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Resident urges city to repurpose small vacant lots for tiny net‑zero homes, gardens and low‑profile solar
Summary
During public comment a resident urged the committee to find alternatives to paving small vacant lots, proposing net‑zero small homes, low‑profile solar and reuse of empty lots that once served as gardens; he also raised concerns about slow municipal responses to burned houses
Steve Hendry, a resident, used his three minutes of public comment to urge the city to reconsider how it manages small vacant lots in neighborhoods.
Hendry described two empty lots near Clayman Union and said one had once been a community garden. He argued small lots "could" host small, energy-efficient housing and low-profile solar installations rather than being turned into parking. He told the committee he had discussed lot reuse with "Chuck Nelson" in February 2019 and urged the city to adopt a new approach to these parcels.
Hendry also recounted a fire at a neighboring house on Dec. 23 and criticized the pace of the municipal response, saying repair and enforcement actions following the fire were "slow." He suggested the city consider tiny net‑zero houses of roughly 500–600 square feet on vacant lots, and recommended low-profile solar panels where appropriate; he asked the committee to "think real hard" about alternatives to paving.
His comments were delivered during the meeting's public-comment period; committee members did not respond during the allotted public-comment time, in keeping with the committee rule referenced in the meeting preamble. Staff was directed in general (by committee rules read at the start of public comment) to follow up with members of the public regarding concerns raised during public comment, but no specific staff follow-up was recorded on Hendry’s points during the meeting.
