Ottawa County releases 16 free small‑footprint home plans to help address housing shortage

The Ottawa County Housing Commission on Monday unveiled 16 permit‑ready small‑footprint home designs and launched a county web page where the plans are available free to the public.

Commission presenters said the designs—four floor‑plan sizes ranging from about 440 square feet to roughly 1,056 square feet, each with four exterior concept 'skins'—are intended to demonstrate how smaller homes can fit within the county’s existing neighborhood character. "It's kind of always been there," one presenter said, urging commissioners to visit Strawberry Point in Spring Lake as an example of how small homes can blend into community fabric.

Project partners said the design set includes complete, permit‑ready construction documentation intended to reduce barriers for builders and homeowners. "Today, we've reached the day where we launched the plans open source on the county website," a project architect said, and staff demonstrated the landing page and the download workflow.

To download the PDF plans, users are asked to complete a short form (name, email, ZIP code and intended purpose) so staff can track use and inform outreach. "We're just asking for a little bit of information from the public so we can have good data about the use," a county staff member said.

The commission’s website preview and form were shown to commissioners during the meeting; staff repeated the shortcut URL for the landing page in the presentation. Presenters said the plans are meant to support several use cases including small infill homes, accessory dwelling units (ADUs) and pilot projects for nonprofits and developers.

Supporters argued the design approach can help address local housing demand and provide materials to begin conversations with municipal planning departments and zoning officials. "When there's strong interest, then we have the opportunity to approach local units of government and begin those conversations to talk about zoning and allowing this type of product to happen," a staff member said.

The commission also cited a partnership with local groups and a plan to meet with municipal land‑use planners in the coming months. Staff said renderings and a gallery on the site illustrate how identical floor plans can take on different exterior treatments to fit contexts from lakefront villages to rural areas.

A first implementation example highlighted during the meeting is a pilot related to a PUD hearing in Holland; staff identified Scott Sternberg and Doors of Hope as early partners preparing to build a demonstration project.

The presentation and the open‑source release are an early step: commissioners were told staff will use download and survey data to show municipal officials actual local interest and to support zoning conversations. The commission did not adopt any new formal policy at the meeting; presenters said the materials are a resource to aid local decision‑making and outreach.

Next steps: staff will distribute a press release and continue outreach with developers, nonprofits and municipal planners; downloads and survey responses will inform a strategic planning session the commission expects to hold in February.