Be careful of what you wish for. … You might get it.
If I knew how hard it would be to get an alternative housing ordinance passed in Nevada County, I might never have tried.
Six years and several months ago, I naively argued to the Nevada County Board of Supervisors that it should be legal to live in trailers and RVs because there is no other housing that homeless and low-income people can find or afford. I know. I’m one of them.
My impeccably reasoned argument went nowhere. I didn’t know what I was doing, but over the ensuing years, I’ve figured out what works, and what doesn’t.
What works are hundreds of respectful citizens signing petitions, wearing T-shirts, submitting written comments, showing up at meetings, and speaking out relentlessly reasonably and compassionately about alternative housing for the people by the people.
Because we did that last year, ordinances legalizing tiny homes on wheels and Title 25 construction (owner-built, rural housing) became legal Feb. 13 this year.
Because of what we did last year, we are about to take on the toughest challenge of all: An ordinance for alternative housing, including RVs and trailers. Of course, all such housing must meet minimum health & safety standards – septic management and potable water.
Next Tuesday, May 27, at 5:30 p.m., in the supervisors’ chambers at Rood Center in Nevada City, the county will hold the first of at least four public hearings on the proposed alternative housing ordinance.
The purpose of Tuesday’s hearing is to gain input from the community – that’s us – on what the ordinance regulations should look like.
Opposition research
But even before any regulations have been proposed, the not-in-my-backyard-folks (NIMBYs) are out to abort the ordinance completely. At the May 13 Board of Supervisors meeting, a NIMBY from Alta Sierra used the public comment period to speak against the ordinance.
A consequence of getting what I wished for is getting hostile opposition. Anticipating this, my plan is not to fight the opposition but to search for common ground and reasonable compromise.
I invited the gentleman to have a cup of coffee and share ideas. Instead of agreeing to meet, he called me that evening to inform me that he wasn’t going to change his mind, and that I wasn’t going to change my mind. Therefore, we had nothing to talk about, he declared unilaterally.
The gist of his position seems to be that he moved here to retire in his beautiful home, and he does not want people to live in RVs & trailers anywhere in the county.
The only available and affordable housing right now for low-income and housing-ready homeless residents of Nevada County is alternative housing.
Thus, it seems he believes his right to have a home and community the way he wants it trumps the rights of other people to have homes at all.
As creative director of the Sierra Roots/No Place To Go Project, my job is to advocate for a reasonable and compassionate approach to mitigating our rural homeless/housing crisis by legalizing existing, unused housing stock – RVs & trailers, and maybe even yurts and shipping containers that meet minimum health & safety standards.
We’re not trying to “ruin” anyone’s neighborhood.
Talking points
There are more reasons to support alternative housing than can be listed here, but consider these, some of which even a diehard NIMBY could support:
Alternative housing lowers the risk of a homeless campfire burning down the whole community. Getting people out of the woods is in everybody’s best interests.
A person’s rights end at his property line. No one is forcing him to put an alternative dwelling unit (AltDU) on his property, but he cannot prevent his neighbor from exercising her right to rent one out on her property.
Renting a trailer on your property could be a source of extra income to help defray rising fire insurance rates and other inflation-driven costs.
Trailers and RVs parked as AltDUs on private property must be prohibited from being moved during a wildfire evacuation. AltDU residents would have to leave their homes just like everybody else.
To lower upfront costs, three-year delays should be offered to give residents and landlords time to implement septic systems and wells. Contracts for blackwater pumping and deliveries of potable water would be required in the interim.
The regulations must not be so restrictive and expensive that nobody can comply. Overly stringent regs would become nothing more than housing on paper – a waste of staff time and taxpayer money.
Civic action
For more constructive and proactive ideas making the case for alternative housing, please follow our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SRNPTGP/ and our website at https://www.noplacetogoproject.com/news
Members of the No Place to Go team and I are available to speak and engage in civil dialog with small gatherings of concerned citizens.
So, I’m getting what I wished for with the consequence of a long hot summer. Emotions will run high. That’s why it is imperative supporters of the Sierra Roots/No Place To Go Project keep our cool and increase our resolve.
We must submit constructive written comments to Tyler.Barrington@nevadacountyca.gov.
We must show up at Rood Center next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. And those of us who choose to speak must continue to be civil, respectful and relentlessly reasonable.
We are not here to fight. We are here to seek common ground and fair compromise because everybody has a right to a safe home – and nobody has the right to deny anybody else a home.Tom Durkin is the creative director of the Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project, the social justice advocacy arm of Sierra Roots, a Nevada City nonprofit serving homeless people. The Project is funded by grants and private donations, which are tax deductible. Durkin may be contacted at tomdurkin@sierra-roots.org, www.noplacetogoproject.com or 530-559-3199