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Local municipality considering 'tiny homes'

'Lots of places are still looking for employees, and you can’t attract employees without them having a place to live'
2019 tiny house 1 ready
File tiny house. Courtesy Kirk Ready.

Armour Twp. south of North Bay has started the process that may bring tiny homes there.

During the Jan. 14 regular meeting, the township council gave the go-ahead to its municipal planner to draft language for a zoning bylaw change that would open the door to tiny home developments.

Professional land use planner Robert Miller told the town council in a Nov. 25, 2024 letter that “tiny homes as principal uses on their own lots is a whole new ball game which is being explored across Ontario as a source of affordable housing.”

Miller told council that several municipalities are developing zoning standards to introduce tiny homes in their respective communities and some of the zoning standards don’t make any reference to the term "tiny home."

Armour Mayor Rod Ward said the township will also not likely make any reference to the phrase "tiny homes" in the proposed bylaw change.

In his letter, Miller says although municipalities can regulate the minimum and maximum tiny home size in their bylaws, the Ontario Building Code stipulates that a tiny home must be at least 17.5 square metres (188 square feet).

Ward says Armour would like to align the minimum size of the dwellings closer to the Ontario Building Code and for rounding purposes, the township council opted to set its minimum size home at 200 square feet.

According to Coun. Wendy Whitwell, the township’s current bylaw states a dwelling has to be at least 600 square feet

Several council members made the case for why even 600 square feet may be out of reach for some people.

Coun. Rod Blakelock said if Armour wants young people to move to the township but are told the home they want to build has to be at least 600 square feet, a home that large will be too expensive for them if they’re just starting out.

And Doug Godin, Armour’s chief building official, said using 600 square feet as a minimum-sized home would be “detrimental to our growth.”

Dave Gray, the soon-to-be chief administration officer for Armour, said Godin had a point. “We’re limiting our potential for growth if we enforce large sizes,” Gray said. “Lots of places are still looking for employees, and you can’t attract employees without (them) having a place to live.”

It was Godin who suggested to council during the meeting that it consider 200 square feet as a minimum size for a new home.

Godin said this size stays within the Ontario Building Code requirements.

Godin adds allowing young families to build a small home on a reasonably-sized lot, like two acres, gives them room to add to their home in the future as their family grows and it also means they are more likely to remain in Armour.

Ward says Armour has discussed the idea of minimum-sized homes on and off in the past.

But the push started in earnest after one recommendation from a 2024 task force on housing in Almaguin suggested the Almaguin municipalities look at changing their minimum dwelling sizes so that tiny home developments would be easier to accommodate.

Although the municipal planner has not been given a definite deadline to put together a first draft for the zoning bylaw change, Ward believes town council can see some proposed language in the next month.

Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.