Rural life is changing

[Boondox]

I had to laugh recently when some newcomer with more money than taste built a HUGE, ugly mansion on a hill overlooking the village...and a local said it looked like a pus colored carbuncle. The name stuck, and everybody in town now calls it that!!! /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Pete

www.GatewayToVermont.com

 

[GlueGuy]

That reminds me of a friend that built his own house in a "relatively" exclusive area. He & his wife got some kind of a deal on the land, and had to build their own house out of budget necessity. He also designed it himself. I would call it a pretty nice house when he got done (~~3500 sq. ft.).

We were standing out on his patio, and he was pointing to the big, ugly monoliths around the valley. He named them "starship enterprise", "battlestar galactica", etc... All had ZERO character. All were HUGE.

They all gave him a hard time (with the planning commision) because his house was TOO SMALL /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif... Seems they felt this little dinky place was going to reduce property values.

I think they have their heads screwed on backward.

The GlueGuy

 

[Alan L.]

More than half my property is in the flood plain and covered by trees and rugged creek branches, but the beauty of it is that it acts as a buffer between me and future development.

Not to criticize those who prefer homes made of masonry, there is one very nice development just outside my small town (I'm 6 miles out myself) with hills and oak trees, etc. A very country setting. However the deed restrictions require 80% or so masonry (brick or rock I guess), when log homes and cedar sided homes would be great in this setting.

I'll bet those guys wouldn't appreciate the "barn" I live in.

Alan L., TX

 

[StoneHeartFarm]

Glueguy,

We too have been experiencing the growth phenomenon. With it has come many new regulations. The last series of ordinances if enforced could make the whole county look like a suburb. If read right, it even bans ponds. I've noticed that a lot of these new regulations are pushed by newbies. It seems that the pattern is to retire, move here, get bored in six months, spend six months looking at what everyone else is doing to keep from being bored, and then go into politics to teach the locals how to live. Gonna make the whole place look just like the city.

Pay all the trees to put up a parking lot.

SHF

 

[GlueGuy]

Alan

Sounds similar to our motives when we got this place. Our 40 acres is 1/4 of a quarter-section (160 acres) that is surrounded on 4 sides by open space. We know that no one will develop on any of the surrounding land, and that suits us just fine. We are located in an "RM" zone (Resource Management), so we have to comply with some (so far) reasonable conditions. The conditions are oriented toward maintaining the character of the open hillsides.


SHF
Got that right. Newest folks on our 160 paid exhorbitant sums for their property, and now they want to pave the driveway. While that might not seem like a big deal, we think that it will only encourage people to speed on it (and they already do). When asked why, the answer is "well, it would be nicer"...

The GlueGuy

 

[TerryinMD]

All of these messages sum up a general problem throughout the whole country. Back here in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, growth is phenonmenal. Some of the best farmland is being sold off for subdivisions. With that, of course, come the urban/surburban problems. We moved to our little three acres 11 years ago and are "fairly" safe. Our subdivision is made up of 3+ acre lots and we own our roads (a different set of problems). We are bordered by the Potomac River to the North, cattle farms to the east and west, and a large estate owned by some nobel lauretes who have deeded the land to be never developed. The C&O canal runs along the Potomac and is a National Park. The Antitem Battlefield is to the North East and has tons of protective easements on the surrounding farmland. Now, with all of this, we still have idiots who want to change things. It's a fact of life. My next door neighbor is a full-fledged PETA vegan and would like everyone to stop raising animals for food and for that matter let the animals do what they wish. Picture that!! Also, since he moved here from the DC area, he has taken on the attitude that all development must stop since he moved here. Hmmm, then why did he move here???? Go figure. A nice guy really, just some wacky ideas. One thing that we do have going for us in Washington County Maryland is our planning board. They have placed some decent restrictions on land development. Also, most of the locals WANT to keep on farming. The tradition is alive and well in this area. Now, can we keep it this way. I can only hope.......

 

[DFB]

Pete, send 'em to see what's happening over here.

Everyday large farms are being bought up and subdivided. The existing houses and barn buildings are being torn down to make way for condo's and private homes. The old style of building one large continously attached house, barn, and out buildings is a type that I've not seen too often in other parts of New England. Soon there will be very little left of the way of life that once existed here. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Beyond that the roads can't handle the influx and little towns are overwhelmed trying to control the growth both residential and commercial that comes with it. Some places have even called for a moratorium on new construction pemits, it's that bad. The southern Maine sprawl is what its being called here. One of the most highly developing areas of the country right now.

Ya gotta wonder what it would be like if someday all the herd packed up to follow new job trends elsewhere. After all the climate up here isn't exactly like sunny southern California! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

DFB

 

[GlueGuy]

Can't be too different from what's happeing in the California central valley. A whole lot of suburbanization is going on. The only good news is that a lot of people are starting to take notice. I think there ought to be ways to keep the rural....

The GlueGuy

 

[ddl]

here in the KCMO area, people move to the country in herds. In the county that I live, if you want to build a house outside of city limits, you must have at least three acres. Good Idea. What needs to be done is stop cities from grabing the land into the city once people develop the land. The cities want the tax money but don't provide any services. The other problem even with three acre limit, when they subdivide an area into lots, they think all trees should be removed. What a waste. Some peopl should stay in twon if they want town life.

Dan l

 

[looch]

I guess we're pretty lucky here. No way can you subdivide land zoned as agricultural. I've never heard of it happening.

I know a woman who owns a 100 acre apple orchard. She wanted to build a house for her parents on her property. No way. One dwelling per lot. The only way she could get around this was to build on to her existing house.