Ah, Salem. I so look forward to the day when the name of my home town isn't regularly mentioned after someone says, "The last town in Oregon to not allow [some cool thing] is..."
Tiny houses are an example. Salem bans them. Along with only one other city in the northwest. A 2014 Statesman Journal story said:
Tiny houses.
Everyone loves them. Cute, inexpensive, and eco-friendly, tiny houses are popping up all over the Northwest.
Portland, which just relaxed its permitting rules, is seeing a boom, and even boasts a tiny house hotel.
But don’t look for them in Salem.
The Capital City is alone in the state in banning tiny houses, more formally known as “accessory dwelling units.”
In fact, a recent study of large and mid-sized cities in the Northwest found that only Salem and Idaho Falls have outright bans on accessory dwelling units.
It's embarrassing, and not conducive to Salem's attractiveness to new residents and businesses, that this town often is so far behind the times.
Here's a couple of recent KGW News stories about Salem's ban on tiny houses.
I captured the first video via my iPhone, since I couldn't find it on the KGW web site. The July 5 story was on the 11 pm news. A City of Salem planner says that "long overdue" zoning changes are in the works that would allow tiny houses.
And here's a KGW video of an earlier version of the story. It shows Eric Olsen talking about his Fairview Addition development, which features both "granny flats" (ADUs) and tiny houses.
I sure hope the Salem City Council approves tiny houses. A proposal to do this is being worked up.
The first video shows the owner of Salem-based Tiny Mountain Houses saying that he's selling his homes all across the country. But not in Salem. Sigh...
Those tinny houses looks attractive
Posted by: josephine wangutusi | June 28, 2017 at 03:26 AM