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WESTFIELD – The Town of Westfield is revisiting their zoning laws in an effort to provide additional clarity for new builds, like tiny houses.
The effort started before the pandemic, according to Town Supervisor Martha Bills, when local lawmakers eyed expanding legal language in their code.
Currently, the legal language only defines a dwelling as a structure over 780 square feet. The specs do not consider builds like tiny houses, campgrounds, or greenhouses.
In January, the Zoning Board denied an application for the “Greenhouse glamp site” Ohio resident Emily Ponti built last year. Ponti has since lost her appeal in the case.
At the time, Ponti told WNY News Now she believed camp site structures under 144 square feet did not need a permit.
“We’ve had people that have built these accessory buildings, but not for sleeping, they’ve had conditions that it couldn’t be,” said Bills.
The town plans to host a public hearing in the future, to gain input from the community about revising the law.
In the meantime, they are going to stop taking new zoning requests, until the language is clarified.
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