Container house site sold
Staff writer
Land in north Hillsboro earlier envisioned for development of container homes in Hillsboro has been sold to the pair who originally planned the development.
Felix Ramirez, owner of Kansas Home Solutions, said the property purchase has been “in transaction” for a while.
Ramirez and Crystal Leatherman, owner of Heartland Investment Properties, installed three container houses in the city’s trailer park. One was for use as an Airbnb and the other two as rental houses.
They had planned to purchase property along 3rd St. in Hillsboro and develop more container homes as affordable, maintenance-free houses.
Hillsboro residents showed a mixed reaction of support and opposition at a January city council meeting.
City council members voted to declare a 60-day moratorium on container homes until the city planning and zoning commission considered issues of alternative construction.
The commission is expected to issue a recommendation to city council members after Thursday’s meeting.
Their recommendation will be reviewed by council members April 5.
Asked if he still plans to install container houses on the property, Ramirez said he won’t be sure until the planning and zoning commission makes a recommendation to the city council on his own request for a building permit, which he has not yet submitted.
“I really don’t know at this point in time,” Ramirez said. “All my efforts are in building container houses.”
Ramirez said shipping containers for the project are already purchased.
“We’ll just have to see how it comes out with the city planning and zoning,” he said.
Hillsboro city administrator Matt Stiles said council members instructed planning commissioners to look at alternative housing.
“They’re looking at having an overlay for alternative construction,” Stiles said.
If planning commissioners recommended a zoning overlay, anyone who wanted to build alternative houses would have to apply for the overlay to be applied, Stiles said.