The fine people of Grant’s Pass are fed up with homeless people sleeping in public, and are taking action to prevent it. Naturally, their first step must have been to repeal the laws making it illegal to build homes for such people. That would just be common sense, right?

Let’s open the Grant’s Pass zoning map and make sure. Suppose I want to build and rent out some tiny houses near the encampments at Morrison Centennial Park. Maybe on the big lot at the corner of Fruitdale Drive and Gaffney Way. Surely I’d be free to do so.

“R-1-8” — excellent! That must mean I can build 18 tiny units on this lot. With pre-fab construction, they could probably be built pretty cheaply and rented to people who need a place to live, even if it’s small. They’d at least be safe & warm, with roofs and heating.

Let’s just check the zoning code itself and make sure. Maybe it’s a minimum, and we can build even more than 18 units! https://www.grantspassoregon.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1279

…[eyes bloodshot after staring at this inscrutable morass for an hour]…

“Low density”…

“6.22 du/Acre”…

“maximum height 35 feet”…

“Detached (1)”…

Ah. Well. Indeed.