Quote:
Originally Posted by spazzyfry123
Checking in DETRoadster how are things coming on the casa?
|
Sorry gang, I'm not on here much since selling my M2 and for some reason I'm no longer getting notifications that someone has replied to this thread.
Before I update y'all, I wanted to mention a new service I'm offering, free of charge for BP members who are considering buying property and having a house built. Just DM me and within 48 hours, guaranteed, I will show up at your front door and repeatedly punch you in the dick until you come to your senses. You just gotta cover the flight, but believe me, a last minute flight pales in comparison to the money you will light on fire trying to build a house.
So we are just about to round the 2 year mark on applying for permits to build. Yes, we are STILL in permitting. Meanwhile, while waiting for permits, you all know what has happened to interest rates. At this point, we may not be able to afford to build once the permits finally come through.
The house plans have been approved, no issues with setbacks, or drainage, or any of the other typical bullshit that trips you up. We are down to a single tree that's holding everything up and 3 different government entities that are in a pissing contest with each other over it. Meanwhile, every single person in the city's building and permitting department has quit except for 1 guy. So the backlog of work he's trying to process is now becoming an issue. To say it's a shit show is an understatement.
So this tree is a 55" diameter doug fir that the city considers to be an "exceptional" tree due to its size. The tree is right next to an existing driveway that serves one house as well as our property. The city says the tree cannot be removed or disturbed, including no work (trenching, digging, paving) within the critical root zone of said tree. The county says the driveway needs to be widened to 18 feet from the current 12 to manage the "traffic" that will now be on that driveway because it will serve 2 houses once we build. The fire department says they want it to be 20 feet wide so that they can get a fire truck up there. In order to run our utilities down to the street we need to trench next to the driveway. To widen the driveway we need to strip and pave. All of this is inside the critical root zone of this tree. So we are in a catch-22. County and fire marshal say we have to do work that the city says we are prohibited from doing. Everyone is swinging their little peckers around trying to be the big man and we are stuck in the middle.
Our solution: We did a "traffic survey" of the driveway to demonstrate 2 things: First, that cars at the top of the driveway and at the bottom can see eachother; no chance of a head on collision. Second, that the driveway tops out at a 22 degree slope at the steepest part and thus, the fire engine cant make it up that slope anyway. We then had our arborist and our geotechnical engineer come out and draft a report stating that any disruption to the existing trees along the driveway (they would need to be removed to widen it) would put the hillside at risk of sliding and would be a safety issue.
So our plan is to re-draw our driveway construction plan to add a vehicle turnout mid-way up the driveway and file for a code variance that allows us to demonstrate we can keep things safe without widening the driveway. Then, we submit for a Reasonable Use Exception permit that allows us to trench for utilities in the vicinity of that tree. We will propose the use of an air spade and vactor truck to create the trench by sucking the dirt out as opposed to digging it out. Tat will keep all the roots intact and allow us to maneuver the utilities around them without damage. We will likely have to put up a $50,000 "tree bond" that gets paid back to us $10,000 per year for 5 years so long as the exceptional tree stays alive and healthy. We will need an arborist to inspect it and report on it annually. If it dies, we pay to remove it and then lose our bond.
So, anyone else still thinking about building your dream home? Line up for your punch in the dick!