CONCORD, N.C. — Concord city leaders were scheduled to discuss a proposed ordinance that would allow tiny homes in city limits to address the growing need for affordable housing.
The discussion was tabled for now, but city officials said they have received an increasing number of inquiries from developers about smaller homes on smaller lots in areas that currently have single-family homes.
The current proposal includes two levels of smaller homes — tiny homes and larger "cottage homes" — that are still smaller than conventional single-family houses. Concord City Council said the ordinance has been reviewed by an architect who has experience building tiny homes.
In addition to allowing tiny homes, the proposed ordinance would include a slight tweak to multifamily design standards to ensure that spacing between buildings is consistent across all building types, such as townhomes and apartments.
This comes as Concord continues to grow and become an attraction for quality of life.
“There’s a lot of demand here, but there’s low stock in housing, so affordability is definitely an issue," WeBuild Concord CEO Patrick Graham said.
Affordability is an issue WeBuild Concord is trying to help fix. For example, the company recently bought a historic church on Kerr Street. It will become 15 affordable housing units and a workplace for entrepreneurs and artists.
It's part of their mission to connect people to upward mobility.
“When we talk about affordability it's not just about the price of a home, it’s about your access to economic development, your jobs and your proximity to it," Graham said.
Concord wouldn't be the first Charlotte-area city to allow tiny homes. Gaston County officials made a zoning change in February 2022 that created an opportunity for tiny home communities.
"We wanted to be proactive instead of reactive," Brian Sciba, the director of planning and development services for Gaston County, said.
Sciba said the county hoped tiny homes would create more affordable housing and create new opportunities for homeless veterans and children aging out of foster care who have nowhere to go. Purple Heart Homes, a North Carolina nonprofit that helps veterans with housing and employment, built two tiny homes for veterans in Statesville last February.
Meanwhile, Graham says there is a downside to tiny homes, he sees them more as transitional housing, instead of a permanent home.
“Those in need of affordable housing, very greatly, most of them actually work, and most of them are about a size of three family members, so when you talk about tiny homes you have to consider some of those factors," Graham said.
Council did not say when they might bring up the tiny home discussion again.
Contact Lexi Wilson at lwilson@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
WCNC Charlotte is part of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative (CJC), launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with funding from the Knight Foundation. The CJC strengthens the local news ecosystem and increases opportunities for engagement. It is supported by a combination of local and national grants and sponsorships. For more information, visit charlottejournalism.org.