NC couple fights for the right to live in converted school bus

BURLINGTON, N.C. (WNCN) — A Burlington couple is having some trouble with their unconventional home.

“This is the ‘bouse’” explains Romania Myers.

For Romania and her husband Quincey, the “bouse” is the result of converting an old school bus into a house. The couple actual met on a DATA bus in Durham. It only made sense for them to take this path.

They’re totally self-sufficient, running on a generator and solar panels. They buy their own water and wood to heat their wood stove. They even have space for their two dogs. They moved in during June 2016.

“The happiest I am is when we’re cranking it up,” Romania explains. “He drives it and we’re hitting the highway. We’re on our way to do an event or we’re on our way to visit family. We don’t have to put family out because we bring our house with us.”

But recently the Myers have been facing some problems when they’re not on the move. The City of Burlington says they are violating city zoning ordinances when they park the bus. Right now, the Myers are parked in the parking lot of Integrity Church, where they worship. They say the church invited them to stay on the property.

Joey Lea, a Zoning/Subdivision Administrator for Burlington, says they don’t have many options. They can’t stay at the church because it’s not zoned for residences. They can’t stay at someone else’s lawn or driveway because that’s not zoned for multiple residences. And according to the state’s Residential Building Code, they can’t even buy their own property to park the bus unless they wanted to hook it up to a water, sewer and power. The only place Lea says they can legally live on the bus as is, is an RV Park.

“If we want to pay $35 a day or $700/$800 a month to sit somewhere, why would we live in a bus?” Romania asks.

They like being able to be on the move. Romania and Quincey also run a ministry. It’s called Breakfast 4The Broken and they run it out of their bus. They drive to different communities in North Carolina and serve up hot breakfast food for the homeless population. They also collect items like blankets and toiletries to pass out. Their goal is to do this year-round, hitting all of North Carolina’s 100 counties.

“We can take our working money and not throw it away but actually make a difference,” Romania explains.

The Myers say they’re working with the city to try and change the rules.

“We don’t tailgate, we don’t do those type of things,” Romania tells. “We’re secluded in our bus. We drop our curtains and we don’t bother anybody and for us that’s freedom.”

They think “bouses” are a way of the future and they want to be a driving force in blazing a trail to make them more mainstream. After all, they are a more affordable and sustainable way to live.

Lea adds the city doesn’t want to run them off their bus, but his goal is voluntary compliance.

To learn more about Breakfast 4 The Broken and how you can help the cause, click here.