Advocates for affordable housing are encouraging the Warren County planning and zoning board to approve a proposal to allow construction of so-called “tiny homes” in certain areas of the county, and to pull back on parts of the proposal that would make those homes costlier for residents.

The zoning board discussed a code amendment allowing the creation of tiny home districts during their July 21 public meeting. The term “tiny home” typically refers to houses that are 100 to 400 square feet, according to one estimate from AARP. The proposal would allow, and create requirements for, establishing such districts in unincorporated areas of Warren County.

Warren County’s zoning code doesn’t currently have an allowance for developments designed around the minimal space requirements of tiny homes. County Attorney Mark Vincent said a nationwide trend toward tiny home construction encouraged the county to bring the proposed rules to a public hearing.

“This (proposal) is a draft. All comments are welcome. Ultimately (the planning and zoning board) will make a recommendation and it will go back to the County Commission, and there will be another full public hearing there,” explained Vincent. “I think it’s a neat concept.”

A number of advocates spoke in favor of the proposal during the July 21 hearing. However, several said the changes for tiny homes don’t go far enough to waive the large acreage requirements the county has in place for rural homes.

Real estate agent Hope Fick, who assists with groups that help people who are struggling to find housing, said local zoning codes are a major barrier to building homes for those people.

“The number-one question I get from all ages is ‘Why does no one build affordable housing anymore?’ And my answer is, ‘Because they’re not allowed to,’” Fick said. She explained that zoning codes for area subdivisions all have minimum square-foot requirements for houses, while rural county zoning requires the purchase of a large amount of land for a single home.

“There was one lot I found for $60,000 in Marthasville. You can buy that, put your $60,000 house on it, then spend another $60,000 putting your single well, single septic and road in there, and pretty soon you have a house that costs just as much as in a subdivision. The issue comes back to zoning,” Fick commented. She advocated for allowing as many as three to five tiny homes per acre.

County Planning and Zoning Administrator Bill Roemer replied that a major reason for the acreage requirement on single homes is to have adequate land for a septic system. He said houses can be clustered closer together if they’re on a shared septic system, but any system that gets big enough will have to comply with oversight from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Landowner Michelle Murray, who owns property south of Foristell, said she and her family might be interested in developing a tiny house community on their land. She said she suspects there are some preconceptions of tiny homes as just housing for the poor; however, she envisions a high-quality neighborhood centered around shared community spaces.

“I picture a rec room, dog parks, community club building, community gardening, herb paths,” Murray described. “It doesn’t look like a trailer court, it doesn’t look like a mobile home park, but it’s still a great alternative for affordable housing.”

Murray reiterated the call for the county to allow higher density layouts for tiny home districts, saying that many people interested in tiny homes want to downsize the property they have to take care of. That saves the owner money and time, giving them more of both to contribute to their community, Murray said.

“It has to be (higher density) in order to economically make it work,” she stated.