Opening the Door to Unconventional Homes
Zoning Practice — March 2025
By Charlie Nichols, AICP, Benjamin Schmidt
Not a member but want to buy a copy? You'll need to create a free My APA account to purchase.
Create account
While housing underproduction remains a problem nationwide, demand for new housing has risen disproportionately in rural areas since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, a growing number of rural homeseekers seem to be investing in nontraditional homes that rely on alternative construction methods or unconventional building materials. From shouses and barndominiums to 3D-printed houses and shipping containers, grain-bin, Quonset, and earth-shelter homes, these dwellings represent a departure from the standard stick-built playbook, offering builders and occupants a chance to embrace creativity and sustainability.
Because these housing types break the conventional single-family detached residence mold, they can face various regulatory barriers, including explicit prohibitions and an uncertain relationship to specific zoning and building code provisions. The housing industry is often a step ahead of zoning and building regulations, producing new product types to address the demands, constraints, and preferences of today's buyer. Consequently, it is important for planners and local officials to periodically reevaluate existing barriers to new and unconventional housing types.
This issue of Zoning Practice explores the rise of unconventional housing types and their potential to address housing shortages and diversify the housing market. It begins with a guide to different types of nontraditional housing before examining common regulatory barriers and potential regulatory reforms that planners and local officials may be able to use to foster housing innovation and advance sustainable, resilient, and inclusive housing solutions.
Details
About the Authors
Charlie Nichols, AICP
Charlie Nichols is the Director of Planning and Development for Linn County, one of the most populous and fastest growing areas in Iowa. Before coming to Linn County, he served as a Planner for the City of Cedar Rapids and as Planning Director for the City of Burlington (Iowa). In 2020 he oversaw an overhaul of the county’s zoning code for utility-scale renewable energy projects. In 2021 Linn County approved a 750 acre solar development, and in 2022 the county received an application for an approximately 1,000 acre solar development next to a decommissioned nuclear plant which is currently under review. Outside of work, he enjoys tending to his backyard chickens and working on home renovation projects with his wife and two children. Charlie holds an M.S. in Urban Planning from the University of Iowa.
Benjamin Schmidt