December 29, 2016
LSLOA Neighbors
Long Shore Drive and Berry River Road
Barrington, New Hampshire
RE: Bus / Tiny House feedback
Dear Neighbors,
Due to questions and concerns I've been hearing regarding the plans for my bus/tiny house, I would like to introduce myself, my intentions, and respond to a few comments.
Let me start briefly with my background. I grew up in Kittery living in about 2,300 s.f. with nine people including myself. My brother, 5 sisters, and I all had paper routes which taught us the value of hard work. Through that first job, we were raised to spend our money wisely and to live within our means. As a kid, when I wasn't delivering newspapers, in school, or baiting lobster traps, I was happily building forts in the woods or playing with Legos - which I bought with my hard earned money. As High School concluded, it felt like a natural path to study Architecture.
In 2011 while registering for classes, I heard one Instructor's pitch for a Hands on course teaching alternative, affordable, environmentally responsible building methods in Guatemala. Following a short presentation about the course, I knew I had to be a part of it. The class consisted of analyzing readily available materials - in this case: Bamboo, Plastic bottles, and plastic wrappers - and designing a building from those materials. After preparing our plans in Boston, we headed to Guatemala to construct the building.
While in Guatemala, it was clear to me that the people of Guatemala don't simply "survive" in their small structures, but living within their means makes them happy. Every inch of their small homes served a purpose, and they took such pride in their homes. The intimate relationship between person and shelter was in contrast to the "throw away" culture I'd known to that point. One day, as our time in the country was wrapping up, and while we were riding in the back of a pickup truck, over the mountains, along the edge of cliffs with speeding traffic and no guardrails, and under boulders which could fall on us at any time, we distracted one another from the present dangers by discussing the things we learned. My take away was that we, in the U.S., impose such restrictive codes and ordinances on ourselves in the name of Life Safety that we can not experience the same intimate connections to our homes.
Today, I am on a mission to help Americans rediscover the emotional attachment to their dwellings, which was lost here a long time ago, being replaced with minimum size codes. The minimum size codes were conceived by Banks to increase the size of mortgages, and therefore, makes the Banks happy. I am particularly focused on those with small budgets, because the ability to love your home should not be so tightly linked to credit history. While the banks are telling everyone to borrow more, I will repeat what I was taught at a young age: live within your means. But, I'll add to it: live within your means, it'll make you happy.
Having worked in Architecture for a while, I see that the low income demographic is not treated with the same dignity as those above the poverty line. Because building small is outlawed (it was a crime to hire a licensed electrician or plumber for a tiny home), they are often put in poorly constructed, and even more poorly maintained public housing, forcing them to pay rent instead of investing in their own house.
We are in the midst of a movement to bring back the privilege of living in a small affordable home. Well, the West Coast is - over the past decade, towns and cities have rewritten their codes to abolish minimum size codes, requiring Electrical, Plumbing, and fire safety inspections for any sized dwelling. With any luck, we'll soon see the same revisions take place here. I am working to position myself to jump right in and begin serving the new segment the moment this tiny home ban is lifted.
As a step to accomplish this feat, I intend to show how a tiny, affordable home can be built here in Barrington, as I convert my 1947 Southern Aircraft Corporation bus into my tiny home. I am 100% committed to abiding by all reasonable requirements set forth by the Town. At this point in time, I have talked to the Town Planning Office about seeking relief from at least some of the restrictions, but I will certainly satisfy the essential codes: fire safety, emergency egress, sanitation, plumbing, electrical, etc. This is not to say the Town is on board yet, but I am hopeful that variances, or permission to follow California’s Small Home Codes may be granted.
When work on the bus gets started, I will be documenting progress on my website at www.immobile-home.com. Because I have heard concern, I want to be as transparent as possible, and encourage questions, comments, and suggestions to be addressed to myself at jeffrey.estes.me@gmail.com.
As for the comments I’ve received thus far, I’ll do my best to resolve those here:
The arrival of my bus has sparked fear that my property will become a junkyard. That is a valid concern considering the neighborhood, so I am not insulted. No, I will not be establishing the next BRR junkyard - not that I have a fundamental objection to decay. There is something beautiful about the way nature can reclaim its territory, but there is a difference between natural decay and hazard.
On a similar topic, I thank you all for bearing with me while I work to get the bus registered, and not forcing me to remove it. Registering a classic vehicle without a VIN is a long process, but I hope to have this resolved soon.
As a future resident of the neighborhood, I, too, am disgusted by some of the eyesores, and I look forward to working with LSLOA to address the junkyard issue. It's a discussion for a different time and different platform, but some of the eyesore lots are owned by the Town, and I believe with a group effort we can arrange for the removal of at least some junk.
Another worry some of you have is about sanitation conditions of a small off-the-grid space. I don’t know if this is about my health or the environmental impact, but I have designed and built effective greywater and blackwater treatment systems in the past, and will do the same here, while catering to the Association and Town's requests. I intend to use a well, possibly supplemented by a rainwater catchment system (depending on ground water conditions) for water supply. I will install an approved greywater (septic) system, and use a marine type composting toilet (details of which will be posted at www.immobile-home.com when the time comes). The environmental impact of this setup will be positive, as waste is composted and becomes fertilizer, unlike in a traditional blackwater system.
I anticipate there will be challenges in this project, but I am certain the outcome will be something I - and you all - will be happy with. Thank you for taking the time to hear me out, and in advance for your involvement.
Please don’t hesitate to voice your opinion,
Jeffrey c. Estes, M. Arch.
Residential Designer
jeffrey.estes.me@gmail.com
