I'm amazed that Huntsville doesn't allow Trailers. I assume that the code is a bit more complex than that.
In any event, I've seen a lot of recent news about Off Grid lifestyles being oppressed by local governments. Further research has turned up both extremes, from "Lazy layabout dumping piles of human waste on their lawn" to "Safe, clean, well designed homesteads, badgered by local bureaucrats obsessed over some irrelevant 19th century minutia."
As environmental consciousness rises, more people will want to opt for more self sufficient lifestyles, and, simultaneously, some subset of people will exploit that movement as protective coloration to allow them to avoid safety and sanitation laws.
The solution that strikes me as appropriate is that municipal codes have to be revamped to explicitly recognize and equitably judge off grid living situations... but that means an increase in the size, scope, and cost of local government.
You'd need more inspectors, who will have more variables from which to judge, will need to be trained in more technologies, and will be able to avail themselves of less simplifying rules of thumb.
Allowing for exceptions means more bureaucratic overhead.
Now the big question (for me)... would it be fair to make those who desire such exceptions, bear the cost burden of implementing the regulatory infrastructure necessary to support the increased systemic complexity?
Would an "off grid living" property tax surcharge be appropriate? My own feeling is that A) Yes it would, but B) such a thing is anathema to the majority of the personalities that embark on such a life style.
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In any event, I've seen a lot of recent news about Off Grid lifestyles being oppressed by local governments. Further research has turned up both extremes, from "Lazy layabout dumping piles of human waste on their lawn" to "Safe, clean, well designed homesteads, badgered by local bureaucrats obsessed over some irrelevant 19th century minutia."
As environmental consciousness rises, more people will want to opt for more self sufficient lifestyles, and, simultaneously, some subset of people will exploit that movement as protective coloration to allow them to avoid safety and sanitation laws.
The solution that strikes me as appropriate is that municipal codes have to be revamped to explicitly recognize and equitably judge off grid living situations... but that means an increase in the size, scope, and cost of local government.
You'd need more inspectors, who will have more variables from which to judge, will need to be trained in more technologies, and will be able to avail themselves of less simplifying rules of thumb.
Allowing for exceptions means more bureaucratic overhead.
Now the big question (for me)... would it be fair to make those who desire such exceptions, bear the cost burden of implementing the regulatory infrastructure necessary to support the increased systemic complexity?
Would an "off grid living" property tax surcharge be appropriate? My own feeling is that A) Yes it would, but B) such a thing is anathema to the majority of the personalities that embark on such a life style.
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