A large crowd of members and affiliates traveled to the Columbus REALTORS® headquarters on Thursday, Oct. 20, for an informative panel focused on tiny homes and their potential to provide relief to the growing affordable housing issues in central Ohio.
The panel featured Bruce Faris and Trent Haery, co-founders of Modern Tiny Living; John Perez, Perez & Morris and partner with Vista Village tiny home community; Mike Evans, First Financial Bank; Jim Weiler, Chief Sustainability Officer at The Robert Weiler Company; and Emmanuel Remy of the Columbus City Council. The panel was moderated by REALTORS® Jan Jedlinski, and Deirdra Corbett.
The event was co-sponsored by Columbus REALTORS® Sustainability Forum and the Housing Affordability & Community Partnership Committee, with the goal being to raise awareness around alternative housing options.
“One of the goals of today’s event was to shine a different light on tiny homes and their potential,” said Columbus REALTORS® President Sue Van Woerkom. “Tiny Homes can be much more than just a trendy lifestyle choice you see on TV. Building and creating new affordable living spaces is one of our top priorities.”
In January, a development geared toward serving the city’s formerly homeless residents was announced with plans to build a 15-acre site on Columbus’ southeast side. Vista Village will consist of 42 420-square-foot homes in a development that will include a community center and a park.
“When you create a community, you create accountability,” said Perez. “Other cities were doing the same thing, using apartments as housing, but we developed a similar model only using tiny homes. We are calling them starter homes because our residents will be there for 18-24 months then we want them to graduate to two or three-bedroom homes.”
A model tiny home was on site and opened for tours to the attendee's thanks to Faris and Haery of Modern Tiny Living.
“Simplifying life. It’s one of the biggest reasons why people go tiny,” said Faris.
Haery is optimistic about the evolution of the tiny homes industry but notes that zoning changes are critical to growth.
“We’re hopeful that tiny homes will become legalized at least as ADUs (Accessory Dwelling Units),” said Haery. “That is what we want to see from Columbus. We are supposed to be a progressive city. If we can’t put a tiny home on wheels in our backyard, we’re not.”
Remy, a Columbus City Councilmember and a REALTOR®, understands the city's challenges when it comes to zoning.
“Our zoning is over 70 years old. We are in the middle of updating our code, and we understand how vital it is to bring our communities along in this change,” said Remy.
Columbus will be having six community meetings to discuss zoning code updates. Those interested in attending any of these meetings can visit http://columbus.gov/zoningupdate for dates and locations. You can also email questions or comments to [email protected]
Admission to Thursday’s event was a $10 donation benefiting the Columbus REALTORS® Foundation Fund.
For media inquiries please reach out to Craig Hicks, Director of Communications (614) 498-1016 | Cell: (419) 651-4698
