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Fresno Legalizes Tiny Houses with New Zoning Change


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This is a tiny house on wheels by California Tiny Houses parked in front of Fresno City Hall.

The city updated its zoning code to legalize the use of tiny homes on trailers.

Great news, isn’t it? Pretty soon we hope to see more cities doing the same. Please enjoy, learn more, and help spread the word with by re-sharing below. Thank you!

Fresno Legalizes Tiny Houses with New Zoning Change

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Fresno’s zoning code now allows any homeowner to park a tiny home on wheels as a permanent second dwelling for use by the homeowner or as a rental unit.

Source: Fresno Passes Groundbreaking ‘Tiny House’ Rules | The California Report | KQED News

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Alex

Alex is a contributor and editor for TinyHouseTalk.com and the always free Tiny House Newsletter. He has a passion for exploring and sharing tiny homes (from yurts and RVs to tiny cabins and cottages) and inspiring simple living stories. We invite you to send in your story and tiny home photos too so we can re-share and inspire others towards a simple life too. Thank you!
{ 22 comments… add one }
  • Elizabeth Rubio
    January 22, 2016, 4:48 pm

    Yaaay!!

    • Alex
      January 26, 2016, 11:55 am

      😀

  • Deadrock
    January 22, 2016, 4:57 pm

    Very forward thinking of them, kudos! Of course, then you’d have to live in Fresno. But the alternative could be Spur, TX, so…

    If anyone’s interested, Asheville, NC has a minimum of 150 sf for one person, 250 sf for two. Not too bad. But they’re a pretty progressive city. If anyone is interested in learning more about the area, I am finally moving there end of April, so I can get more info.

    Meanwhile, for those who hate to leave sunny California, Fresno remains an option! Far northern parts (like Siskiyou County) will sell you reasonably cheap land and don’t care what you build on it, for the most part. Very rural, to-each-his-own, march to the beat of your own drum, live and let live. But Fresno is a little closer to civilization for those who wish to remain on the grid and like their Starbucks.

    • MareM
      January 22, 2016, 8:25 pm

      Are you really moving to Asheville this April???? Things are working out for you? I’ve been wondering how you were doing. BTW, we just had about a foot of snow today, but don’t let that scare you off – it’s unusual. 😀

      • Deadrock
        January 22, 2016, 8:51 pm

        Hi, MareM! Yes, really moving to Asheville this April. And yes-and-no, things are working out. Both offers on land I made ended up fizzling out as the owners who had had their properties listed for upwards of a year (or more) ended up changing their minds about selling as soon as someone actually came along and offered to buy. o_0

        Property owner #1 came back and said “oh wait, yeah, we really DO want to sell (sorry I didn’t respond to your MULTIPLE ATTEMPTS TO CONTACT ME), but I don’t know how long it’ll take the planning dept. to get out here and survey the borders so there’s an updated plat on record. I’ll try to get someone out here to do that, sometime.” Since the property has been on the market since October 2014, I figure they had plenty of time to get that done, offered them a deadline, and today that deadline came and went.

        So since attempts to buy property long-distance seem to be fraught with so many difficulties – and I can’t afford to fly back and forth from CA to NC every time something likely comes on the market – I have bitten the horrible, horrible bullet and rented an apartment. I move in late April, and even though it’s a very nice apartment with all kinds of upscale goodies, just being in one – something I promised myself decades ago I would never, ever do again – will hopefully provide plenty of incentive to find a piece of land ASAP that the owners actually want to sell, get my little house built and move on. At least for now I’m there and have leisure to check listings out as they come along.

        Getting a moving company to help is a whole project in itself. Once they find out how far off the beaten track I live, they suddenly aren’t available to send a truck. I finally had to play the sibling card and get my brother to drive a U-Haul out there while I fly with my sick cat. So even if we didn’t just dig out from under a few feet of snow ourselves (thank you God for my kindly neighbor who kept plowing my driveway without my even having to ask), I’d be uber-glad to shake the flakes of this benighted town from my feet. I know the weather this winter in Asheville is not the norm, and probably wouldn’t care anyway, since I really like the place now, and expect to be in love soon after I move there!

    • Maureen
      January 25, 2016, 11:26 am

      Im interested in information on Asheville as well. Its on my radar as one of the towns Id like to live in for a while, maybe longer if I could… I was heading there to visit in late May, so will be looking forward to your postings. ~M

      • Deadrock
        January 27, 2016, 6:09 pm

        Will do my best, Maureen. Thinking of starting a blog when things get really interesting!

    • Alex
      January 26, 2016, 11:56 am

      Congrats on the plans to move to Asheville soon! I’ve been there once, it’s a really great place. I’m sure you’ll love it. I’m looking forward to going again sometime soon.

      • Deadrock
        January 27, 2016, 6:13 pm

        Thanks, Alex! I’ll be getting there mid-spring, so what won’t be to love? I hope you can send up a flare when you’re planning to come, so all your loyal subscribers in the area can set up a welcome for you. Starbucks on me. OMG!!! I’ll be near a Starbucks again! Joy forever more!

        • Alex
          January 27, 2016, 9:10 pm

          That would be awesome!!!

  • kim
    January 22, 2016, 7:30 pm

    Deadrock, I hope you do provide some information on Asheville. I love the area and I know that it seems to be open to tiny houses. I actually prefer small 400-500sf, not on wheels. Hope to hear more of what you find.

    • Deadrock
      January 22, 2016, 8:52 pm

      Hey, Kim, I’ll be posting periodically as things unfold out east. Thanks!

      • Guenter
        January 22, 2016, 10:33 pm

        Deadrock, may I chime in with Kim and also beg of you to keep us updated on all things Asheville, NC? Had great interest in this town for a long time, but alas, life keeps throwing monkey wrenches.

        • Deadrock
          January 27, 2016, 6:14 pm

          Throw them right back, Guenter, and get your tuckus there anyway. Life is too short.

  • January 22, 2016, 8:08 pm

    That’s awesome that Fresno is legalizing tiny houses and changing the zoning laws. They should do that across the states, everyone should have a choice of what kinda home they want to live in. The tiny house on wheels looks huge! It’s really nice inside, love the kitchen and it looks like they have a lot of storage in there.

    • Alex
      January 26, 2016, 11:57 am

      I agree, Carol! And I believe we’ll see more of this happening within the next couple of years. It’s a good sign! Remember, industries like real estate take the longest to change/evolve because of zoning, construction, etc. so I think we’re seeing some serious progress 🙂

  • Nancy
    January 22, 2016, 10:17 pm

    I LOVE this tiny house!!! and thrilled for the folks in Fresno!

    • Alex
      January 26, 2016, 12:05 pm

      Me too! Thanks, Nancy!

  • Regina Miller
    January 26, 2016, 3:32 pm

    Keeping fingers crossed that more cities accept that they have to update codes. Have you found that many mobile home parks are accepting of tiny homes?

  • Kathy
    January 26, 2016, 4:47 pm

    WAY TO GO FRESNO!! However it sounds like 1) you have to be a home owner already; 2) you have to have enough of a yard at said home on which to place a tiny home; and 3) the tiny house on wheels could be guest quarters, B&B or vacation or other type of rental only. What’s missing here is the holy grail of being able to buy property and put your own tiny home on it. THAT will be a day to celebrate!

    • varenikje
      January 27, 2016, 12:36 am

      I was (am?) a little confused on this. So they are saying that a tiny house on wheels can be put on a lot that has a house on it, but not by itself on it’s own lot? I suppose you could put a tiny house on your own lot and then rent out the larger house? And live in the tiny house? Right? Is that what they are saying?

  • Lisa E.
    January 27, 2016, 9:07 am

    Where’s the link to this THOW and its builders??? I’m shopping for my builder and plan to make the transition into my THOW by the end of 2017; (giving myself enough time to sell my foundation house in a flat line housing market.)

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