When the going gets tough, it’s time to get creative.
In response to the economic downturn, contractor Gregg Taylor turned his sights of home ownership to a vision of off-grid living in a house he could outright own: all 160-square feet of it.
But due to what Taylor said is nothing more than uncompromising bureaucracy, he may be faced with having to pay a fine of $1500 and subsequent penalties if he does not comply with the notice given by Rocky View County bylaw earlier this month to remove his tiny home by Nov. 30 from the five-acre parcel of land he rents in Springbank and moved his tiny abode to last month.
The bylaw officer followed up on a complaint made by an adjacent property owner to Taylor.
“I’m trying to do an off-grid, zero carbon footprint here,” said Taylor, who obtained written permission from his landlord to move his tiny home to the rental property. “I feel like I owe it to myself and the tiny home community to push this.”
Taylor said even though any fines would ultimately be pinned on his landlord, he will assume responsibility and cover any fines himself.
According to Grant Kaiser, senior communications advisor for the county, the problem is that Taylor’s tiny home is on wheels – not unlike an RV – and that without a permanent residence on the acreage, the county land use bylaw does not permit habitation.
Taylor said that aside from the notice to remove his tiny home, he has had no contact with the county and said his alleged contravention of the land use bylaw is a grey area he feels he could possibly successfully contest in a court of law.
“Without a permanent residence the land use bylaw does not allow for trailers, motor homes, mobile homes, accessory dwelling units or similar structures on the property,” said Kaiser, noting that Taylor also does not have water or wastewater solutions.
Taylor said there is too much uncertainty to consider forking out the money for these solutions presently.
“To build a real tiny home an applicant needs to apply for a development permit and, if granted, then a building permit,” Kaiser explained.
“At the building permit stage, we will require the standard things such as a sound foundation and – importantly – a drinking water solution and wastewater solution. That tiny home would then be the permanent residence for that land.”
In order to proceed as a mobile home, the land needs to be zoned for that and a permanent residence needs to first exist on the property.
“Tiny and trendy or not, this is a mobile home and mobile home rules apply,” said Kaiser, adding that the property appears to be some type of commercial venture rather than a private residence.
Taylor, owner/operator of GHT Contracting said there is no permanent signage for his business on the property, only a banner on his tiny home and his logo on his truck.
He said he has nothing to hide and is opening up his renovations business to constructing tiny homes.
Taylor added that the county’s approach is typical of governments: rather than evolve and accommodate, they would rather put up a wall and enforce dated rules and regulations.
Mark Kirk of Cochrane-based contracting company Blackbird Tiny Homes reiterated much of what Taylor had to say, adding that governments need to work with people and not against them as they figure out how to regulate the placement of tiny homes.
“This (movement) is trending for a reason,” said Kirk, adding that he and business partner Dylan McKinnon are receiving increasingly more inquiries about tiny home construction each month.
“The government should be making it easier for people to pay their bills.”
