The Right Words

[annieoaktree]

Greetings all,
I am looking at properties this week with the intention of buying an acre of land
and putting a yurt on the land. This will be my full time residence.
I am already seeing resistance in the minds of others and honestly a yurt is my best and most affordable option at this moment in time.

So this brings me to wording. How to say what needs to be said so that (glory be) I can just live my life the in the good way that I wish to.
Crazy Codes.
My current plan is to say I am looking for a place to put an art studio and vacation home. Then seek permits for an out building which would have the bathroom, electric and water ran to it. Shortly there after erect the yurt.
What do you think?


Have you been successful having your yurt approved by local powers that be?
If so what was your approach? Lastly do you have any suggestions for what to say or not say?


Thank you,
annie

[Jafo]

Are you doing this in New Jersey?

[annieoaktree]

Yes that is the plan. I currently live right outside of Philadelphia and I have been looking at properties in Southern New Jersey.

[Jafo]

Well, if you are going to look at it as a battle of words, you might find the last word being "take it down, or we will fine you $XXX.XX a day until you do."

Your best bet in my opinion is to simply go to the local ordinance enforcement and ask them before you lay any money down on land. The vast majority of the time, you will find these people want to find a way to make it happen, whatever the homeowner project is.

If you were putting up a low use building, like a camp, weekend house or glamping site, then I wouldn't worry about it as much. A residence however will eventually draw the eye of the local code enforcement.

[annieoaktree]

yes I hear you. Most people are helpful. Still I have found that they are more receptive to something they are familiar with. And where I am yurts are not so familiar.
One realtor responded that yurts would not fit in with the colonial houses on a certain street. That made no sense to me since they literally fit everywhere lol.

So there is some anti-yurtism around.

While I do love yurts the affordability is a necessity for me right now.

Also I want to stay with in an hour of where I have been raising my kids so they can maintain their friendships. Broken down marriage sigh.

I do plan on complying with the ordinance people I just want to start off on the right foot.

Annie

[Bob Rowlands]

I,m on an iPad now so bear with me. There will be way less posts from me.

Generally there are covenants that preclude someone from erecting a ,low cost, structure in an area that has conventional homes. Read ,no trailers,. No farm animals, no this no that Etc. If you erect a yurt costing say 10 K in a covenant free neighborhood of conventional homes valued at say 250 K you have to understand you aren,t going to have too many happy neighbors. They will see your yurt as a financial detriment to the neighborhood and their investment.

That said good luck. The covenants in our neighborhood lapsed many years ago. I could care less if a neighbor bought a lot and installed a yurt. Or trailer, or raised animals. but I see things different than most.

[annieoaktree]

Personally I find these bloated oversized homes as a detriment to society and the planet. I say this as somewhat of a hypocrite since I live in a suburban home right now lol valued at 250,000. A value that is kind of pointless since we still owe more than half of that after 15 years of payments.
.
At any rate I seem to have found a helpful realtor and will be looking at some properties soon.

I only wish I could get a few more families to join me on the property in their own yurts. In time maybe.

[hierony]

For what it's worth, the following might be of interest for those looking to understand building codes/departments when it comes to yurts.

I wanted to actually look at the International Building Code (all 700+ pages...) but an internet search was simpler. Indeed, I found an interesting tidbit from Oregon--someone was trying to permit a yurt, was told 'no' at several levels but also that he could appeal it. It seems he didn't, but the building official wanted a more informed view than 'yurts don't meet code' and asked for an "interpretive ruling".

A review board did a little homework to figure out what yurts were, in general. An engineer did some structural calculations (note: for yurts WITH crown ring support). From the sounds of it they weren't opposed to yurts, but one would have to submit a plan with details on adequate

insulation

&

heating

, emergency exit from 'bedrooms', and maybe convincing them durability & security are acceptable.

Their specific words were "While a yurt meets many of the criteria for a single family dwelling, the Board finds that it does not satisfy the "energy conservation," "security," and "durability" provisions of the ORSC." At least for the 2014 Oregon Residential Specialty Code for a generalized yurt.

The specific interpretation was originally made in 1992 but updated in 2014. It can be found at http://www.bcd.oregon.gov/programs/r...t_Dwelling.pdf