Ottawa County is making a range of small footprint home designs available to the public for free, in an effort to alleviate some of the county's housing shortage.
Paul Sachs is Ottawa County's Director of Strategic Impact. He said many middle income people can't afford to buy a home in Ottawa County, where the average cost is approaching $400,000.
Sachs said in the past, homes were much smaller - and more affordable. There are still neighborhoods in Ottawa County where you can find older, smaller homes, he said.
"And you can't build them now," he said. "We have zoned them out of the market."
The free home designs range from a 440 square foot one- bedroom house, to a two-bedroom home of 1,056 square feet.
Sachs said anybody can use the designs, but they were developed specifically to fit Ottawa County's residential culture. He said there is interest among developers in building smaller homes, but local governments will need to ease their zoning rules to allow smaller homes on smaller lot sizes and setbacks, and they may also need to make the permitting process less cumbersome.
The county has also partnered with the non-profit Doors of Hope to build eight of the homes near Holland as a design showcase. The city's planning department has approved the plan, and Sachs said he is confident Holland City Council will give the final go-ahead.
