What is a tiny house, and should they be allowed in town? That’s the question the Town of Trezevant wrestled with during a public hearing and regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
The Zoning Committee had spent a month working to define and set regulations for tiny homes.
Much of the contention was around the language in the draft ordinance, which defined a ‘tiny house’ as a structure being 900 square feet or less.
Alderman Don Barger objected.
“Nine hundred square feet is not considered a tiny house,” he said. “The average tiny house in the United States is 425 square feet. An 800-square-foot house is a small two-bedroom, one-bath house. If you call 900 square feet a tiny house, it’s not going to float.”
Zoning Committee Chairman David Bryant defended the draft.
“It’s what we talked about at the last meeting: a minimum 900 feet. That’s why we went back and changed it,” he said.
But Barger countered that the wording effectively banned smaller dwellings.
“When you put down that a tiny house has a minimum of 900 square feet, you’re making an ordinance that will prohibit tiny houses from being installed. And if that’s the intent, just put in one paragraph that says tiny houses are not allowed,” he said.
Alderman Dan Dieringer said he wanted clear standards.
“I, for one, want to see a minimum. I think it’s good to visually see and have a concept of what a minimum size of a home should be, because we are talking about a living residence,” Dieringer said. “We as a council have the responsibility to provide minimum standards so people can live a decent life.”
Some residents raised concerns about property values.
“When they started construction behind my house, there was almost a two-and-a-half-acre lot that somebody could have bought and put up whatever they wanted,” said city employee Mary Jo Hall. “We bought that lot to keep that from happening, because we knew if somebody came in and built a tiny house or trailer, our property value was going to go way down.”
Others said upkeep mattered more than square footage.
“If the cleanliness is the problem, that’s the problem,” said new resident Kimberly Whitten. “People are living like garbage cans, and we don’t want to see that in Trezevant. Regardless of the size, it’s about how it’s kept.”
Donny Bunton, Community Planner with Northwest Tennessee Development District reminded the board that neighboring towns have clearly defined minimum square-footage standards, though it varies.
“The question is, is that what we want for Trezevant?” Mayor Bobby Blaylock asked the board.
Ultimately, the board decided not to vote on the ordinance as written.
Instead, the matter was referred back to the Zoning Committee for revision. The issue will return Oct. 2 at another public meeting.
