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Planners and residents push ADUs, tiny homes and mixed use to expand affordable options in Ferguson Township
Summary
During a work session on the future land use map, presenters and residents urged more housing variety — accessory dwelling units, tiny-lot homes and mixed-use neighborhood commercial — to address affordability and reduce seasonal vacancy pressure in Ferguson Township.
Shannon Holiday raised a question at the June 8 joint meeting about whether tiny homes or accessory dwelling units (ADUs) had been considered for Ferguson Township; the question triggered a broader discussion among staff, supervisors and residents about housing variety and affordability.
Pam Adams and staff said housing variety — including ADUs and granny flats — has been a recurring theme in public engagement, and that strategies to allow greater diversity of dwelling types will be part of the comprehensive plan’s housing goals. Adams highlighted that roughly 40% of Ferguson Township households are cost-burdened and emphasized the need for housing that serves renters, first-time buyers and aging residents.
Public commenters reinforced the point. Nick Lee, a renter and university employee, said Ferguson lacks mixed-use walkable commercial nodes and urged the township to consider more neighborhood commercial and ADU allowances so full-time residents can live and shop locally. Reverend Paul Tomkill, chair of the Pinerove Mill Small Area Plan Advisory Committee, suggested a vacancy or excise tax on long-term vacant seasonal properties purchased as part-time homes and argued tiny-lot development can deliver high-density housing with a smaller footprint.
Direct quote: “I’m a personally a fan of having a vacancy tax on those to be an excise tax to discourage that,” Reverend Paul Tomkill said, urging the board to consider fiscal tools to reduce long-term vacancies that limit owner-occupied housing supply.
Workshop participants and staff discussed practical tools that could be pursued as part of the implementation phase, including revising minimum lot sizes, exploring parking-requirement adjustments, and refining definitions that allow municipalities to share land uses (for example, permitting light industrial uses that also allow small-scale retail). Staff said they have been engaging developers and realtors in previous focus groups to surface barriers to infill and expect continued outreach.
Next steps: staff will record these housing-variety suggestions in the workshop report to planning commission and incorporate them into the comprehensive plan’s strategies. Any ordinance changes to permit ADUs, tiny-lot development or vacancy taxes would require separate municipal action and are not part of tonight’s work session.
