Tiny homes offer one solution to the housing crunch. They should be allowed to spread

An old conservative rhetorical device is to claim that whatever problem you are facing could be solved by just “getting government out of the way.”

As with most phrases that fit on bumper stickers, “get government out of the way” is generally an empty slogan. Lots of problems require government intervention.

But every once in a while, the old phrase really does apply. And few clearer cases exist than the saga surrounding Chasidy Decker’s tiny home in Meridian.

As Rachel Spacek first reported in June, Decker spent $75,000 on a tiny home and a Meridian homeowner allowed her to rent space and hookups so she could live there.

The proliferation of tiny homes is one of many models that can be used to expand affordable housing in the midst of the Treasure Valley’s housing crunch. And it doesn’t require government assistance.

The existing homeowner was going to get rent. Decker was going to get an affordable place to live in a city where affordable housing is vanishingly rare. It was a win-win.

But within days, code enforcement officers informed her that she would have to leave. The rules say that Decker’s home can remain where it is, she just can’t live there.

The situation is patently absurd, and the Meridian City Council should act to make sure it isn’t repeated.

Especially in the context of a severe housing shortage, disallowing housing expansions like tiny homes, mother-in-law units, duplexes and even apartment buildings means putting a thumb on the scale in favor of homeowners, which hurts renters and prospective home buyers. The supply of housing remains constrained, unable to grow with demand. Housing prices skyrocket, leaving those lucky enough to own a home when the boom began raking in wealth. Those not so lucky are locked out of the housing market, and either move or become homeless.

That’s exactly what’s happened to Decker, as Spacek reported this week. Despite owning a home, she is homeless.

Decker has sued. Some of that suit deals with allegations of retaliation in response to going to the media — issues a court will sort out.

But the Meridian City Council (and leaders of all Treasure Valley cities) shouldn’t wait to solve the underlying problem: overly restrictive zoning and enforcement that are constraining housing supply, making the community unaffordable.

(Boise is undertaking a pilot project along just these lines, as Joni Auden Land reported in December.)

This is a problem that, in many ways, is much easier to solve than most issues that city governments face. It doesn’t require funding, so there’s no question of competing with other programs or requiring a tax increase. It involves relaxing rules, rather than making them more stringent, making it much less likely that government action could be considered a regulatory taking under the Idaho Constitution and Idaho Code.

All they have to do is step out of the way, and allow the housing market to work. A spike in demand will lead to an increase in supply, as long as the government doesn’t prevent it.

The difficulty is purely political. As with all efforts to increase the stock of affordable housing, there will be significant opposition from the NIMBY crowd. But Treasure Valley officials should show political courage and do the right thing nonetheless.

This story was originally published August 18, 2022 at 4:00 AM.