Commissioner orders a moratorium on “tiny houses” countywide

Walker County Commissioner Shannon Whitfield has placed a 180-day ban on socalled “tiny houses.” That should give him enough time to hold public hearings and set up guidelines, he said.

Whitfield outlined his reasons for the ban, or moratorium, during his Feb. 23 commissioner’s meeting.

“There is a movement across our country where people are taking (large shipping containers) and popping them up across the country and being very creative in what they can do with those,” Whitfield said.

The county, he said, doesn’t have “anything in our regulations to address how this is dealt with.”

Public meetings to address the issue will be held at the Walker County Civic the third Thursday each month, he said. The meetings will give the public a chance to ask questions and raise concerns.

While some tiny houses are impressive, many are unsightly, lower surrounding property values, and aren’t safe and habitable.

“It’s not that this can’t be done the right way,” Whitfield said, “but right now we don’t have anything in place to address this from one extreme or the other.

“We have got to put some guidelines in place to protect you, as a current citizen, and to protect — primarily — your property value, “Whitfield said.

Whitfield said the county must be proactive before the issue becomes a problem.

“This is not the endall, the final,” Whitfield said.

“There is no hidden agenda here,” he said, referring to some online criticism of the measure. “This is just simply trying to be proactive and make sure that this office is protecting you and your property and your property values and life savings.”