Two tiny residential villages, home to up to 50 people, are forced to move after permit problems as residents risk being left homeless

PERMIT issues have left one state with two tiny home villages uprooted and residents at risk of homelessness.

In Bellingham, Washington, about 90 miles north of Seattle on the state’s west coast, there are two villages that are expected to house at least 50 homeless people in tiny houses.

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Known as Swift Haven and Unity Village, the communities provide residents with services that include food and laundry in addition to housing The Bellingham Herald.

Both Tiny Home Villages are operated by HomesNOW! – a non-profit group dedicated to assisting the homeless in providing housing and utilizing temporary residency for their locations.

Now the tiny houses and their occupants will be forced to relocate, city officials told the publication earlier this week.

In particular, the tiny home community Unity Village is blocking the way to an expansion project for a sewage treatment plant.

According to a statement by City Council President Michael Lilliquist at a meeting, Swift Haven is also near a ballpark that is part of a state-purchased recreational lot.

Faced with concerns about where the villages might go next to continue to provide for their residents, Lilliquist proposed a solution by purchasing 12 acres of land, which Bellingham bought in late 2022.

It was bought with the intention of expanding a nearby park, but the city council president said officials understood the need for affordable housing.

“The state is looking the other way because it understands the urgent need for affordable housing,” Lilliquist said at the meeting.

“But we need a new place for these tiny home villages. This could be the new place.”

The site borders wetlands and a trail is reportedly under construction to help residents of the neighborhood get to Meridian Street, comments from officials in February said, according to The Bellingham Herald.

The city hopes to use the entire area for affordable housing, be it a tiny house or otherwise.

“Near Meridian is the long-term hope of this (land) for affordable housing,” noted Lilliquist.

“The short-term hope is to establish a small home village there.”

Because the site was purchased with taxpayer money earmarked for parks and trails, officials intend to use housing funds to repay the amount taken from the environmental collection.

City officials on Monday confirmed the reallocation of the money to allow the resettlement of the tiny residential villages.

The US Sun has contacted both Bellingham City Council and HomesNOW! for a comment on the move.

The tiny homes in Swift Haven and Unity Village feature multicolored designs and, according to HomesNOW! always “bathrooms, showers, drinking water and a garbage service”. Property.

The organization is funded by donations and volunteer work to create tiny apartments for the homeless.

Those who wish donate can do this through their online platform.

For more related content, check out the US Sun’s coverage of a couple who claimed they were evicted from their tiny home after they were told it was “too small” to live.

The US Sun also reports the story of a homeowner who paid $600 a month for his tiny house for years but is now being evicted.