City wins first round of tiny house battle

Colton Lexus stayed Wednesday night at the Carpenter Hotel, with funds he said were provided by his grandmother. Where is Lexus staying Thursday night and beyond?

“I don’t know right now. I’m hoping there is a shelter I can get into for the time being,” Lexus said.

Lexus can no longer sleep in either of his two tiny homes located on land he owns at 1705 Carpenter St. because of Sangamon County Seventh Circuit Court Judge Robin Schmidt’s July 22 ruling in favor of the city of Springfield in the latest chapter of his ongoing fight over zoning laws. One of his pods, as he calls them, is 18 square feet and the other is 32 square feet. The city’s building and zoning department says neither one qualifies as a legally permissible structure.

After nearly a four-hour hearing that included three witnesses for the city – and lengthy cross-examinations of them by Lexus, who was acting as his own counsel – Schmidt ruled in favor of the city, granting a preliminary injunction for violation of city zoning ordinances.

The ruling said that Lexus “is enjoined and restrained from living in, occupying, or otherwise using the structure(s) on the property. … for the duration of the order.”

If Lexus, 31, whose birth name is Chase Hadez, were to try to live in the structures on his property, he could be subject to arrest. Lexus told Illinois Times he will try to stay in a shelter for the time being, or possibly stay in a tent on his property, which he purchased in April for $3,495.

But for Lexus, the fight isn’t over.

On Thursday, he filed a motion for an emergency stay of the order. The preliminary injunction, which functions as a ruling in advance of the final and formal trial, is currently in effect until an Aug. 3 hearing.  

After rendering her decision, Schmidt told Lexus he had 30 days to respond with any objections, which Lexus made clear to Illinois Times he does.

“I’m being put out on the street after owning and purchasing this property outright, even though I have my own utilities,” Lexus said. “I presented a lot of evidence to show, and I still believe that the city did not meet their burden of proof.”

The problems with the city began when he decided to live totally off the grid, in tiny structures he built himself. The structures do not meet city zoning standards, but Lexus argued he had found alternative ways – such as solar power and various battery-powered means for amenities such as heat, electricity and water filtration – that should grant him the right to live in the structures.

But the city, represented by attorney Robert Hogue, stuck firm with its contention that the structures “do not meet the definition of a ‘dwelling unit’ pursuant to the city’s zoning ordinances” and that “City Code 170.16.13(h) defines an unsafe and dangerous structure as one that lacks sanitary services or otherwise, is determined by a building inspector or housing inspector to be unsanitary, unfit for human habitation, or in a condition that is likely to cause sickness or disease.”

Hogue declined to elaborate in comments to Illinois Times after the hearing, other than to say, “An injunction was granted. (Lexus) has an opportunity to respond in briefing.”

Tom Pavlik, an attorney with Delano Law in Springfield, told IT that most litigants stop when the preliminary injunction is issued.

“The injunction is a good predictor of where the court will ultimately land – which is why most people in his position just give up,” Pavlik said.

Schmidt seemed torn in making her decision, telling Lexus, “Frankly, I think the structures look better than some of the things I’ve seen in Springfield.” She said that he had come up with “some interesting solutions, an interesting structure and some creative ideas.”

But Schmidt cited a 2024 U.S. Supreme Court case, Grants Pass vs. Johnson, whose 6-3 decision in favor of the Oregon city ruled that municipalities had wide latitude in enforcing zoning ordinances against homeless encampments and other structures that violate city codes.

Complicating matters for Lexus, he lives in Ward 2, which currently has a moratorium on tiny house developments. Alderman Shawn Gregory asked for one after the Be Neighbors nonprofit came to the Springfield City Council in September 2024 to request funding for an 18-unit development on Stanton Avenue that was opposed by many of the nearby residents.

Schmidt told Lexus, “I hope you and the city can work something out, I really do.”

In the meantime, Lexus has set up a GoFund Me page that, at last check, had raised $450 of a goal of $700. He has a TikTok account with nearly 100,000 followers, and posted videos Wednesday night of his “first night of being homeless” from his hotel bed. He hopes to find an attorney to represent him further on a case that, he believes, has a long way to go.

“This could go to the (U.S.) Supreme Court,” he said.