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Tulsa Officials Figuring out How to Deal with Tiny Houses

Matt Trotter
/
KWGS

Tiny houses are increasing in popularity, and that has Tulsa officials wondering how to deal with them.

There’s no exact definition of a tiny house in Tulsa’s zoning code, and that presents a problem for people interested in the trend. Depending upon how they’re built, tiny homes can be classified as single-family, manufactured, mobile or park homes.

"If your intent is to put it on a lot in the City of Tulsa, make sure you're vetting that process and you're checking with everyone before you actually go put the money down and buy one of these homes, because you don't want to be stuck with that investment and then figure out you can't even get a permit for it," said Nathan Foster with INCOG.

In some cases, people want to build a very small house on a foundation on their lot, and that’s probably OK.

"In other instances, people are looking more for something mobile and the ability to kind of move around with it," Foster said. "In those instances, they run into a few more issues because our zoning code really restricts our existing single-family neighborhoods to those permanent, constructed homes."

Tulsa’s zoning code sets a minimum lot size of 3,000 square feet.

"But our code does not say that your house has to meet a minimum size requirement to be a single-family home," Foster said. "Now, separate from the zoning code, there are building code standards on those square footages, and sometimes I think there are minimum square footages that are run into based on what type of unit they're proposing."

Generally, tiny homes on wheels are the zoning code equivalent of living in an RV in your driveway and not allowed.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.