Town talking small homes construction

Go big or go home. It is the popular mantra that encourages people to be bold.

But, in La Conner, town officials may adopt an opposite yet equally bold approach – go small to provide more affordable homes.

The planning commission is discussing the feasibility of building smaller “hybrid” houses that feature a mix of private market-based investment and government financing.

“The mayor is asking about tiny homes,” Planner Michael Davolio told commissioners at their remote Zoom meeting Feb. 15.

Mayor Ramon Hayes confirmed his interest the next day, stressing that he envisions homes in the 800-1,000 square-foot range as opposed to the miniature 300 square-foot tiny homes that have become popular for those embracing a downsized lifestyle.

“This is extremely preliminary,” Hayes told the Weekly News. “It’s just an idea at this point, but it’s something that Michael, Scott (Thomas, town administrator), and I will be talking about and working on. I would love to see something here that provides a more affordable pathway to home ownership.”

Several houses in that size range could fit on a single building lot. In-filling vacant lots has been identified as one answer to the town historic housing concern.

Geography and zoning restrictions dictate that town limits can’t be extended to provide either residential or commercial growth. La Conner is bounded to the west by the Swinomish Channel and by farmland on other sides.

“The one thing we know,” Hayes said, “is that La Conner isn’t going to get any bigger.”

Basing construction of smaller homes on a square-foot formula rather than minimum lot size could create less expensive housing and help the town better manage population growth, he indicated.

“I follow the real estate market in the region pretty closely,” Hayes said, referring to soaring Puget Sound home costs and rising expenses from construction materials and developer impact fees.

Reviewing housing issues is one of several tasks Davolio and the planning commission anticipate tackling. Davolio said a record 99 permits were applied for last year and that total could be exceeded this year.

“I have no doubt that we’ll have some interesting comments from the public,” Davolio said.