#housing restrictions

Sonoma County eyes looser restrictions for yurts, tiny homes

Sonoma County is considering updating its building standards and enforcement policies to allow residents in unincorporated areas to live in tiny homes, yurts and other dwellings that may not be strictly up to code.

The Board of Supervisors, last week, directed county planning staff to come up with regulations for more “flexible” housing options in the face of the region’s intensifying affordable housing shortage.

The move comes largely in response to growing concerns in rural west county about code enforcement officials ordering people to vacate small dwellings in backyards and on private property that have been deemed uninhabitable.