WALLOWA — The possibility of “tiny homes” as a solution to the housing shortage in Wallowa ran into a brick wall when a woman asked the Wallowa City Council for permission to locate such a home there but councilors cited too many potential problems.

Mayor Gary Hulse said that although it seems like such homes could be a housing solution, they often are more like recreational vehicles that won’t withstand events such as the Aug. 11 hailstorm that devastated the town.

“We just want them to be built to a standard that will hold up,” he said.

Lynda Wright told the council on Tuesday, April 18, that she’s been looking for a spot where she could locate a Colorado-built tiny home that is a little larger than 300 square feet.

Wright, who now lives in Cove, said she wants to move to Wallowa because “it is in Wallowa County and I would love to move back there. I love that Wallowa is more unchanged than other areas and it has a great place to walk my dog. It’s only an hour drive back to Cove to visit friends and family.”

She said she’s been considering such a move for a while.

“I’ve been looking the county over and this area just feels good,” she told the council. “I want to buy a tiny home … but I’ve got to find a place that will let me … and I wondered if you will.”

But Hulse and council members said a tiny home is too much like a camp trailer. The mayor said he had talked with officials in La Grande, where the homes are not allowed.

“I’ve visited with La Grande and they don’t allow those type of small homes over there at all because they’d consider them an RV and if they allowed one RV in, they’re afraid they’d have other people come in with regular camp trailers and set them up,” Hulse said.

Wright said she’d be willing to modify the home so it’s on a foundation — rather than the wheels it comes with — and the electrical, plumbing and insulation are all up to state building codes.

“I would surely be willing to do that,” she said. “They’re so well-built and just the right size. They’re very efficient. I’d even like to add solar to it.”

City Recorder Carolyn Harshfield said the council would have to take action to allow such a home.

“We don’t have an ordinance in place that would allow it … and it’s considered an RV,” she said. “So they’d have to do an addendum to the ordinance that’s in place.”

Councilor Scott McCrae said he was concerned that a building inspector will be able to view that which needs inspecting.

“If it’s considered an RV when it comes in, we would have to get with the inspector and ask what the requirements are because you have wiring and plumbing, insulation and all of that would have to be inspected,” McCrae said. “Otherwise we couldn’t say it’s not an RV. So if you have a tiny home on wheels, there needs to be a fair amount of work done because we have an RV ordinance and the reason is people can’t stay in an RV forever. Park it here and we’d have these all over the place. I’m not willing to change that. But if you want it stick-built, there may be another option that meets the requirements already here.”

A “stick-built” home is one built from the ground up. The council noted that there are two such tiny homes that were stick-built by a firm in Elgin.

The council agreed that it needs to look over the city’s building ordinances and consider changes. Hulse recommended that Wright consider some of the options available to her and get back to the city.

Wright said she plans to do as Hulse suggested.

Raise for the librarian?In another matter, Marcie Sheehy, chair of the Wallowa Public Library Board, advocated for extending the hours librarian Holly Goebel is allowed to work and for increasing her pay to something more commensurate to her value to the city.

Sheehy urged the city raise her pay from $16.65 an hour to $20 an hour and increase hours from 20 to 24 a week.

“Holly’s a great communicator, with Wallowa schools, she reads stories, partners with the Wallowa Homeland, communicates on social media,” Sheehy said, “and through the Chieftain” — and she showed clippings of numerous library-related stories that ran in the newspaper.

Sheehy cited other qualities Goebel has demonstrated as librarian. She said Goebel has great cataloguing skills and is taking a class to get her certification on cataloguing, she has been busy writing grants and ordering and organizing books.

“She’s one of the most organized people I know,” she said. “She’s definitely a leader.”

To demonstrate the latter, Sheehy noted Goebel was invited to speak at a state library event.

“She’s becoming famous,” she said. “You might want to get her autograph now.”

Sheehy said Goebel has shown herself to be an asset to the community.

“She’s been there three years, but she already knows most of her patrons,” she said. “She’s a bundle of energy.”

In urging the increased hours and pay, Sheehy said, “She needs to be rewarded.”

Hulse and the council agreed that Goebel deserves the recognition, but it’s not that simple. The council has to deal with its budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which starts in July.

“We’ll meet with you and explain what we have to work with in our budget,” he said.

Hulse said Wednesday that the council will meet with the Library Board on April 26. At that time, the council will determine what is available for Goebel and the library.

“We’re super-happy with her work … if we can find the money, definitely she deserves a raise,” Hulse said.

Other business

In other matters, the council:

• Approved the lone bid received for work to remove carpeting on the walls of the Wallowa Senior Center and replace it with another material. The city has received a $25,000 grant for the work from Aging and People with Disabilities. The bid for $22,950 was submitted by Hans On Construction of Wallowa. Harshfield said Community Connection of Northeast Oregon asked the city to apply for the grant.

• Approved a variance for a zero setback requested by William Tilton for his carport.

• Heard from Harshfield that a city resident had requested that the 25-mph speed limit at each end of town be expanded, as children are endangered by the faster speeds of drivers on Highway 82. Harshfield noted that such an expansion could be a lengthy process, as was the case the last time the city did this some five years ago, but Hulse said it has become simpler since the Oregon Department of Transportation implemented a new rule allowing cities more autonomy in setting speed limits on state highways through their jurisdictions.