BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A plan to relocate a pair of tiny home villages in Bellingham has been delayed after opposition from a neighboring business.

The city announced in April that it would be moving two villages in Fairhaven and the Puget Neighborhood to a new property on Northwest Avenue over the next year.

Regulations require the Swift Haven Village to be out of the Frank Geri Sports Fields parking lot by December, and the permit for the Unity Village in Fairhaven runs out next March.

Both current villages are run by homelessness support group HomesNOW!, which was recently approved for a temporary shelter permit to operate the new village – called North Haven – once it opens.

But North Coast Credit Union, which neighbors the Northwest Avenue property, has appealed the permit.

North Coast spokesperson Rachael Sylte says they support using tiny home villages to aid the unhoused, but the new village would violate a planned development contract for the property.

North Coast’s appeal states that the contract limits the property to eight residential units, while the proposed North Haven village would have 52 units.

The village would also breach existing parking regulations and the requirement of one conifer tree for each residential unit, according to the appeal.

The city says they’ll have an estimated move-in date for the new village after a decision is made on North Coast’s appeal.

A pre-hearing conference is scheduled for Aug. 9.