DENVER -- Residents of a tiny home village thought their move to a new site was nearly a done deal but they have since found out the city denied a permit that would've allowed them to relocate.
"I was very upset," said Cersilla Wolf as she stood outside her 96 square-foot house on Friday.
Wolf has occupying one of the 11 homes in the village since its inception more than a year ago.
The Beloved Community Village is currently located at 38th and Blake but the site is slated for development, which is forcing residents to move.They're up against a deadline, as the permit for its current location expires in January.
For six months, the group had been working on a plan to move the tiny homes to the Taxi Campus, a site that's owned by Zeppelin Development.
"In the course of issuing building permits for the new site, we identified a serious flood concern at the new location and it’s just not safe for the tiny house village to be located there," said Andrea Burns with Denver Community Planning and Development.
Zeppelin said he would be willing to take any necessary steps that would still allow the village to move to his property but the city doesn't think it's possible. He also argues it's more dangerous for people to sleep on the street than the land that he owns.
"We were the only developers that happened to step up, which it was a total no-brainer for that. We had a dormant site that was undeveloped and it was an opportunity to help people with a really proven group," said Kyle Zeppelin.
Denver officials said they are working to find a new location for the village but one has not been identified yet. It could include city property or a privately-owned site.
