County Discusses Tiny Homes at the Committee of the Whole Meeting

Escambia County Board of County Commissioners discussed moving forward with construction standards and land use for tiny homes at today's Committee of the Whole Meeting. The next discussion will take place at an upcoming planning board meeting. The date has not been determined yet.

"It is exciting that the board is discussing the tiny home option because it would offer an affordable living option for Escambia County residents," said Chairman Steven Barry.

If Appendix Q is adopted, which is within the upcoming 7th edition of the Florida Building Code Residential (FBCR) effective December 31, 2020, it would provide some relief from more stringent requirements found in the FBCR such as ceiling heights, individual room areas, stair requirements, etc.

To be considered a tiny house the floor area could not be over 400 square feet. A larger home would need to meet normal building code standards. Tiny houses cannot be recreational vehicles such as travel/camping trailers, motor homes, private motor coaches, fifth-wheel trailers or park models.  

All the provisions and regulations of the current Land Development Code (LDC) would apply. In all zoning districts, a tiny home could be a single-family dwelling per lot. A tiny home could be an accessory dwelling unit where a single-family dwelling unit exists. Up to four units would be allowed, without a site plan review, in zoning districts where multi-family dwellings and/or multi-developments are allowed.

The Committee of the Whole meeting was held in the board chambers of the Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place. A rebroadcast of the meeting can be viewed live on MyEscambia.com/ectv, channel 98 for Bright House/Spectrum, Cox Cable and Mediacom (Pensacola Beach) subscribers and channel 99 for AT&T subscribers and are available on ECTV On Demand.