Last month I was able to attend the public input session at Mount Vernon City Hall that was held to inform citizens about possible changes to the accessory dwelling unit ordinance as well as the possibility of establishing ordinances for tiny homes or shipping container homes for residential purposes. It was very informative and the pictures, diagrams, and information that was presented there helped me to better understand what these potential changes could mean for Mount Vernon.

I’m sure many of us are familiar with what a tiny house looks like from the many television shows and books about this movement to slim down possessions and live a simpler life. One of my daughters is currently living in a tiny house with the job she has on a farm and she is very content with having less to worry about. She enjoys finding ways to keep everything more organized in her house so that she can utilize the space that she has. Tiny homes take up a very small area of land and are very attractive. They are perfect for people just starting out who want to have a place of their own.

When I first heard about a home being constructed out of a shipping container, I didn’t think that sounded very attractive or that it would fit into an existing neighborhood very well. However, when I saw the drawings and pictures that were presented at the input session, I was surprised with how attractive they were. I realized that I often drive past a similar home in Cedar Rapids, but I never realized that it would be considered a shipping container home. The appeal of this kind of home is that they can be constructed quickly because shipping containers are readily available.

The last topic that was addressed is called the accessory dwelling unit ordinance. In simple terms, this is to allow an apartment to be created within an existing home or to be constructed in part of a garage. The idea is to have extra housing for another individual or family within a house or on the property of a homeowner. Mount Vernon used to have lots of homes that had apartments within them (my own home was that way at one time), but the current ordinance does not allow for this. There are a few houses in town that are still broken into apartments, but these have just been grandfathered in.

There was a woman in attendance at the event who was very opposed to all of these ideas. She kept saying, “There are 100 rental units in Mount Vernon. Why do we need more than that for a town of 3,000?” I was so surprised to hear this. First off, we have almost 5,000 people living here (especially when Cornell is in session). I’m not certain about her number of 100 rental units, but even if it is accurate, that is a small number of units for a town this size and for the wide range of people we have living here.

Someone asked this woman if she had ever lived in a rental place and she told us that she had always owned where she lived. It sounded as if she went from her parents’ home to living in a home that she and her husband owned. I don’t think she realized just how unusual this is; not only when she was young, but especially in today’s world.

Doing some simple research on the number of adults who rent where they live as opposed to owning it, I found that 65 percent of adults up to age 35 are renting. The number goes down to 41 percent for the age group of 36-44 years old. In 1975 the number of renter-occupied housing units in the United States was 25 million. In 2024 that number has grown to 45 million. Owning a home or condominium has become more difficult and out of reach for more Americans than it used to be.

When my husband and I were first married, we rented a little home for a few years in a small town near Des Moines. We lovingly called it the “Slanty Shanty” because it had settled over time which made the floors uneven. If we knocked over a glass of water we raced to clean if up before the water spread throughout the house. We paid $300 a month for this two-bedroom home which also included a yard where we could grow a garden. This was almost 30 years ago.

I work for the US Census Bureau and with this job I ask people questions about where they live. I interview people all throughout Linn County, but spend the majority of my time in Cedar Rapids. I am just shocked each time I hear from respondents how much they pay for their rent. Yes, I know that it’s not 1995 any more, but the rate of rent increase in those 30 years is just astronomical. It’s no wonder that people aren’t able to save to be able to buy a home, should they desire to do so.

We must find ways to create more affordable housing in Mount Vernon. This is a wonderful place to live and many people would like to move here, but it is usually very difficult to find a place to live, let alone an affordable place to live. For too long Mount Vernon has taken an anti-growth attitude when it comes to housing and that has limited the amount of housing available. Not only should we change that attitude, but we should make sure that we have housing that is affordable for those who would like to become our future neighbors.