Howdy from the Oregon Territory

[sandbender]

There is a road, the pavement ends about five miles away from my property but the road is good. In winter the snow is too deep to drive all the way in so a little bit of hiking is required. Unless I'm doing using tools there isn't much reason for electricity. I have a Honda Generator (Highly recommended) for the times I do need it...We chose not to heat with wood or have any plumbing in the cabin due to the cost of the permits and taxes - it would have more than doubled the cost of the building and required us to meet standards that greater than we really needed or could afford, like minimum size, road construction...."

Thanks for that, a bit depressing about the permits and taxes.

 

[MartinK9]

Hello and welcome to the Forum. Lovely spot you have there.

 

[Whit Spurzon]

Yikes! Didn't know you had to jump through those hoops and pay through the nose to heat with wood -- can you give us a breakdown of the costs and requirements?

Minimum insulation specifications I could understand, but minimum size? And road construction??

And do you not have to jump through the same hoops and pay the same taxes if you heat/cook with propane?

The permit I applied and paid for allows for a structure that doesn't have any permanent heating source or plumbing. It also limits the amount of days I can stay there per year. To make it a residence there are a number of health, environmental, government access (fire protection...), size, use ... etc. etc. Not wanting this to degrade into a political discussion I'll just say that the State believes these requirements are necessary for my protection and the protection of the environment, many of which I agree with. However, some of the requirements (like the woodstove) are silly, but I'm not one to start a revolution over it. I knew the rules going in and I chose to abide by them - many do not. The propane fixtures are not permanently attached and easily removable which exempts them from the regulation. On site sanitation is done using a composting toilet.

I bit more complicated than can be discussed here. Regardless, it serves our purposes and the government is OK with it and gets more revenue by taxing the improvements, which they are always happy about.

 

[santaman2000]

The permit I applied and paid for allows for a structure that doesn't have any permanent heating source or plumbing. It also limits the amount of days I can stay there per year. To make it a residence there are a number of health, environmental, government access (fire protection...), size, use ... etc. etc. Not wanting this to degrade into a political discussion I'll just say that the State believes these requirements are necessary for my protection and the protection of the environment, many of which I agree with...

I'm just thankful that my land I intend to retire on is in a rural part of Mississippi. Their are no permits required outside of city limits and no codes. When I build and move there the property taxes (currently around $140/year on 73 acres) will be reduced (if not eliminated) by the homestead exemption.

 

[filcon]

Hi pal welcome to BCUK. Like your but n ben, great design.

phil