How small is too small?

[Henry Schmidt]

I have a property in Northern San Diego county (unincorporated) that I would like to put a small house on. Limited/minimalist living being the trend but I can't find a definitive answer to the minimum size for a single family dwelling on a .66 acre lot.
Anyone out there have the number or are there other variables to consider?

[LEAKYSEALS951]

setback? (as in 'other variables' on where to put the small structure)

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by Henry Schmidt

I have a property in Northern San Diego county (unincorporated) that I would like to put a small house on. Limited/minimalist living being the trend but I can't find a definitive answer to the minimum size for a single family dwelling on a .66 acre lot.
Anyone out there have the number or are there other variables to consider?

I don’t have first hand knowledge of how unincorporated towns are governed.

Are there any zoning laws in place? This is what I found on the County site but it doesn’t show a minimum building size.

https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/pds/zoning/z4000.pdf

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by wilnj

I don’t have first hand knowledge of how unincorporated towns are governed.

Are there any zoning laws in place? This is what I found on the County site but it doesn’t show a minimum building size.

https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/pds/zoning/z4000.pdf

Thanks for trying. Much appreciated .
The best I can come up with is 700-1000 square feet. The county has a pre-approved ADU at 600, 800, 1000 but I would like to find out if these buildings can be used as a single family dwelling.

[Steve Carlton]

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by Henry Schmidt

Thanks for trying. Much appreciated .
The best I can come up with is 700-1000 square feet. The county has a pre-approved ADU at 600, 800, 1000 but I would like to find out if these buildings can be used as a single family dwelling.

Short answer is yes, you should be able to. IRC lists a minimum of 320-350 sq for a living residence. Here in Santa Cruz county, 850 sq max for a single bedroom ADU, 1000 sq for multiple bedroom. ADU minimum is 150sq.

We have many small cottages that are zoned single family that are under 1000sq.

Still, you are limited to %footprint. Here in SC it’s 50%. Here, taxes jump substantially from 650sq and up.

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

I believe my motor home is bigger than that.
They are coming up with some new state wide regs on tiny homes but I don't believe they can stand alone as a primary residence in my area.

[gacook]

Stupid question...If you have .66 acre, why do you want to put a tiny house on it? Or are you thinking multiple tiny houses?

[Seahawk]

My wife and I spent the past few years designing a small, separate, apartment to compliment the house we bought in South Carolina.

We did a lot of homework then hired an architect to tie it all together, He was invaluable in terms of presenting design wrinkles we did not consider.

850sq feet plus decking. One bedroom only. The zoning laws were very firm and we needed set back relief, which was granted.

The main house is 2300sq.

The design is in the process of being approved.

For your part of the world, the outdoor space would make a small house very livable.

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by gacook

Stupid question...If you have .66 acre, why do you want to put a tiny house on it? Or are you thinking multiple tiny houses?

The place I want the house has a view but the hillside offers grading issues.
I think the minimalist direction makes sense in both need and cost to build/heat/cooling and property taxes here are crazy.
Who knows where this project will end up but if I keep it relatively small, I think I can build it myself.

[rfuerst911sc]

Why not build a structure to house the motorhome ? Have septic/water/electric on a concrete pad . A deck facing the view and the structure stores stuff . Pull the rig in , hook up and instant living .

[jyl]

Maybe design the house with later additions in mind - e.g. if you add another bedroom or office or etc someday, where might it connect and how, hallway, breezeway, etc. Also maybe design foundation, walling, systems, ceiling height to accommodate a second floor someday.

Expandable and modular.

[wilnj]

I saw these on AirBnB and bookmarked them as I like the styling and layout for a future downsizing.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/46198996?source_impression_id=p3_1704457159_EC5peR etcNQEhZNt

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/49342259?source_impression_id=p3_1704478669_WtyDWp %2Bb7WjGwVn4

There are floor plans for both in the photos.

[908/930]

Originally Posted by Henry Schmidt

The place I want the house has a view but the hillside offers grading issues.
I think the minimalist direction makes sense in both need and cost to build/heat/cooling and property taxes here are crazy.
Who knows where this project will end up but if I keep it relatively small, I think I can build it myself.

Just a heads up about the build it yourself, yes it can be done but it will take you likely 4x longer than you were thinking, and when you are trying to find trades to help you with items you can't do good luck. Anybody who is good will likely be working for the GC's that normally keep them busy. Consider getting somebody to take it to lock up and you finish from there.

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by 908/930

Just a heads up about the build it yourself, yes it can be done but it will take you likely 4x longer than you were thinking, and when you are trying to find trades to help you with items you can't do good luck. Anybody who is good will likely be working for the GC's that normally keep them busy. Consider getting somebody to take it to lock up and you finish from there.

This was my experience. When I got into a bind and had to hire someone to bail me out, it cost me 4x what it should have.

Electrical was the only trade I did soup to nuts and even then, it probably didn’t pay for the time it took me.

[908/930]

I did my own build and found out a couple things, I did look for a GC but could not find one available for a long time. One other item that a GC normally covers is course of construction insurance, usually about 4x what a home policy costs. One other snag at least up here is, being a construction project need to make sure anybody that is hired to help has workman's comp insurance, they wanted about $10k for a year policy that would cover anybody I hired, I said forget it and made sure any contractor I hired had there own. Many don't have it and rely on the GC.

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by wilnj

This was my experience. When I got into a bind and had to hire someone to bail me out, it cost me 4x what it should have.

Electrical was the only trade I did soup to nuts and even then, it probably didn’t pay for the time it took me.

I get it. I often ask the same question when I see first time engine builders struggling with a 911 build.
I was the general on my parts shop build and you're right. It was challenging.
That said, the last contractor I hired to build my front porch (simple 240' deck with pony wall) was horrible. The third time he said "don't worry, you won't see that" I fired him. No other contractor would take on the job without a complete demo and start over.
I bought the necessary tools, repair the ugly and finished it myself. Now I get to brag about the project when we have company on the front porch having drinks and watching the sun set/rise.
There is personal satisfaction beyond cost involved in completing a project you haven't tried before.

The view from the porch.

[john70t]

Building a structure would uncap taxes.
Adding utilities hook-up might not.
(There may be county restrictions on max amount/days of usage. Or they may add them in the future)

It depends on what it is planned for: Second home crash pad, relatives and friends, adding value to lot, whatever.

https://www.sccassessor.org/faq/understanding-proposition-13
"When new construction occurs, it is re-assessed at current market value as of the date of completion. This establishes a new base year value for the property’s newly constructed improvements only"

Here, any variance to existing zoning laws requires a notice sent to neighbors to be able to voice concerns at a planning review board meeting. I've gotten them for properties blocks away for people adding on/building to the curb/ADUs/etc. Not sure how it works there or if that would be a problem.

My first though would be to contact the county directly, or an hour's consultation with a RE attorney with local experience.
Get it in writing. No point in starting something which has to be reversed.

[wilnj]

Originally Posted by Henry Schmidt

There is personal satisfaction beyond cost involved in completing a project you haven't tried before.

There’s definitely a value to that.

The mistake I made is starting the project when wife was 4 months pregnant with our first and we moved to my mothers during construction. 10 months later, I was almost done but not entirely.

We moved into the house with my 6 month old daughter and everything after that took 10x longer to do because it had to planned around naps, set up and clean up every day, etc.

If you have the time to work through any issues, then it can obviously be done.

[Henry Schmidt]

Originally Posted by wilnj

There’s definitely a value to that.

The mistake I made is starting the project when wife was 4 months pregnant with our first and we moved to my mothers during construction. 10 months later, I was almost done but not entirely.

We moved into the house with my 6 month old daughter and everything after that took 10x longer to do because it had to planned around naps, set up and clean up every day, etc.

If you have the time to work through any issues, then it can obviously be done.

The engine shop is a 4 day a week proposition and me don't travel much anymore. God willing, I have time.

I have a 100 year old adobe building that was a house, then converted to office space and after the pandemic, I converted back to residential.
Added an ensuite bath, built a kitchen in an enclosed patio and redid the landscape to be drought resistant (my 106 lb wife and I moved 4 tons of rock and plants to make that happen) . Before we were complete, I friend/contractor was burned out of his place and offered to move in, finish the reno for a reduced rent.
Sometimes the universe offer solutions you never expected.