Dear Tiny House Enthusiast,
After the outcome of the US elections, here is your chance to fight for alternative housing solutions...
Many of you have asked about the status of legalization of tiny houses in Ojai. It has been a long road since we started last year Nov. 2015. We received approval from City Council to move forward but the changes have not been finalized. The reality is that many other issues have taken priority (ie: water crisis in Ojai, local elections, etc). Please stay tuned for more to come. In the meantime, here's how you can affect change on a NATIONAL level.
TAKE ACTION !! You can help change building codes for tiny houses in cities all over the country. A new proposal has been written to help legalize tiny homes under the IRC (International Residential Code). With the help of tiny house friends and luminaries such as Andrew Morrison from Tiny House Build, a new appendix has been written to include tiny homes.
WE NEED YOUR HELP! Please contact your local building official and write a letter (or email) to approve the proposal during the voting process. You can download the letter HERE. HURRY- DEADLINE IS NOV. 21ST!
CLICK FOR MORE INFO HERE AND HERE
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR OJAI & VENTURA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA?
The IRC is part of the building code. If the proposal passes all the way through, this means that we can adopt it for ALL cities and jurisdictions across the US. This will allow for tiny houses that are less than 400sf to be legal, starting in 2018. Please note that this does NOT include tiny houses on wheels (yet).
The municipal code which we are trying to change in Ojai and Ventura County is part of the zoning code, which pertains to planning guidelines under the General Plan and Housing Element. The change we are putting forth is to include tiny homes on wheels under the second dwelling unit ordinance to make it legal as a full time dwelling.
The best scenario is to pass the IRC proposal under the building code, AND legalize tiny houses on wheels under the local zoning code. Your help in getting the IRC proposal approved will help tremendously. Thank you (in advance) for being awesome!
May this inspire change in your own communities! Cheers to TINY!!
