Okanagan Falls couple, both in health care, may need to move because of ‘tiny house’ rules – Okanagan

It may be small, but happiness in a house of 400 square meters Okanagan Falls brings its owners is anything but small.

“It’s been a dream of mine to own a tiny house,” Emily Kogel said. “I was fascinated with the concept of living in a smaller square footage and having a smaller environmental footprint.”

The home is manufactured by Vernon Tiny Homes.

Kogel said it is fully serviced with clean well water and a septic system and is built like a standard home.

“The exterior is 100 percent cedar siding. These are Ply Gem double-glazed windows, the roof is a steel roof and has a snow load of 40 pounds per square foot,” Kogel said.

The tiny house also enabled the young professional couple to achieve home ownership for the first time.

“That was the deciding factor,” Keith Balisky said. “When we were looking at the housing market, it was just unaffordable for where we are.”

Balisky is a registered clinical counselor. Kogel is a family physician who works in clinics throughout the South Okanagan and Similkameen, as well as at Penticton General Hospital.

“We’re both early in our careers entering the housing market,” Kogel said. “We were looking at home ownership, but the cost of owning or having a mortgage was so expensive, combined with our student debt. We just didn’t think it was the right financial decision for us.”

But their living situation is in limbo because their tiny home is not considered a permanent residence, classified instead as a recreational vehicle (RV), which the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen prohibits year-round living in without approval.

“Tiny houses are in that weird kind of limbo where there are no regulations, so they have to follow some kind of regulation,” Balisky said. “Builders usually go by kind of RV standards, but our house is way above RV standards in that way.”

The rules could force the couple to move, a potential loss for the communities they serve amid a physician shortage.

“I don’t expect exceptions as a doctor,” Kogel said. “But I think the bylaws governing accessory dwelling units could probably be updated, and I think it’s time to do that in the midst of our housing crisis.”

In an email to Global News, RDCO stated that the Okanagan Valley Zoning Bylaw does not recognize “tiny house” as a type of dwelling.

He added, “the only way they can be allowed is through an approval from the RDOS Board (either in the form of a rezoning or a temporary use permit).

The couple has submitted an application for a temporary use permit. Meanwhile, the couple has conveyed their situation on social networks, asking for public support for their application for a temporary use permit from signing an online form.

Kogel said the response has been overwhelming.

“We are very grateful for all the positive support,” Kogel said. “We’re not trying to circumvent the rules. We’re very supportive of establishing land use regulations and we want housing to be safe for everyone, but unless there’s a safety issue here, I don’t see why it should be banned.”

The RDOS board is expected to vote on the permit request at its regular meeting on April 16.

“It would be very devastating,” Kogel said when asked how he would feel if the request was denied. “We love living in this community. We love working in this community.”

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