Nevada County is making a good faith effort to house more people by proposing an ordinance to legalize tiny homes on wheels (THOW) on private property in the unincorporated areas of the county.

While well-intentioned, it does not go nearly far enough in making enough affordable housing for the people who need it.

Therefore, the Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project has launched a political action campaign of letter writing and petition signing. The goal is to encourage and persuade Nevada County to expand its proposed THOW ordinance to include all homes on wheels (HOW) such as trailers, mobile homes and RVs.

We have a homeless/housing crisis. It’s unwise and unfair not to include RVs, trailers and mobile homes when the need is so great, and they are a proved housing resource. Thousands of people are already living in them safely but illegally.

These people live at constant risk of being forced to relocate from where they are safe and welcome by Nevada County Code Compliance when there is, literally, no place to go.

When there is no legal, affordable housing to be had, it’s wrong to make it a crime to live in alternative dwelling units (AltDUs) – RVs, trailers, yurts, shipping containers, sheds, garages, and any other places that can be made habitable.

AltDUs must, of course, meet code-equivalent, minimum health and safety standards – mainly clean, running water and safe septic management.

The Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project advocates for all forms of AltDUs, but for the purposes of this campaign, we are only asking people to write letters and sign a petition asking the county to include all HOW dwellings in their proposed THOW ordinance.

The petition reads as follows:

We the undersigned support the Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project’s Homes On Wheels (HOW) Initiative to amend the proposed Nevada County Tiny Homes On Wheels (THOW) Ordinance to include trailers, mobile homes and parked RVs because:

  • They are also functionally tiny homes on wheels.
  • They are the only housing low-wage workers can find or afford.
  • They also house elderly and/or disabled people on fixed incomes.
  • They constitute immediate, available, and truly affordable housing stock.
  • To exclude them is implicit class discrimination.
  • It would allow job-seekers and students to have legal addresses.
  • A safe place to live is a human right.

For more information about the HOW Initiative and to sign the HOW Petition, go to The case for HOW housing — Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project.

The HOW Petition is open to all who live in the Upstate region, not just Nevada County. The HOW Initiative is intended to serve as a housing mitigation model for other rural counties in California.

In addition to signing the petition, the Sierra Roots Project is asking concerned citizens to submit written comments to Senior Planner Kyle Smith at Kyle.Smith@NevadaCountyCa.gov or at 950 Maidu Ave., Suite 170, Nevada City, CA 95959.

The deadline for written comments and petition is 5 p.m. Sept. 5, 2024.

The Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project is funded by a grant from the Upstate California Creative Corps and the Nevada County Arts Council. Although the Upstate grant activity period ends this month, the Sierra Roots Project will continue to seek social justice for homeless people and those living in alternative housing.

The Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project is all about housing for the people by the people, because when the system fails to provide enough housing, it is up to us to take care of each other.

Tom Durkin is the creative director of the Sierra Roots/No Place to Go Project, which is funded by a grant from the Upstate California Creative Corps and the Nevada County Arts Council. He made be contacted at tomdurkin@sierra-roots.org, www.noplacetogoproject.com or 530-5 5 9-3199.