Purdy city leaders are considering a city ordinance that would provide rules, regulations and guidelines for community members looking to place a “tiny house” on their property.
Purdy City Council members were provided with a draft ordinance regarding the use of tiny houses and asked to review it and return in July with any changes or amendments they see fit to make. The council is planning to consider the ordinance at its July meeting, scheduled for 6 p.m. on June 20.
The draft ordinance the council members are considering defines “tiny homes” as a factory-built structure that, in the traveling mode, is eight feet or more in width and 40 feet or more in length and when erected on site contains 320 or more square feet, equipped with the necessary service connections and made so as to be readily movable as a unit or units on their own running gear and designed to be used as a dwelling unit without a permanent foundation.
The draft ordinance also addresses recreational vehicles – a vehicle built on a single chassis that is 400 square feet or less and designed to be self propelled or permanently towable by a light-duty truck.
Council member Heather VanNote said she was concerned about including RVs in the ordinance.
City Manager Debbie Redshaw, agreed, saying that if a resident were to be the victim of a home fire or needed to relocate for a remodel, they should be permitted to take up residence in an RV on their property on a shortterm basis.
Redshaw said the ultimate goal of the ordinance is to prevent residents from constructing “sheds” as dwellings, while also permitting homeowners from being able to build guest houses or hobby workshops on their properties.
In addition to introducing the proposed tiny house ordinance, the Purdy City Council also approved a bid to chip seal the city park and city hall parking lot.
The council voted unanimously to accept the $3,650 bid from Cesar’s Asphalt.
The council also heard from resident Carol Garrison, who said she has been having a problem with loose dogs in the community.
“My garage is at the end of my property and there are two dogs, a big black and a big tan, and I’m scared of them,” Garrison said. “I have a cane all the time, and there have been times I can’t even get to my garage.”
Garrison said the dogs have never attempted to bite her, but they bark and cause a scene. She said she doesn’t want to be knocked down by the dogs, even if they’re not being aggressive, and asked what she could do to stop them from coming onto her property.
Mayor Brian Bowers said all dogs in public in Purdy should be on a leash and accompanied by an owner.
Police Chief Jackie Lowe said Garrison should call police if she ever has a problem with a stray dog. He also said he believes he knows where one of the dogs belongs, and recently, the police department made contact with the owner and asked them to keep the dog contained.
“This has been a problem,” Bowers said. “It used to be stray cats, and now it’s dogs. We’re going to keep trying to find a way and stop the problem.”
