FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — The newest house in your neighborhood could have once shipped a fleet of lawnmowers across the ocean.

That’s because on Tuesday, Fort Wayne City Council passed an ordinance that, in part, allows for the construction of homes built out of old shipping containers.

City Council voted 8-0 in favor of the proposal, with Councilwoman Michelle Chambers being absent from Tuesday’s meeting.

The purpose of these “container homes” is to help develop infill lots, typically identified as undeveloped lots in urban areas that are smaller in size.

These homes’ unique square footage allows them to squeeze under typical rules for house construction and a perfect match for infill areas.

But what exactly defines a container home? Does it have to be made from a shipping container, or are a range of options made available under the zoning change?

At a meeting in January, Dave Schaab, senior planner with the Department of Planning Services, provided a definition, “A structure comprised in part or whole of one or more grade-A shipping containers that has been repurposed and designed for use as a single or two-family dwelling. A grade-A certified shipping container has documented characteristics that include being wind and watertight, having not been used to transport hazardous materials and retaining corner post integrity.”

  • What container homes look like across the nation
  • What container homes look like across the nation
  • What container homes look like across the nation
  • What container homes look like across the nation
  • What container homes look like across the nation
  • What container homes look like across the nation

That means that under the current change, this is about homes made out of specifically, former shipping containers.

Decot’s container home in Markle.

At least one of which already exists in Allen County.

“You’re helping the environment,” said Kyle Decot, owner of Rock Creek Container Homes. “It’s a lot more easy to work on those than to chop down a bunch of trees.”

Decot not only builds structures out of container homes professionally, but he lives in a container house in Markle.

“I feel like I’m on a vacation when I live here,” Decot said.

The exterior might just look like 9 shipping containers, but with some “crate-tivity,” the interior is straight out of an episode of MTV Cribs.

While he admitted the style of living and shipping container aesthetic isn’t for everyone, he thinks that it’s something that could grow on Fort Wayne residents.

“When we first started it was worrisome that it would lower some of the property values, and I can see that because it was something new and different,” Decot said. “It’s just one of those things that you have to look past some of the ugly that has to happen to make the house pretty in the end.”

So how soon can you expect to potentially see these homes in your neighborhood? It’s not as simple as getting an old shipping container from a landfill and adding a door.

The change to the zoning ordinance makes container homes a special use in several zoning classifications meaning they may be approved by the Board of Zoning Appeals after the filing of a special use petition.

The burn on container houses may be a slow one as prospective builders need to have it approved as a special use, but the city has cleared the way for their construction.