City of Atlanta adopts 'Tiny House' zoning amendment

[jsvh]

Originally Posted by bu2

You shouldn't need a "mixed-use" zoning. The zoning should be "cumulative." Everything but Industrial should be allowed in any higher category, so mixed-use would apply to either office category. Mixed retail/apartments would be in retail and up.

That is an interesting idea. Is there anywhere out there that does "cumulative" zoning already? Maybe it could be brought into the city's ongoing "zoning rewrite".

[fourthwarden]

Originally Posted by bu2

Better would be to take the 40-50 zoning groups and lower it to single figures. DeKalb recently dropped about 10 of its 40-50 zones.

Industrial
Single Family
High density family (townhomes/patio homes/duplex/triplex)
Multifamily (apartments)
Retail
Low rise office
High rise office

And maybe 2-5 others. You shouldn't need a "mixed-use" zoning. The zoning should be "cumulative." Everything but Industrial should be allowed in any higher category, so mixed-use would apply to either office category. Mixed retail/apartments would be in retail and up.

I have been advocating, for a good while now, for the city to adopt Inclusionary Zoning policies like Japan. They have a total of 18 zones.

While that would be the preferred option, I will admit that having the allowance of 'tiny homes' is better than not, even as limited as it is.

Like I said, it's a step.

Originally Posted by jsvh

That is an interesting idea. Is there anywhere out there that does "cumulative" zoning already? Maybe it could be brought into the city's ongoing "zoning rewrite".

See the link above. Japan has been rather successful at this.

[JPD]

Tiny houses would be great for use as rentals, for visiting guests, for older kids who still live at home or who come home from college on weekends, for aging parents who don't need a lot of room but need to be close to their families, for musicians/artists/craftspeople who need space to do their work, as home offices or workspaces for massage therapists, as alternatives to tree forts for kids, etc.

For the vast majority of Americans, these houses aren't conducive to living a happy life, but I don't understand why this idea gets belittled. There are countless great uses for small buildings.

[bu2]

Originally Posted by jsvh

That is an interesting idea. Is there anywhere out there that does "cumulative" zoning already? Maybe it could be brought into the city's ongoing "zoning rewrite".

I don't know. It was part of the proposal Houston rejected in the 1990s. They had 4 exclusively residential districts starting with SF home; Industrial with no residential allowed; Urban neighborhood (think Inman Park); Major Activity Center (downtown and 3 other major business districts-ie downtown, midtown, Buckhead-Lennox here); and Open (for tracts over 2 acres) which could become anything but industrial.


(Link shows the categories in the first paragraph in the 2nd column-doesn't really get into the cumulative idea that was part of it)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3146764...n_tab_contents

[samiwas1]

When I think "tiny house", I don't think 750 square feet, or even 600 square feet. I could easily live in that space by myself. But these tiny houses that are like 150 square feet...who on earth wants to live in that full time?!

But either way...no way in hell would I willingly live in anything under 1000 square feet with family. Even 1352 is getting tight for our family of 3.

[brown_dog_us]

These really aren't tiny houses. More like ADUs and Granny Flats. I think they're a great solution as long as they don't turn into AirBnB rentals. Let's loosen the zoning to create more affordable housing, not to create more vacation rentals.

[Stormhammer]

Originally Posted by brown_dog_us

These really aren't tiny houses. More like ADUs and Granny Flats. I think they're a great solution as long as they don't turn into AirBnB rentals. Let's loosen the zoning to create more affordable housing, not to create more vacation rentals.

Exactly.

Personally, I think these would be fantastic for young professionals in say, their 20s, as a "starter" home, or folks who are retired and want to downsize. Attach a garage and you could create a unique neighborhood.

[jsvh]

Yeah, this is really just legalizing ADUs / granny flats. You still can't build a proper stand alone tiny house in Atlanta.

This is a tiny (heh) step in the right direction. But there is still a lot of work to be done with our zoning code.

In looking at the zoning code in more detail related to this, I realized that not only is my Ormewood Park home non-compliant with the existing zoning in the neighborhood (along with most of the original homes in the neighborhood), but there actually is not a single CoA residential zoning designation that it even legally fits in since it is a duplex that is "only" 25 ft from the street. You could not rebuild my home (and many others in my area) in Atlanta even if you had your pick of zoning designations.

We need this zoning rewrite bad!