There might be a small solution to the capital city’s housing problem but it’s not without its roadblocks. A Juneau company is building its first tiny house on wheels to sell commercially and it intends to make more. The diminutive dwelling is crafted with reclaimed materials and locally-sourced wood.
But the city’s zoning codes haven’t caught up with the tiny house craze. From Alaska’s Energy Desk, Elizabeth Jenkins has more.
For 160 square feet, this rolling home feels pretty spacious. Step inside and you’re greeted with high ceilings and large windows. At this point, it’s still a shell which can make identifying the bathroom tricky.
Jason Donig and a friend are the builders of this small home, which is being constructed at AK Reuse — Donig’s business. It’s in an industrial part of town. And for a guy really passionate about recycled materials, it’s the perfect spot to draw inspiration. There are crates of mismatched drawer pulls, old doors, a vintage gym floor.
“We got a bidet. I don’t know how cool that is,” said Donig.
The bidet isn’t going in the tiny house, but Donig says other pieces from the yard are. People drop off the items at AK Reuse and he sells them to customers looking for unique or inexpensive home materials.
As a carpenter, Donig says he was frustrated by what others throw away.
“This business, I feel good when I come here because it’s not taking things apart and putting it in the dump. I feel good because we’re reusing what we can. And same with the tiny home,” said Donig.
Donig says he decided to build small because he saw his friends struggling to save up for a mortgage. This tiny home is on the high-end — it could cost more than $70,000. But he thinks it could be done for less.
And if you’ve watched TV lately, you’re probably familiar with the idea of families willingly downsizing to 200 square feet. Donig says he hasn’t seen any of these.
Some communities in Alaska are skeptical that this is the solution cities should be looking for when it comes to a tight housing market. Wasilla’s city council recently banned tiny houses for a temporary period, due to concerns about landlords building multiple units on a single lot and what it could do to a neighborhood’s character.
In Juneau, the real issue is what do you do with a house that rolls? You can build a 120-square foot-home on a permanent structure. But can you park one if it’s on wheels in your friend’s backyard? Beth Mckibben is a planning manager at the City and Borough of Juneau.
“[It]depends on where the house might be so it’s a big fat maybe,” said McKibben.
Maybe because it’s not zoned for every location. Tiny houses on wheels can go in mobile home parks — no problem. But it require a trip to the planning commision before rolling one onto someone’s private lot.
So far, Mckibben says no one has appeared before them to get the ultimate OK. But she thinks it’s only a matter of time before more small homes start popping up.
“Well, for me, that’s a concern right now. If people are going to buy them, they need to know they can place them somewhere. They shouldn’t be making an investment not knowing what they can do with that,” said McKibben.
In Sitka, at least one tiny house on wheels is headed before the planning commission. It would be parked in a residential neighborhood. But nothing’s been decided yet.
Mckibben expects the zoning conversation to happen in Juneau later this year.
Back at the building site, Donig is working on what will become the sleeping loft in the tiny house. He’s talked to people who work at the city about what’s coming down the line. And he thinks they’ll be able to work something out that could keep more tiny houses in production.
Still, if he could change one thing–besides the zoning rules–it would be the namesake of the movement.
“As far as the word tiny home: makes me think of something really tiny. I don’t want to live in something called a tiny home but I want to live in something called a modest home,” said Donig.
He expects this “modest home” to be completed by spring, and he wants to build more after that. Just don’t call him that tiny house guy.
