Changing Tiny House Land Use Bylaws

As the Tiny House movement becomes a growing phenomenon reflecting the change in society towards affordable sustainable living, governmental rules and regulations are a hindrance preventing it to flourish. Even though the City of Calgary has amended bylaws to accommodate certain tiny houses (laneway homes), there has been no advancement in the development of tiny house properties. Affordable housing strategies for Calgary are only rental accommodations and tiny homeowners only choice is pad rental prevents many low-income families from owning property and acquiring equity.

Current outdated bylaws where designed to provide us with safe minimal comfortable living requirements based on standards and principles half a century old. With today's advancements in construction materials and the change in society towards social sustainability, regulations need to be altered allowing for eco-friendly, affordable, comfortable housing reflecting today's needs and wants.

The living model based on the last century of consumerism and possessing more has shifted to experiencing and enjoying life more, and less on owning excessively sized expensive structures. Not only are tiny houses more affordable and less costly to maintain saving homeowners money, but also can help with global warming, create closely knit communities, and provides higher density with a larger tax benefit for the city.

With the fiasco the City of Calgary is having with the Midfield Trailer Park, the city has the opportunity to develop a new affordable homeownership by creating a tiny lot community. They can make amends by dividing the now almost vacant park into a tiny house community and sell inexpensive tiny lots. While they are at it, they can also develop the property they bought for the residents to move into another affordable tiny house community and help the former residents of Midfield re-establish themselves.  

The Village of Big Valley, 65 km north of Drumheller, is developing a tiny house community believing that the people who live in tiny houses are the types of citizens a community needs to thrive. The City of Calgary could use this as a template used to create tiny house communities within Calgary city limits.

The stigma of tiny houses being classified as “low class” and drives down property value is unfounded with the many luxury tiny houses with all the amenities that are being built today. Today’s tiny houses look more like houses then mobile homes or travel trailers and fit right in with any city environment. These homes have become affordable, very comfortable and relaxing places to live.

Government works to slow, in most cases, towards changing outdated rules and regulations to accommodate the current needs of the people. Even though they have been elected by the people, politicians seem to make civic decisions based more so on their opinion and a somewhat of the people. If we want changes to happen we need to stand up and voice our opinion. When a majority of people speak out we have a movement so Make A Difference by making an M.A.D. Move to help change land use bylaws to accommodate tiny lots for an affordable tiny home living in Calgary.