Resident Molly Guest and Katie Jackson, business and community development manager for tiny home builder B&B Micro Manufacturing of North Adams,  tried to convince the Planning Board on Wednesday that it would be a benefit to the town to allow the popular little houses to be sited in the rural town.

She'll have to convince voters to approve new zoning bylaws if she wants to create a bed and breakfast made up of tiny houses,

I berkshires.com reports Molly Guest said

"I live on Cross Road and we have all of this property and it dawned on me, we haven't done much with it," "I think it would bring people to Clarksburg and I think it would be an addition to Berkshire County."

The town's bylaws have prohibited the siting of mobile homes and renting them out for decades.

McKinney, also the town administrator, read off a lengthy chapter in the zoning bylaws of the definition of mobile homes, the restrictions related to their use as temporary facilities related to construction, and regulations regarding structures existing at the time the bylaw was enacted. Specifically, the bylaws say mobile homes cannot be sited or rented and that no land can be used as a mobile home park and existing ones cannot be expanded.

All of the bylaws and definitions would have to be changed to make it allowable to have the tiny houses in Clarksburg.

Lovely Tiny House/YouTube

Jackson was optimistic, She thought the material and type of manufacture would be enough to set tiny houses apart from conventional mobile homes and recreational vehicles.

B&B builds its structures to the standards of the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association, she said, and the company and each of its products are inspected and certified.

Jackson said her company is looking to develop some type of tiny home community based on the number of queries they've had since opening almost two years ago.

Guest said her vision of three to five self-contained units would allow people to try on tiny house living for size before making an investment. She anticipated that some of the houses would sell and she would replace them as that happened.

The planners, however, pointed out that that would constitute a business that would not be allowed in the residential zone. In addition, another hurdle would be the requirement of hookups for plumbing, water and electric, and a foundation.

 

The planners said they would not develop a bylaw amendment but if Guest and Jackson brought one forward, they would begin the public review. It would take the signatures of 200 registered voters to get it on the town meeting warrant in May by citizens' petition.

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