One of the major reasons we bought the new house was so that we could build a barn and move our horse in with us. Much much easier to care for.
One of the things I have learned from trying to build a new barn is that we have regulated ourselves nearly to death!
The property we bought is zoned A-2 which is unlimited agriculture for 10 to about 35 acres. We have 0.93 acres. It was platted before the new zoning regulations took effect so it was grandfathered in. A few years ago when Ralston Valley high school was built the county wanted to rezone to a more appropriate class but the residents didn't want to because their taxes would increase so it stayed A-2.
Low taxes, Great! BUT... All the zoning rules that apply to A-2 (remember, 10 acres and up) now apply to my slightly less than one acre property which measure 150' wide by 280' long. The zoning rules for a livestock barn say that it must be built 75' from a side property line. With a 150' wide property I figured I could build a single sheet of steel down the center of the property which doesn't offer much protection for hay or saddles or even horses. What to do?
The county has a variance process where you can before the Board of Adjustments and ask them for relief, a variance, from the zoning rules. For $325.00 you get to go through a 2 to 4 week process that may or may not be resolved in your favor. I sent in the request and the first response I got back from the county was, NO!. After a few phone calls I got it changed to maybe and when we finally went before the board it took them 15 minutes to say yes, with a few catches.
The first catch was that the barn was supposed to built out of materials that matched the house. I cannot aford to build a brick barn. The chairman noticed this anc changed it to read that it had to be built out of materials acceptable to the Zoning Commissioner. Okay?
I got the pans together and submitted them to planning and zoning. I got a call from them saying the zoning commissioner needed mor information. Great, just great. My barn is no subject to the approval of government bureaucrat that may or may not know anything about barns. I sent them the information and now the plans are through the planing and zoning folks and are sitting with the building department.
This is an A-2 property and I am paying to build the barn. Why oh why does the government have to get involved and approve every single step? It is driving me nuts!
One of the things I have learned from trying to build a new barn is that we have regulated ourselves nearly to death!
The property we bought is zoned A-2 which is unlimited agriculture for 10 to about 35 acres. We have 0.93 acres. It was platted before the new zoning regulations took effect so it was grandfathered in. A few years ago when Ralston Valley high school was built the county wanted to rezone to a more appropriate class but the residents didn't want to because their taxes would increase so it stayed A-2.
Low taxes, Great! BUT... All the zoning rules that apply to A-2 (remember, 10 acres and up) now apply to my slightly less than one acre property which measure 150' wide by 280' long. The zoning rules for a livestock barn say that it must be built 75' from a side property line. With a 150' wide property I figured I could build a single sheet of steel down the center of the property which doesn't offer much protection for hay or saddles or even horses. What to do?
The county has a variance process where you can before the Board of Adjustments and ask them for relief, a variance, from the zoning rules. For $325.00 you get to go through a 2 to 4 week process that may or may not be resolved in your favor. I sent in the request and the first response I got back from the county was, NO!. After a few phone calls I got it changed to maybe and when we finally went before the board it took them 15 minutes to say yes, with a few catches.
The first catch was that the barn was supposed to built out of materials that matched the house. I cannot aford to build a brick barn. The chairman noticed this anc changed it to read that it had to be built out of materials acceptable to the Zoning Commissioner. Okay?
I got the pans together and submitted them to planning and zoning. I got a call from them saying the zoning commissioner needed mor information. Great, just great. My barn is no subject to the approval of government bureaucrat that may or may not know anything about barns. I sent them the information and now the plans are through the planing and zoning folks and are sitting with the building department.
This is an A-2 property and I am paying to build the barn. Why oh why does the government have to get involved and approve every single step? It is driving me nuts!