DALTON, Mass.—The Planning Board will continue to research tiny homes to inform whether to start the process of changing the town's current Accessory Dwelling Units bylaws.

 

Changing the town's bylaws would require a town meeting vote. 

 

During its March meeting, Tiny Home Industry Association President Dan Fitzpatrick joined the meeting via Zoom to give a presentation on tiny homes. Article on the presentation here.

 

Fitzpatrick is interested in working with the town to amend its bylaws to permit movable tiny homes especially as Accessory Dwelling Units. A change like this would have to be approved during a town meeting. 

 

A tiny home is a unit under 400 square feet with all the facilities to meet a person's daily needs, including sanitation, cooking, and other facilities.

 

During the March meeting, the board agreed to have Town Planner Janko Tomasic contact Great Barrington's planning department for insight into how the town amended its codes and its impact. 

 

Great Barrington approved amending its ordinance to include tiny homes about four years ago.

 

Chair Andrew Perenick also expressed an interest in touring some tiny homes. 

 

Tomasic updated the board during its meeting earlier this month, informing them that Great Barrington has not had any tiny home projects — completed or in development. 

 

"There's been no applications of any kind to apply for the tiny houses even though it is within the town's bylaw. [The bylaw] passed without much contention," Tomasic said. 

 

The board members agreed to continue researching the idea by contacting Fitzpatrick to see if he could connect them with a tiny home location in the Berkshires. They also suggested reaching out to a company in Adams that builds tiny homes. 

 

One board member said there is a local builder in the area that has done projects. 

 

"The one I remember seeing was on a foundation, though, not mobile," he said, but they are definitely someone who can further the conversation. 

 

One board member said their documentation shows that the building inspector said tiny homes are built like recreational vehicles and not up to specs. 

 

During the presentation, however, Fitzpatrick said many communities include in their bylaws that the tiny home requires double-pane glass, exterior trim, and has to have a minimum R requirement for the walls and ceiling. 

 

The association recommends a minimum R13 requirement for the walls and R19 for the ceiling. These requirements prevent the approval of conventional recreational vehicles or park models. The board member recommended that the board get clarification on this as well. 

 

According to Great Barrington's Assistant Town Manager and Director of Planning Christopher Rembold, "the workaround they found [to that] was that the building inspector can issue a zoning determination or verification which then permits the tiny house to be built and used as such," Tomasic said. 

 

The issue that they have run into, however, is how banks finance tiny homes, he said. This is something the board is going to look into further. 

 

Once the research has been done, Perenick said the board can revisit the topic next month.