MERIDIAN, Idaho — This story originally appeared in The Idaho Press
A lawsuit between the city of Meridian and a tiny home owner has lasted nearly two years, and last Friday, the court decided to send the case to trial in April.
There, the tiny home owner will hope to prove that the city did not act accordingly in forcing her to abandon her dwelling.
Chasidy Decker moved to Leisure Lane in Meridian in May 2022, sharing a lot with Robert Calacal’s home after agreeing to pay rent to Calacal every month. Decker said problems began the day after she moved in.
Code Enforcement Officer Anthony Negrete began an investigation and visited Calacal’s property and told Decker that Meridian City Code prohibited her from living in a mobile tiny home on Calacal’s property. He gave Decker 10 days to move her tiny home or stop living in it. According to the Memorandum Decision and Order on Summary Judgment, the investigation was prompted by a neighbor, who phoned the Meridian Police Department to report the tiny home’s arrival and ask whether it was lawful to live there in a vehicle.
There are three significant claims to the Decker/Calacal case: that the city’s enforcement against Decker and Calacal is irrational; that the city’s enforcement is an equal protection violation; and that the acts of enforcement were in retaliation for an Idaho Statesman article that outlined the situation — specifically referencing an encounter Decker had with Negrete on Aug. 2.
That morning, she visited her mobile tiny home to pick up household items and walk her dog and encountered Negrete there, where he “angrily confronted her about the Statesman article, taking issue with the way she had described events.” According to the Memorandum Decision and Order on Summary Judgment, Decker also said Negrete warned her that “officers will be driving up and down this little private drive at all hours of the day and night” to ensure the tiny home was not occupied.
Throughout the suit, Meridian has maintained that Decker and Calacal’s claims should be dismissed without trial. Last Friday, the court rejected the city’s request and ruled the entire case go to trial, slated to begin on April 1 at 8:30 a.m.
According to the Memorandum Decision and Order on Summary Judgment, the agreement between Calacal and Decker allegedly violates two Meridian city ordinances: one prohibiting living in vehicles (including tiny homes) outside of an approved recreational vehicle park, and the other prohibiting mobile tiny homes being used as secondary dwellings.
At the time, Decker looked into every RV park in the Treasure Valley and they all had a two- or three-year waiting list, as previously reported by the Idaho Press. According to attorney Bob Belden, Decker lived in her friend’s spare room for the first couple months of the case, but since then, she’s been paying to stay temporarily in an apartment in the Treasure Valley. According to Belden, that arrangement is not financially sustainable for Decker.
On Feb. 1, both the plaintiff and defendant moved for summary judgment against each other’s claims. Both motions have been denied.
The Idaho Press reached out to the city of Meridian for comment and did not receive a response by press time.
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