Twenty-five tiny homes intended to house homeless individuals in Erie remain unoccupied due to a stalemate between county and city officials over project approvals.

The homes, located on the 400 block of East 16th Street, have been vacant for months as temperatures rise, leaving many unsheltered. Erie County Executive Brenton Davis claimed city leaders are withholding necessary approvals to move the project forward.


Erie City, County clash over tiny homes project holdups

“Unfortunately, we’ve reached a point of where there’s a lack of common sense and there’s a lack of action coming out of the city, specifically,” said Brenton Davis, Erie County Executive. “I’m at the point that I’m unapologetic. This needs to be built. It will be built.”

Meanwhile, Chris Groner, City of Erie Development Director, said the county never submitted plans for approval.

“There’s a code,” Groner added. “There’s a building code that’s been adopted by the state. There are certain rules you have to follow. To say you’re going to do it regardless is probably not the right approach.”

Davis argued that the tiny homes, meant for temporary emergency housing, should not be held to the same standards as traditional housing. He pointed out that similar structures exist nearby without the same requirements.


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Groner emphasized the importance of adhering to building codes to avoid future issues, stating, “When you have someone say that this is going to be temporary and a few months later you find out it’s not, that’s the exact issue we’re trying to avoid.”

Unless a compromise is reached, these tiny homes will remain empty while local families continue to live without shelter. The dispute highlights the challenges in balancing urgent housing needs with regulatory compliance.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WJET/WFXP. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WJET/WFXP staff before being published.