The San Luis Obispo City Planning Commission has greenlit a plan to build 20 tiny homes around the historic Rosa Butron Adobe. The miniature homes would be a first for the city and part of a larger plan to create housing for people on the low end of the income scale. They are between 220 and 264 square feet.
The commission gave unanimous approval to the development, which is called the Waterman Village Project. It’s the brainchild of Smart Share Housing Solutions, a Central Coast group committed to finding safe and affordable housing solutions for the region’s poorest residents.
Smart Share Executive Director, Anne Wyatt, said the tiny home village fits the city’s housing goals.
“The project also creates sustainability of small houses that meets climate action goals sustainability of transportation goals as an infill project. It also meets diversity equity and inclusion goals by providing for lower income residents in the town,” Wyatt said.
The homes would be scattered around the Butron Adobe, which Smart Solutions plans to rehabilitate as part of the project.
Planning Commissioner David Houghton voted in favor of Waterman Village.
“I like this project. It tags a lot of bases, checks a lot of boxes, it's been thoughtfully put together over much time,” Houghton said.
Houghton said he was sympathetic to neighbors who shared concerns about parking in the area, but he was reassured by plans to use a local garage, and by Smart Share’s promise to prioritize tenants who don’t own vehicles.
Waterman Village now moves to the full city council. If approved, Wyatt said construction could begin in early 2026. The adobe was built in 1845 and is now in a state of disrepair. Smart Share Housing has agreed to refurbish the building as part of the development.
