Storage containers, shipping containers or trailers may not be used as homes or residential office spaces in Eureka.
The city’s Board of Aldermen voted 5-1 on April 2 to ban using those structures as homes inside city limits. Alderwoman Carleen Murray voted against the change to the city’s municipal code.
Murray did not return phone calls to the Leader.
Mayor Sean Flower said the city amended the code to add shipping containers to the list of structures unsuitable to live or work in.
“Some people are trying to put shipping containers in as a storage space, or even as a living space, and we don’t want to do that,” Flower said. “People were talking about it, and we wanted to address it before it became a larger concern.”
According to the updated section, storage containers, shipping containers and trailers cannot be used for a “residence, office or other purpose involving human occupancy of such.”
Shipping containers turned living spaces have risen in popularity in recent years, according to Arch Daily, a website dedicated to architectural news. The steel containers measure close to 320 square feet and can be stacked or modified based on the homeowner’s specifications.
Fortune Business Insights said homeowners are living in shipping container homes as a form of sustainable living, as there are about 14 million unused containers worldwide.
Additionally, Eureka’s amended code states that storage containers, shipping containers and trailers should be hidden or screened from public streets.
Those who wish to place containers or trailers for storage purposes on a residential or commercial lot will have to seek permission from the Board of Aldermen, under another code change.