Tiny Homes for the Homeless Forced to Relocate due to Denver Zoning Laws

The Beloved Community Village in Denver has been home to people experiencing homelessness, providing a community of tiny homes, since July 2017.  But due to Denver zoning laws, they have to move every 6 months.

Over the weekend, a team of volunteers and forklifts moved the 11 tiny homes across the alley to 38th and Blake at an estimated cost of $25,000.  

Karen Seed, a volunteer with Denver Homeless Out loud and the Colorado Village Collaborative, told KGNU’s Dave Ashton that the move was a result of zoning laws in Denver.

“We don’t have a permanent categorization of a tiny home village in the code itself. We have the village legally existing under a temporary use permit, which is a permit that can exist for a certain zone, such as commercial, which is where we’re at now. So we apply for a temporary use permit and then if our permit is in line with the guidelines of temporary uses, they’ll grant acceptance of the permit which lasts for only 6 months.”

Seed says that the city of Denver is exploring how to create a new categorization of land use for tiny homes, that would be written into the zoning laws.

You can find out more at belovedcommunityvillage.wordpress.com or Coloradovillagecollaborative.org

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