Santa Cruz County Planning Commission Hearing on THOW Ordinance

On July 13, 2022, the Housing Advisory Commission approved and advanced the county staff’s proposed ordinance to legalize tiny homes on wheels as primary residences, ADUs and JADUs. Theoretically, if this ordinance makes it through the Planning Commission, and then is approved by the Board of Supervisors, there could be up to three tiny homes on a residential property in the county.
The Planning Commission is the non-elected advisory commission that stopped progress on THOW legalization last year. These commissioners need some positive input about THOWs because they don’t understand them. They tend to object based on not understanding electrical standards that are built into ANSI and NFPA, rules for building pads and anchoring mobilehomes that are already state law in in Appendix E in the IRC. They have fears that there will be a tiny home in every driveway lowering property values and reducing parking spaces. Please be prepared to share your experiences to alleviate these concerns. You are limited to 3 minutes to speak.
Please read the ordinance before the meeting. It's in this document: https://sccounty01.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/planning/plnmeetings/PLNSupMaterial/Housing/agendas/2022/20220713/007.pdf
How to participate: You may connect via ZOOM or via phone. Please visit the Planning Department Home Page one week prior to the hearing date for the meeting link and phone number. I will update it here when it is published.