A year after its adoption, a state law that requires cities to approve tiny home settlements on religious properties is still generating buzz in city council chambers and places of worship.
Affordable housing advocates and religious leaders see “sacred communities” as a creative way to provide safe, affordable housing for people coming out of homelessness. Though the impact has been modest so far only about 10 such homes are up and running in two local settlements Leah Patton of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition believes it’s a strong start.
“Ten units is better than no units,” said Patton, who testified in support of the game-changing sacred communities legislation last year. “Ten units is great, but we would love to see hundreds at some point.”
Others are more tepid in their support.
Maurice Harris, a Golden Valley City Council Member, supports the idea of sacred communities. But speaking at a recent City Council meeting, Harris hastened to add that he has a “philosophical” difference with the state over the city’s limited role in regulating the settlements.
“My concern,” he said, “is that it’s pretty much, ‘You have to do this or else.’”
For his part, Pastor Peter Christ of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Roseville doesn’t have to look far to see the fruits of a church-supported social justice initiative: creation of low-cost housing for people in need.
In the shadow of the church at 2561 Victoria St. N. is a small community of “tiny homes” for people coming out of homelessness. Prince of Peace traces the community’s roots to July 2022, when the church agreed to “host” a woman named Valerie and the school bus she lived in on its property, according to the church’s website.
The church later upgraded the bus to an RV and its “sacred settlement” was born, but that wasn’t the end of the story.
After learning from the city that the fledgling tiny house community didn’t comply with city codes, the church said it “worked closely with the city to find a path forward.” The stars aligned during the 2023 legislative session, when lawmakers approved a bill that allows sacred settlements on church properties. The law took effect on Jan. 1.
Christ said in an interview that the church now has three tiny homes on its property and is interested in adding more. The church, which sits on an 8-acre site, has ample room for expansion.
“We have a fair amount of land, surrounded by a city park. We have a beautiful setting, a lot of open space,” Christ said.
Prince of Peace’s sacred community is one of two such settlements in the Twin Cities. The other is at the Mosaic Christian Community on Wheelock Parkway in St. Paul.
A nonprofit called Settled established the sacred communities model in Minnesota. On its website, Settled says it helps churches develop “permanent supportive tiny home villages” to “address long-term homelessness.” Each home is “owned and operated by the worshipping community.”
Before the 2023 state law, the St. Paul community was temporarily permitted as a “campground,” because “that was the only category that would fit in existing statute,” Patton said. The 2023 law, she added, was important because it provided more clarity for churches and communities when it comes to things like building codes and permitting.
But some cities are struggling to define what, if any, power they have to regulate such communities.
Rachel Tierney, an attorney with the Kennedy and Graven law firm and Roseville’s city attorney, said she has not heard any complaints about the Prince of Peace settlement.
But in general, most of the concerns from cities “largely relate to the structures themselves. A lot of building code requirements are not applicable to these units, so a lot of building officials and those kinds of people have concerns about that,” Tierney said.
Some of those concerns have been raised in Golden Valley, where sacred communities have been a hot topic of conversation.
Golden Valley city documents note that the “majority of regulations and requirements for sacred communities” are now “outlined in state statute.” The homes, for example, can be no bigger than 400 square feet and must be “anchored in place and insulated” and powered with “traditional or low-voltage electricity.”
Golden Valley City Attorney Maria Cisneros recently told the city’s Planning Commission that the state statute is “funky” in part because it allows cities to regulate sacred communities with a conditional use permit “without the application of additional standards not included in the statute.”
“That then begs the question: What is the purpose of a conditional use permit if you can't attach conditions?” she added.
Cisneros added that the statute doesn’t clarify the city’s role in approving sacred community plans.
“The statute just says that the applicant has to provide the plan to the city. If we look at a plan and see something like ‘our fire department has guaranteed everything will burn down if you do it that way,’ we're going to tell them that. Then the question becomes, ‘What authority do we have to enforce that?’”
In the end, the city concluded that the conditional use permit process would just add an unnecessary burden to applicants. Golden Valley city staff ultimately recommended and the City Council approved a zoning text amendment that allows sacred communities as an accessory use on religious property.
Cheryl Weiler, Golden Valley’s communications director, said the city wanted to make sure its zoning was up to date to comply with the state statute. No specific sacred communities have been proposed in Golden Valley, but Weiler said the city wants to get ahead of the issue.
“We are trying to be proactive,” she said.
For its part, Prince of Peace Lutheran is sold on the settlements.
Prince of Peace renovated an old Sunday School classroom to offer shared living space for the community members, who also have access to a dining, kitchen, bath and shower facilities in the church, Christ said. Residents pay a modest amount of rent about $1.50 per square foot, per month and have work opportunities to cover expenses.
Big-picture-wise, sacred communities are appealing because there’s a “pretty low bar to participate in this model,” Christ said. “We don’t have to build an apartment building or build big homes, multiple-unit things. The relative cost of this approach has been very affordable. it’s truly transformative.”
Copyright © 2024 BridgeTower Media. All Rights Reserved.
Most Popular
Comments / 0