VILLAGE PEOPLE

Salt Lake City Approves a Novel Solution to Homelessness

The city plans to start out with 60 tiny homes on an eight-acre lot, but could expand to many more.

The Salt Lake City Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday night to revamp a vacant eight-acre plot on the city’s West Side to house the homeless in a village of tiny homes. The plan involves developing a condominium-type arrangement of tiny homes available on annual leases, starting with 60 units of 280 to 400 square feet each, and another 25 revenue-generating units to be leased inn-style. The drug and alcohol-free community also plans to offer healthcare services, case managers and employment opportunities at an on-site cookie factory and thrift store. The city agreed to lease the plot to operator The Other Side Village for $1 per year for 40 years. But not everyone in Salt Lake is thrilled. The lot’s neighbors lament the historic lack of investment in the area, citing a 2014 proposal to bring restaurants and commerce to the acreage instead, though the district’s council member, Alejandro Puy, says The Other Side Village is the first developer to show interest in the land, according to KSL 5 TV.