who are couch-surfing, or almost like permanent renters, will have the opportunity to get their foot in the door and take advantage of these smaller-size homes,” she said.
Density would vary
The ordinance would allow up to eight of these houses per acre where the underlying zoning is single-family residential. The cap would be 12 per acre where duplexes are allowed and 16 per acre in higher-density areas.
The houses could be on smaller parcels than in conventional neighborhoods and would need two parking spaces per unit. The owners could rent them out as long as the term is at least one month.
Planning Commissioners John Dinan, Steve Link, Natasha Basso and Benjamin Reuben voted for the ordinance. Joan Stewart was absent.
Dinan was the only member to comment before the vote. He said he understands the need for this housing but is concerned that it would add to Riverbank’s traffic congestion.
