‘Small modular home’ proposed as possible housing option

To replace Florida Keys homes lost to future hurricanes, Monroe County commissioners may consider building a handful of tiny-home prototypes.

Commissioners hold a special 10 a.m. Wednesday meeting at the Marathon Government Center to go over a number of issues arising after Hurricane Irma devastated hundreds of homes, including mobile homes, that provided the Keys workforce with housing.

“Knowing the amount of damage that occurred to our lowest-cost housing in the Florida Keys, [Upper Keys developer Jim] Saunders assisted staff by providing sample modular products that meet the Florida Building Code and floodplain regulations,” says a report from Assistant County Administrator Christine Hurley to the commission.

After Irma, “many vendors selling various housing products contacted county staff and elected officials to promote their alternative-housing products,” Hurley said. “However these did not include detailed costs or budget information or details on code compliance.”

Saunders plans to use his Keys background to brief the board on types of modular units that can be installed quickly, along with estimated costs. Prototype units then could serve as “a teaching tool for redeveloping after the storm.”

Hurley asked if commissioners would consider issuing a request for proposals on “construction of a small modular home that meets codes, on a site currently owned by the county, as a prototype for affordable workforce housing.... If developed, this prototype could be viewed by the local community as a potential example for property owners to consider in their rebuilding options.”

The prototype units possibly could be made available for local-government workers to rent, staff said.

Commissioners will review a number of other technical issues during the special session, and discuss options for persuading Florida state officials to approve using money normally spent on conservation-land purchases to buy buildable lots for workforce housing.

Some of those developable lots may have to be purchased by the state or county in coming years anyway, because of looming limits on the number of building units allowed in the Keys by state law, noted Land Authority Director Charles Pattison.

This story was originally published November 25, 2017 at 9:10 AM with the headline "‘Small modular home’ proposed as possible housing option."