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By Lucas Walsh
Special to the Free Press 

City looks at shipping containers in home construction

 

Last updated 10/12/2022 at 10:36am



CHENEY — The city Public Works director is in the process of developing a plan that would allow for the use of shipping containers in construction of residences.

During a Sept. 13 meeting, the City Council unanimously directed Public Works Director Todd Ableman to research design standards for the use of shipping containers following a hearing on the subject.

At issue are two contradictory city rules already in existence for use of shipping containers.

In July, the council issued a moratorium on the “filing, acceptance, and processing of applications for Development Approvals for the use of shipping containers as a material in the construction of residences in Cheney” as part of Ordinance No. Y-29, 2022.

The ordinance was approved after the council met to address, among other things, the inquiry of a local resident on the use of storage containers. The council was then obligated to schedule a public hearing on the ordinance within 60 days. (That hearing took place yesterday Sept. 13.)

While city code does not allow for private parties to have shipping containers, the International Residential Code, which the City Council previously adopted, contains provisions allowing the purchase of shipping containers as a “building product” or building material.

To resolve the contradiction, Ableman is working to updating the municipal code.

“I think, looking at other jurisdiction’s ordinances, the best method is to really come up with a precise design standard,” Ableman said.

This possible future design standard would address more than just the aesthetic characteristics of shipping containers, but also structural integrity and local environmental factors, and public health and safety.

Ableman hopes to bring a proposed design standard and code change back before the council in October or November.

Author Bio

Lucas Walsh, Former managing editor

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Lucas is a former Cheney Free Press managing editor. He is a nationally published author who contributes regularly to several publications across the country.

 

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