Walker County officials met recently to update the next five-year portion of the Walker County and Cities Joint Comprehensive Plan. Much of the conversation focused on “tiny houses.” Centered around minimalist and oftentimes sustainable living, these homes measure under 500 square feet.
“People want to build small houses and be economical and save the environment and be green,” Walker County Chief Building Official Mark Askew said to Commissioner Bebe Heiskell and the fellow officials. “We may or may not want to look at a minimum square footage [per house in the county].”
He said there are many buildable lots left within the county.
County Coordinator David Ashburn said a rule could be established saying a home can be no smaller than a prescribed square footage. Askew said the average size of a home in Walker County is 1,500 square feet. But, he noted, homes in Cloudland Station are equally nice and measure around 1,000 square feet each.
“If homes [in a subdivision] are worth $250,000 and someone puts in one worth $50,000 then it ruins the home values,” said Ashburn, though acknowledging that, “Tiny houses have siding, shingles, rock and everything else.”