Saying they have no choice and over the objection of dozens of neighbors, Wichita City Council members on Tuesday approved the city’s first “tiny house” subdivision.
The neighbors left the meeting angry. They say they plan to sue to try to stop the development and plan to oppose the council members at the ballot box.
“This isn’t over,” said J.D. Munley, who lives near the planned development. “I have already talked to my attorney.” The issue involves plans to put about 90 tiny houses on 15 acres of land just outside the city limits at Harry and 143rd Street East. More than 30 residents came to Tuesday’s meeting to oppose the plan. The site is surrounded by homes on large lots valued at $300,000 to $1 million. The tiny homes are projected to be about 500 square feet plus loft space for sleeping and to sell for less than $100,000 each.
“It’s a great concept but a terrible location,” said Russ Hamker, one of the neighboring homeowners.
Neighbors said they’d been told by Realtors that they’d lose about 30 percent of the value of their homes if the tiny house development is built.
The developer, David Murfin, made two requests to allow the project to go forward: annexation to the city and approval of a plat for the development. According to Planning Director Dale Miller, annexation automatically rezones the land from a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet to 4,000-5,000 square feet. And if annexation was approved, the City Council has no legal authority to deny the plat, said Miller and City Attorney Jennifer Magana.
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