HADLEY — The owner of a tiny house who must relocate after Town Meeting voters rejected a proposed bylaw Thursday, called her initiative a “worthy effort” that resulted in some compelling conversations, despite her being forced to move.
“A third of the people who stuck it out till 11:15 p.m. for the vote said yes and there were some very insightful and passionate comments from residents,” tiny house owner Sarah Hastings of 42 East St. wrote in an email to the Gazette on Friday. “Obviously, that means around ⅔of the people there voted it down.”
It was not entirely clear Friday what Hastings’ deadline is for relocating her tiny home. Hadley Building Inspector Timothy Neyhart, the town’s zoning enforcement officer, said that would be discussed by town officials on Monday.
“We’re going to be talking about it then,” Neyhart said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Hastings is a Mount Holyoke College alumna who has been living since last year in a tiny house on East Street. She built the 190-square-foot home by herself and is paying rent to landowners Ron and Donna Adams.
The Zoning Board of Appeals ruled last year that the house was not in compliance with zoning, and in January delayed enforcement until Friday, the day after Town Meeting.
The delay gave Hastings time to propose a zoning bylaw amendment that would allow tiny houses, which are not currently covered in the law. The article failed Thursday by a vote of 215-102 with 14 abstentions.
“Frankly, this is something that had not been on our radar screen,” Planning Board member and clerk William E. Dwyer said in the aftermath of the Town Meeting vote. “This is the only instance of an owner who wanted to do this. We’ll see how it trends.”
Staff writer Michael Majchrowicz contributed to this report. Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.