Question about Eco Community

[rantinraven]

Hello everyone I have a question but first I will have to provide a little back ground. I have a fairly large family 18 people total. It has become increasingly clear to us that life here in town is no longer something that any of us wants. We also have a set of neighbors that we love so that brings the size of our group to 20. My husband and I have been trying very hard to to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Not only for the environmental aspects but for the money aspects as well. We have met with a lot of local resistance here in town. (briefly our lot and the lot next door to us used to be one property, was a double lot but when it was split it left the neighboring property to small to build a house back on per city ordinance. Guess who owns the property next door? the city, so they have tried relentlessly to acquire our property as well and not nicely) Our rain water catchment had to be taken down, our vegetable co-op was less than successful per a "nuisance" ordinance and had to be removed, so many things they have given us crap about )remove the fruit vines or we will attach a lien to your house) It has really become a pain.. well you can guess where. So my husband and I have thought a lot about getting out of dodge. We have found a couple pieces of property that may suit our needs quite well. Our plan is to get the property on a 5 year note split the payments 4 ways (40 acres) and have it paid off in 3 years, we just wanted to make sure we had 5 years grace period. The property doesn't have any restrictions sot hat is good but quite literally we are scared. Our family has kind of romanticized what we do not really realizing that it is extremely hard work. So my question is do you think opening up this land as an Eco community could lessen some of our fears. The biggest one being what if everyone decided its not so fun and they leave us high and dry. The property is completely treed atm and has sufficient rock for about 3 homes so that's one load off. Anyways I am sorry this post is so long, all advice is appreciated and will be very helpful in our decision making. Thanks for your comments, Raven

[otterbob]

DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THE REALTOR TELLS YOU !
Do not do ANYTHING until you thoroughly study the land Use code that applies to the property that you are considering AND talk with the planning and development office {zoning} for the same property.
Review any recorded covenants that may have been recorded on the property { title search }
Also review hunting and fishing laws for that area.
Are you allowed to drill a well ?
Are you allowed wind generators ?
Are you allowed solar panels ?

I live 35 Miles from town on 68 acres. that has no covenants. BUT,,,
I cannot divide my property.
I cannot have more then ONE home.
I cannot live-in or allow others to live-in RV's .
I cannot not camp for more then 30 days. { not tents } only permanent structures such as shed.
Any home business must be "hidden from view from any property line" and
have no more then 1 sign smaller then 1 sq. ft. .
have no more then 8 vehicles per day and only between 8am and 5 pm"
have no traffic no traffic on weekends.
Wind generator tower or other towers cannot exceed 35' .
Cannot burn without a permit from local fire department.
No hunting or trapping.

Are You getting the idea ?

Otter Bob

[fnfredux]

DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THE REALTOR TELLS YOU !
Do not do ANYTHING until you thoroughly study the land Use code that applies to the property that you are considering AND talk with the planning and development office {zoning} for the same property.
Review any recorded covenants that may have been recorded on the property { title search }
Also review hunting and fishing laws for that area.
Are you allowed to drill a well ?
Are you allowed wind generators ?
Are you allowed solar panels ?

I live 35 Miles from town on 68 acres. that has no covenants. BUT,,,
I cannot divide my property.
I cannot have more then ONE home.
I cannot live-in or allow others to live-in RV's .
I cannot not camp for more then 30 days. { not tents } only permanent structures such as shed.
Any home business must be "hidden from view from any property line" and
have no more then 1 sign smaller then 1 sq. ft. .
have no more then 8 vehicles per day and only between 8am and 5 pm"
have no traffic no traffic on weekends.
Wind generator tower or other towers cannot exceed 35' .
Cannot burn without a permit from local fire department.
No hunting or trapping.

Are You getting the idea ?

Otter Bob

What state do you live in? I want to make sure I never move there. Thanks for the heads up. I have heard of covenants like that in towns/suburbs, but 38 MILES from "town"? I wonder, are you located anywhere near 1-35?

[fnfredux]

Hello everyone I have a question but first I will have to provide a little back ground. I have a fairly large family 18 people total. It has become increasingly clear to us that life here in town is no longer something that any of us wants. We also have a set of neighbors that we love so that brings the size of our group to 20. My husband and I have been trying very hard to to live a more sustainable lifestyle. Not only for the environmental aspects but for the money aspects as well. We have met with a lot of local resistance here in town. (briefly our lot and the lot next door to us used to be one property, was a double lot but when it was split it left the neighboring property to small to build a house back on per city ordinance. Guess who owns the property next door? the city, so they have tried relentlessly to acquire our property as well and not nicely) Our rain water catchment had to be taken down, our vegetable co-op was less than successful per a "nuisance" ordinance and had to be removed, so many things they have given us crap about )remove the fruit vines or we will attach a lien to your house) It has really become a pain.. well you can guess where. So my husband and I have thought a lot about getting out of dodge. We have found a couple pieces of property that may suit our needs quite well. Our plan is to get the property on a 5 year note split the payments 4 ways (40 acres) and have it paid off in 3 years, we just wanted to make sure we had 5 years grace period. The property doesn't have any restrictions sot hat is good but quite literally we are scared. Our family has kind of romanticized what we do not really realizing that it is extremely hard work. *So my question is do you think opening up this land as an Eco community could lessen some of our fears. The biggest one being what if everyone decided its not so fun and they leave us high and dry. The property is completely treed atm and has sufficient rock for about 3 homes so that's one load off. Anyways I am sorry this post is so long, all advice is appreciated and will be very helpful in our decision making. Thanks for your comments, Raven *


I hate to sound like a broken record, BUT as far as reasonably priced land, OPPORTUNITY, and freedom, Missouri cannot be beat.
The most important aspects of your plans are
1. price
2. committment
3. freedom to do as you please on your own property
4. opportunity to earn a living

Price must be of the utmost importance because if you cannot afford the land no matter what you plan or work at nothing will work...
Secondly, you will need committment on everyone part to actually contribute bot $$$ and hard work.
Thirdly, if you cannot use your land as you plan it's a wash-out.
Fourth, you need a town close enough by 30-40 miles, to be able to find a job (won't be a high dollar thing) to cover emergencies and items you need and cannot produce yourselves.

If I had that many "hands" the first thing that would be built would be a large "community" structure to provide immediate shelter for the people and supplies to build individual houses. It can always be used later as a big communal barn. Those really large steel barns would be ideal.
If you can do that, you will buy yourselves time to accomplish the idividual "farms" at a more leisurely pace.
Remember, most schemes that fail aren't a fault of
"planning to fail" but rather a result of "failing to plan".

[rantinraven]

Thank you for your comments so far. I really appreciate them. I received the final insult today in the mail when I received a letter saying my sons Memorial Garden had to be removed since it is a possible watershed and I don't have a "permit" for it. There's a self contained water fall and river system that has been here since the first year we lived here. My husband and I built it, and a surrounding garden around it. We even received a beautification award for it in 2005 from the city council and now it is apparently against the ordinance. I am heart broken as we have done so much to this place we have had it paid off since 2006, added another story, remodeled the basement, whew really too much to list. Makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs. Had they offered to buy this place I would have sold it to them and gladly moved but that just seems to not be their way. Please keep our family in your prayers as my first instinct was to take that letter up there and tell them not so politely where they could put it. Again thank you for your comments please keep them coming so we make sure we don't leave anything to chance. Raven

[otterbob]

What state do you live in? are you located anywhere near 1-35?


Colorado , I-25

Otter Bob

[fnfredux]

Colorado , I-25

Otter Bob

When I first saw CO almost 30 years ago I thought it was BEAUTIFUL, last time I saw CO I thought man, they really ruined it.
The eastern part has been turned to desert, the mountains are full of gated communities and condos...
I didn't reall get to CO Springs, an area that was so beautiful and wild (mountains above it) the las time I was there 15 years or so ago, but I'll bet it's a bunch of condos now.
Never made it down the western slopes, we just had so much time, I hope they are still "wild".
It is a very large state, but with "zoning" 38 miles out, probably restrictive. I guess they need to keep things "pretty" for the condo owners to look down on.

[DavidOH]

Raven: Sounds more like the city council should go, not you! >:(

Bob: By your discription, you could live in Ohio. :P ::)

[flatwater]

All good advice about the property and such But what you have is a commune starting. . When you say family are you talking son daughters ect: or extended family ? also who is going to pay for it and how will that be devided and if one party wants out does someone have to buy their share out or can they sell to just anyone which would but another twist in things. Make sure you all have a legal contract made up.
flatwater

[rantinraven]

I had to laugh at the thought of a commune lol. My money will be mostly used for down payment, putting in a well and building of the homes, as well as out buildings. We plan to also put two other homes as rent as long as we can make sure of the zoning as Bob suggested. We are in Missouri so I don't know if anyone is familiar with these laws. Extended family is involved as well as immediate. One brother, two sisters, my mother and father as well as a neighboring family. We already own equity in everyone's home that they live in now as that's the way we worked together. Our house was paid for, and the other family was struggling so we made house payments like normal just on their homes. We don't plan to be as strict as some Eco communities that I have seen. Eco community very well maybe the wrong term for what I have in mind. Most of the property we have looked at is near the lakes less than 5 miles so we plan to make this our business. Rafting is big in that area so that is another form of revenue if we so choose. We have never been the sort of family to run out on one another but I did have a friend point out that after a couple of years the property may very well be worth 10 times what I paid for it. As we all know greed is the root of all evil, so I will take into consideration the option of one family member selling out. Dang it really put us in a tough decision to figure out what to do. I would hate to leave them here as they don't want to be here any more than I do, but I would also hate to do all this work and have someone decide to sell it out from underneath me. Thank you for your replies thus far, and I also agree the city council should go! Raven

[tufhelp]

Similar to OtterBob, our place is 30+ miles past the middle of nowhere and a few of the restrictions he is suffering are creeping into our arena as well – The reason: The county in which we reside is becoming a retirement heaven in and immediately around the one big city in the county, Silver City. Consequently that mentality that rears its ugly head with new comers getting a toe hold here. You know the kind of stuff, in order to keep up their piece of the Land of Enchantment, the are getting ordinances enacted that restrict life like those they had while living “in town”. So far we now have a “convenience center”, that is a big dumpster they dragged into the village and set up to collect “solid waste” that is positioned directly across form our community center – ugly and stinky and the best part is every one in Redrock HAS to pay a monthly fee regardless if they use the facility or not. It is “only” $5.00 a month – right now, but the camel’s nose is in the tent! We can not use burn barrels anymore… Fat chance they have of enforcing that one! Very strict regulation on “subdividing” property – which I can understand in the “subdivision” connotation, but it leaks into even selling a few acres to a relative or to see you through. My taxes, although ludicrously low, have doubled in the last year. I get the low tax rate because I have an agricultural exemption by letting neighbors cattle graze on my land, but this year they put a minimum acreage in force for grazing exemption – 53.3 acres – So I’m guessing some muck luck must live next to somebody with 53 acres that they don’t want any stinky cattle on. Luckily we exceed the minimum – for the time being… We’re so far from civilization they would have to pump sunlight in if we weren’t in New Mexico where we have 85% sunshine all year.

[rantinraven]

??? It really makes me wonder if there will be anywhere i can go where the gubernuts don't have their nose in my business. I am not above following rules, hell I don't even mind it. But somewhere there has to be a line drawn. All over this country people are talking about being more sustainable, and living a greener life, but when little folks try to do it we are told we can't. I have made sure that if the shtf I remember these people as they will be the ones to starve first. I found out that 2 other families here are having similar problems. I really don't get it, we aren't hurting anyone and this is really just a big crock of well you know... Thanks everyone for your replies I am still in hot pursuit on the land search. Raven

[fnfredux]

If you locate around the "lakes" I am SURE you will find many restrictions. If you want to homestead as opposed to run a business, look elesewhere. If you wan to run a business and expect the kind of land appreciation you quoted, well then you will give up some things like property rights. That is what life is about, comprimises.

[silvergramma]

ok first thing that popped into my head was are you going to build housing that far exceeds the price of the land.. look into alternative building methods to keep the cost of your"lifetime shelter" down so you arent strapped financially after those three years are done...