The Vista City Council decided last week to seek additional input before finalizing rules for movable tiny homes in the city.
The council members asked city staffers in October to research what other jurisdictions are doing related to the homes and come up with recommendations for a city ordinance.
Movable tiny homes are similar to “granny flats,” but are smaller, cost less and are relocatable.
Councilmember Katie Melendez said she wanted to allow movable tiny homes in the city to create more livable spaces, especially for multi-generational housing.
“These types of units are not only a housing opportunity, but they are a way of connecting our community,” she said.
City staff members recommended rules that included only allowing one tiny movable home for residential lots of at least 10,000 square feet, limiting their size to between 150 and 430 square feet, only permitting them to be up to two stories, not allowing them in the city’s specific plan areas and forbidding them from being used for short-term rentals.
The council members said Tuesday that they weren’t ready to move forward without more information. They agreed to ask the city’s Planning Commission and fire officials for feedback before moving forward with the proposals.
Council members said they wanted to learn more about whether requiring automatic sprinklers in the homes adds an unnecessary financial burden to people interested in these homes. Another concern some council members raised was about maintenance of the structures and whether they could become neighborhood eyesores if placed in front yards.
“The street appeal of these is something that’s of great concern to me,” Mayor John Franklin said.
Councilmember Corinna Contreras said she was bothered by the proposal to ban the movable tiny homes in the city’s specific plan areas, which include neighborhoods such as downtown, Shadowridge, and Townsite. The area Contreras represents includes Townsite.
“I really believe in property rights,” she said. “I have a hard time excluding half of my district from the opportunity to have a movable tiny home.”
The city’s proposed regulations and notes from the council are expected to go before the Planning Commission in May or June. That meeting will include a public hearing. There were no public speakers on the topic at the meeting.
The topic of movable tiny homes first came to the council in October, when the members asked city staffers to research what other cities are doing and come back with recommendations for Vista.
The City of San Diego approved an ordinance in 2020 allowing homeowners to install movable tiny houses on their property. The County of San Diego’s director of planning and development services shared a determination last year that these tiny homes meet the definition of a dwelling in the county’s zoning ordinance.