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Bluff commissioners agree to clarify tiny-house language, launch zoning-code review
Summary
Commissioners reviewed a public comment about zoning code 6.40.10 and agreed to revise wording so tiny houses and tiny houses on wheels are treated as intended; they outlined a multi-step code update including zone review, site-plan simplification, enforcement clarification and public outreach.
At a June 18 Bluff Planning and Zoning Commission work session, commissioners addressed a public comment calling out ambiguity in the town's zoning code section 6.40.10, which groups mobile and modular homes, tiny houses and RV/mobile-home parks.
Chair Malia Collins read the code aloud and noted an apparent inconsistency: subsection (a) permits "mobile homes, modular homes or tiny houses" as primary dwellings or accessory dwelling units where residential uses are allowed, while subsection (b) treats "RVs and tiny houses on wheels" as allowed only in authorized RV parks or mobile-home parks. Collins said the difference, as she read it, is that "tiny houses are included in (a) because they were considered more of a mobile home or modular home, but in (b) a tiny house on wheels is more of an RV" and therefore subject to RV standards.
Commissioner Anne Brown argued the code should accommodate tiny-house owners who intend to make a permanent residence on privately owned land, noting the growing interest in tiny houses for affordable housing. "We really need to look at this as a very positive... the ability to come to Bluff and find affordable housing," Brown said, and recommended treating tiny houses as their own category in the ordinance so owners who buy land and hook up utilities can live there long-term.
Commissioners generally agreed to interpret the code in favor of subsection (a) for housing-purpose tiny houses and to "clean up" the phrasing so future readers understand tiny houses intended as dwellings are permitted where residential dwellings are allowed. The commission discussed practical conditions such as utility hookups, septic requirements and building-code compliance that would still apply to any dwelling.
Beyond the narrow 6.40.10 question, commissioners discussed a broader zoning-code revision process. They outlined an initial work plan: (1) review and map zone types (commercial, residential, agricultural, industrial) and consider consolidating commercial zones where appropriate; (2) examine site-plan requirements to reduce redundant burdens where building-code processes already cover elements; (3) clarify enforcement responsibilities among the building inspector, town council and mayor; and (4) defer a coordinated definitions review until substantive edits are complete. The commission proposed a public open house (July or August) with large maps to solicit resident input before drafting final code language.
Collins said staff will reach out to the commenter (Steven Reel) with the commission's interpretation and that commissioners will prepare language edits for a future meeting. The matter will return as part of the zoning-code revision process; no ordinance changes were adopted at the work session.
