WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — A group of Hartford officials and advocates for the homeless are working on a plan to create a new shelter that could include a handful of small, potentially transportable micro-dwellings.

The project, which is still in its early stages, would consist of around nine 60-square-foot micro-dwellings that are equipped with heating units and electricity, said former Selectboard member Simon Dennis, who sits on Hartford’s Ad-Hoc Emergency Shelter Committee, the group behind the project. He said he envisions the one-room units made out of polystyrene foam with drywall or siding and flooring.

The project would have a bathroom, shower and laundry facility on-site, about 400 feet away from the dwellings, according to a statement on the project submitted to the Planning Commission last week. The early plans also call for an office space, a meeting room, cooking facility and trash station.

“This serves a part of the unhoused community that is reluctant to be in a more formalized institutional setting,” Dennis said of the separated-dwelling plan.

The ad hoc committee, which was created by the Selectboard and includes Town Manager Tracy Yarlott-Davis, is still trying to find a location for the shelter, but Dennis declined to discuss which options are being considered until they are able to talk to neighbors of the sites under consideration.

He said they’ve also discussed more “creative options” like putting the huts on a recreational vehicle in order to make the space transportable.

“We’re investigating some possibilities to do things that are less formal and have less infrastructure requirements,” Dennis said.

The project went in front of the Planning Commission for the first time Monday night during which the commission and Dennis discussed looking at the project as a “planned development,” a zoning designation that allows for greater flexibility when it comes to local zoning regulations.

“After that meeting it seems we have a pathway,” Dennis said.

Planning Commission Chairman Bruce Riddle said the group is waiting for the shelter committee to return with an official application and master plan for the project before it makes any moves. The master plan has to include information such as details on landscaping and the impact on the surrounding environment, he said.

“A lot of communities are trying these things out all over the country,” Riddle said of the small dwelling approach to homeless shelters. “Housing is just so expensive.”

A group called Conestoga Huts has designed similar, 60-square-foot structures that have become popular among homeless communities in states like Oregon over the last couple years.

While the idea is gaining ground in other states, the plan in Hartford does come with some roadblocks. In addition to ensuring the shelter fits within zoning regulations, the project will require getting a water permit and constructing a water facility that’s built into the town water system, Dennis said.

Upper Valley Haven Executive Director Michael Redmond, who also sits on the committee, said the roadblocks make it difficult for the committee to find a good location for the project.

“There are multiple challenges to working within existing state and local regulations for health and safety, planning and zoning, building code, financing, etc.,” he wrote in an email this week.

The plan comes after a year in which the town grappled with a growing crisis of homelessness amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The state handed out motel vouchers to many homeless people because homeless shelters had to either close their doors or reduce the number of beds as a safety precaution.

However, with the prevalence of motels around White River Junction, the voucher program caused a growth in the population of homeless people in Hartford, former Town Manager Brannon Godfrey said last year. Many people in the community eventually left the motels for a variety of reasons, prompting the town to look at other options.

In the summer the Selectboard considered finding a permanent campsite for homeless people who preferred — or needed — to stay outdoors. That plan never came to fruition and in November, some members of the homeless community built their own tiny huts with material Dennis helped provide.

However, the huts came under fire from some Hartford residents, who voiced concern about permitting and safety issues. The huts were taken down earlier this year, and the committee to plan a new, tiny hut shelter was formed in response.

Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.