Update On Tiny House Bill
I and a group of stakeholders had two very exciting calls on Jan. 25th, and 26th, 2022 with Representative Cathy Kipp that is introducing a new Colorado Tiny House Bill, co-sponsored with Senator Dennis Hisey, and Senator Joann Ginal. The bill was written by Eric Fried, the Chief Building Officer of Larimer County, and Maulid Miskell, the Director of the Office of Regulatory Oversight Building Codes & Standards Section, Mobile Home Park Oversight Program. Maulid likes to be called Mo. Both Eric and Mo attended the calls and their knowledge of tiny houses was impressive.
The Second Call Was Recorded
The second call was recorded and I will post it here when it is published. I appreciate the attitude in how this bill is being presented with a spirit of openness and they are welcoming collaboration with the tiny house industry to help mold the bill. It is written in a broad manner. I will add the new draft here as soon as I get a copy. Changes have already been made from the results of the meeting.
Highlights Of The Call
- RV References Combined With Housing Will Be Removed
- A New Colorado Tiny House Registry To Include Tiny Houses Built Until A Specified Date In 2023
- Creating A As Built Post Inspection To Determine If The Tiny Houses Are Safe
- Developing A State Program Similar To Their Modular Program Which Would Require Plan Review
- Eric Fried Stated They Felt The Best Long Term Plan Would Be The New ASTM Tiny House Standards ( In Hopes The Industry Is Granted A New Commitee For Tiny Houses, We Are In The Final Stages Of The Approval Process.)
Recreational Vehicle Industry Association RVIA
I invited Nick Rudowich, the Director of Government affairs of RVIA to the calls because the initial draft used a lot of terms like RV Residences. RVIA lobbies against state bills if housing and RVs are combined, for liability purposes, and HUD wants to have a red fine line between housing and recreational vehicles as stated in the Final Rule.
I wanted Nick on the calls to have a friendly discussion early on, so they do not disrupt the bill later. We were all pleased with the outcome,, though they did said they are looking at solutions to allow people to live in RVs longer than 30 days, be legally hooked up to utilities, and possibly placed on a temporary foundation.
Become A Stakeholder
Contact Cathy Kipp to be added to the stakeholders list and to attend any more calls if they are scheduled.
“Naturally Occurring” Affordable Housing Is Going Extinct In Colorado — And Fast
A new statehouse report underscores what is already obvious to millions of Coloradans, former Coloradans and would-be Coloradans: it’s really expensive to live here, and it’s getting worse.
In the last decade alone, the state has lost 300,000 “naturally occurring” housing units that people making $45,000 or less can afford without spending more than 30% of their income on housing. That is well over 10% of the entire state’s housing stock, which Census data show is somewhere north of 2.5 million overall units.
So says the report published Friday by the Affordable Housing Transformational Task Force, a group of state lawmakers and subject-matter experts convened over the summer and fall to decide how to spend a historic infusion of stimulus cash. This year’s state budget, projected at $40 billion, will feature at least $400 million more for housing than in previous years, due to federal legislation passed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In many parts of the state, the concept of affordable housing produced organically by the market, as opposed to through government intervention, is essentially dead, said state Rep. Dylan Roberts, an Avon Democrat who chaired the task force on housing. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s research on self-sufficiency standards by state and county indicates there is almost nowhere in Colorado where an adult with one child can live on $40,000 without spending in the red or cutting back on essentials such as food and health care.
Stay Tuned For More Updates
So excited to see the possbility of introducing THOWs throughout various areas of CO ! Will it actually be possible that a young couple just starting out be able to own their own home & not HAVE TO share their home with 2 or 3 other people ? This would be amazing to enjoy CO living and actually enjoy the pride of home ownership and the just plain privacy !
The American dream is coming back !!
Thank you & wishing this bill the very best !!
Back in the 1980s, there was a movement for handicap accessibility, like elevators and ramps so folks with special needs were not barred entry to everything from homes to colleges/universities. So they strapped some legislators (in the US Congress) into a wheelchair and told them, “Good luck getting around.” Very quickly they understood the magnitude of not even being able to get into a stall with a toilet, let alone through the door to the bathroom, or even enter the building!
Solution for the housing crisis and homelessness: A night or two out in the cold for the mayor/governor and their elected cohorts/representatives, and no supports. No money, no cell phone, no food, no blanket! Take them to a strange town. Maybe give them a Sunday newspaper (thicker stack of paper) and a park bench and a street lamp – with police watching nearby so they don’t get mugged or raped or murdered. Otherwise, out in the cold!
Then at breakfast time, hand them a piece of cardboard and a fountain pen to make their panhandle sign. Finally at sunset for the next night out in the cold, offer them a ‘cold’ beer or a joint, but don’t bring them in. Let them suffer another night! Maybe they’ll understand why people turn to drugs and alcohol to combat the pain and the cold! And then become addicts!
The rich and famous get health insurance and can’t lick their drug habits after numerous attempts – but they’ve still got a warm bed and food and comfort! Plus sympathy from the public and their fans! Quit blaming the homeless for their situation!