Will tiny houses bring affordable homes to Nantucket?
Currently, it is illegal to live in one of those trendy “tiny houses” in Nantucket. But housing advocate Isaiah Stover is trying to change that, according to The Boston Globe, and not just so that he can inhabit his own adorable cabin.
Stover is the founder and owner of Nantucket Tiny Houses, an organization that wants to bring tiny houses to the island in order to make living there more affordable for the workers and year-round residents who support the island’s summer vacationers.
The Globe details Nantucket’s difficult position:
Affordable housing has long been an issue on the island, in particular during the summer months, when seasonal workers flood the shores, forcing renters living here year round to scramble to find new or temporary accommodations for the summer as landlords raise the rent. An eight- or nine-month lease is not uncommon here. It’s all part of the annual “Nantucket shuffle.” Those islanders end up on couches or cramming into already overfilled homes and apartments, often illegally.
In April, Stover proposed an amendment to the island’s zoning bylaws that would allow for homes under 500 in some districts. It passed the first hurdle and is awaiting approval from the state attorney general. If the new law is approved, Nantucket will be the first town in Massachusetts to specifically allow zoning for tiny houses.
Read the full Boston Globe story here.
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