Less than a month after the Board of Zoning Appeals voted 3-2 to keep York County’s first ‘tiny home’ despite inconsistencies with the county code, the decision will be examined by a Circuit Court judge.
The other option for Karen and Tom Rogers — who own a 565 square-foot customizable home on wheels that sits in Bruton Mobile Home Park — is to find a way to show the county their home meets the standards set forth by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which the county follows.
York County officials told the couple their house violated the county code because their home, which they had built by a company in Florida, did not have the proper seals required for all manufactured homes.
The couple then filed for an appeal of the citation. In early December, five appointed members of the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals voted to allow the home to remain where it was despite zoning and compliance staff’s recommendation to deny their appeal.
Now, the court will request the county hand over all documents related to the tiny home, including a transcript from the Dec. 4 Board of Zoning Appeals meeting.
After reviewing the documents, York-Poquoson Circuit Court Judge Richard AtLee may choose not to review the appeal, in which case the BZA’s decision would stand.
AtLee may also decide to make a decision based on the information provided by the county without holding a hearing, or he may choose to set a date for trial.
Karen and Tom Rogers were notified of the appeal Friday when they went to the administration office to obtain permits for their home.
“They are determined to keep affordable housing out of the Historic Triangle,” said Karen Rogers in a phone interview Friday afternoon.
Homes like hers are valued at around $55,000, said Steve Sullivan, the national sales director for Lil’ Lodges, the company that built the tiny home. Comparatively, the median price tag for a house in York County is $316,100, according to a 2009 U.S. Census Bureau survey.
The couple’s last option is to move out of the county, something Karen Rogers said would be “extremely expensive.”
“We have an ordinance that says if you’re going live in a mobile home, your mobile home has to meet certain standards,” said County Attorney James Barnett. He explained the BZA’s verdict was brought to the Board of Supervisors, who followed the staff’s recommendation and decided to appeal it.
Al Maddalena, chief of development and compliance for the county, told WYDaily in October the unit would have to be disassembled and evaluated by a third-party engineer before HUD seals could be issued. The seals come affixed to traditional manufactured homes, but Lil’ Lodges does not issue HUD seals.
Karen Rogers said she has contacted Lil’ Lodges to see if it is possible to have her home’s builder certify that the house meets the proper standards.
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