During the process of discovery, regarding suitability of a site for your new, personal, sustainable and affordable house project, one must adhere to a few simple rules. In a previous post, "Zoning Comes First", it was described how the municipality regulates the fabric of the built environment. Once it has been established that residential construction is allowed, and hopefully encouraged, for a particular site, the next step is to evaluate how waste water will be managed.
Typically, urban communities process waste water as part of their infrastructure, so if you are choosing to build in such a locale, you will not need a private septic system. On the other hand, waste water management is one of the most critical issues when we occupy a parcel in a more rural, natural environment. It is also the most highly regulated. This is potentially the most limiting aspect when it comes to available building sites, based on their suitability for inhabitation.
Considering we must be in stewardship of our planet, and despite common cultural paradigms, we don't truly possess our property. It is borrowed and should be relinquished as it was found, in balance. The ability for human occupation to be in harmony with nature, relates directly to the earth's local ability to "ingest" or "process" our waste, specifically our fecal matter.
In most town offices there is a map which illustrates documented geographical conditions, including soil types. Understanding what is expected to be found below the surface of a prospective site, can be very helpful in determining whether or not to pursue further investigation. If there is a high water table, there may be a high organic content in the soil. This suggests a poor ability for the land to filter and absorb waste matter because it is likely to be washed into the watershed, resulting in pollution. If the soils are more granular they have a greater ability to filter and absorb human waste water.
The construction of residential septic systems constitute a considerable cost of the site work for a new home. If the local soil conditions are not conducive to a "traditional" system, alternative systems can work, but may be costly. Depending on one's individual fiscal resources for construction, the type of septic system required for legal occupation can be a significant factor in determining the suitability of a parcel.
Regardless of what the town maps describe in a particular area, it is advisable to conduct a soil analysis by a registered engineer, prior to making a commitment to any parcel. This involves digging test pits, usually with a backhoe, with the engineer present, so they may document the soil types at incremental depths. The holes should be filled back in immediately for safety reasons. At our current project in Jericho, Vermont, the cost for this work was $1,000. Any landowner wishing to sell you a parcel, should allow you to conduct this work prior to you making an offer. It is essential that you have a certified understanding of your soils if your project involves a private septic system.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Current Design Technology
The model in the video starts with a design done in SketchUp, Google's free modelling software. In addition to access to a myriad of accurate architectural components in the 3D Warehouse, another beautiful thing about SketchUp, is that one can upload virtual models to Google Earth for placement in a simulated, globally accessible environment. This will allow users, ie, home developers and owners, to view how their project will appear in context. Once uploaded the virtual models can be explored by anyone.
By using this process, we plan to share our small, sustainable home building experience with whomever chooses to follow this blog. Stay tuned...this promises to continue being a blast!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Zoning Comes First
From a designer's point of view, I would have to say it's not practical to design a home (in detail) until you know where it will be. It's important that the built environment respond directly to the energy of the site on a multitude of levels which I'll refrain from getting into at this point. Suffice it to say, solar, topo, access, views, and a mind blowing array of other considerations are huge influences for final decisions. In a nutshell, picking a site comes before the design of a home and understanding what issues you'll need to deal with comes before that.
This post is about getting an initial regulatory issue on the table, zoning. In an upcoming post, I'll write about the next biggy, waste water management. But first and foremost, a prospective homeowner must understand zoning. These are the municipal rules that govern what you and your neighbor can or cannot do on your property. Of course there are very attractive and desirable properties outside the reach of regulation, but in consideration of housing for the masses, a sustainable reality is that the domiciles we are focussed on will be closer in.
Zoning describes, and more importantly prescribes, the nature of the built environment in an area, a zone, within a municipality. Rural Agricultural, Industrial, Commercial and Village Center are a few of the common types of zones.
New home building may only occur in a zone which allows residential construction. Rules about the minimum size of a lot, the maximum height of the building, and the nature of activities which may be conducted there, will protect or inhibit occupants of that zone from activities which may be adverse to the "prescribed" character of the area.
Due to increasing awareness of the value of planning, infrastructures are organized to respond to programmed densities of use in different zones. Recently, with a focus on environmental conservation and with the goal of getting more bang for the buck from infrastructure, residential densities are being increased across the country. In the initial project example that this blog was built to follow, (132VTRT15) the zoning changed from a one acre minimum lot size to 1/4 acre for single family residences. In Vermont all residences may have a home occupation use with in them and are eligible for accessory apartments as well. (See an earlier post for a definition)
Some people may wince at the prospects of having purchased a property in a neighborhood that could now potentially have four times the number of people in it, but for others, it's better than continuing to chop up the countryside into lots that are only affordable to those comfortable driving Hummers to work 20 miles away.
My parents live on such a small, "village center" lot. They now have the opportunity to build a smaller cottage, (in the back yard), and an accessory apartment for a care giver. This will allow them to enjoy their home for many more years than if they were forced to sell and move, more than likely for their last time, and quite possibly to a facility which would offer assisted living. They're not ready for that and may never be.
The zoning change in density does a lot for my folks and the community, as well as for the planet at large. It will allow for a greater diversity of housing stock within the community. It will reduce consumption by reducing commuter miles, and it will offer an opportunity to create new, tighter neighborhoods, which will encourage the occupancy of smaller homes and shared amenities. This a move toward sustainability.
I can't describe how enthused I am to be witness to these changes. They are and/or should be happening all over. Check in with your local zoning. You may have opportunities you didn't have just a few short years ago, right in your own back yard.
This post is about getting an initial regulatory issue on the table, zoning. In an upcoming post, I'll write about the next biggy, waste water management. But first and foremost, a prospective homeowner must understand zoning. These are the municipal rules that govern what you and your neighbor can or cannot do on your property. Of course there are very attractive and desirable properties outside the reach of regulation, but in consideration of housing for the masses, a sustainable reality is that the domiciles we are focussed on will be closer in.
Zoning describes, and more importantly prescribes, the nature of the built environment in an area, a zone, within a municipality. Rural Agricultural, Industrial, Commercial and Village Center are a few of the common types of zones.
New home building may only occur in a zone which allows residential construction. Rules about the minimum size of a lot, the maximum height of the building, and the nature of activities which may be conducted there, will protect or inhibit occupants of that zone from activities which may be adverse to the "prescribed" character of the area.
Due to increasing awareness of the value of planning, infrastructures are organized to respond to programmed densities of use in different zones. Recently, with a focus on environmental conservation and with the goal of getting more bang for the buck from infrastructure, residential densities are being increased across the country. In the initial project example that this blog was built to follow, (132VTRT15) the zoning changed from a one acre minimum lot size to 1/4 acre for single family residences. In Vermont all residences may have a home occupation use with in them and are eligible for accessory apartments as well. (See an earlier post for a definition)
Some people may wince at the prospects of having purchased a property in a neighborhood that could now potentially have four times the number of people in it, but for others, it's better than continuing to chop up the countryside into lots that are only affordable to those comfortable driving Hummers to work 20 miles away.
My parents live on such a small, "village center" lot. They now have the opportunity to build a smaller cottage, (in the back yard), and an accessory apartment for a care giver. This will allow them to enjoy their home for many more years than if they were forced to sell and move, more than likely for their last time, and quite possibly to a facility which would offer assisted living. They're not ready for that and may never be.
The zoning change in density does a lot for my folks and the community, as well as for the planet at large. It will allow for a greater diversity of housing stock within the community. It will reduce consumption by reducing commuter miles, and it will offer an opportunity to create new, tighter neighborhoods, which will encourage the occupancy of smaller homes and shared amenities. This a move toward sustainability.
I can't describe how enthused I am to be witness to these changes. They are and/or should be happening all over. Check in with your local zoning. You may have opportunities you didn't have just a few short years ago, right in your own back yard.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Miner with a Heart of Gold
Okay, call me crazy, I'm squeezing through this portal like so many others of you out there, sometimes I don't even know what I'm doing......I got slammed with LinkedIn connections today, maybe that's a sign....I upset my employer by suggesting maybe I should be laid off...I got this insane notion that I should offer services FREE...I am so psyched (read psychotic?) about the possibilities for people to enjoy personal, sustainable and affordable houses that it's not even about the money anymore...
Yeah, yeah, yeah I know, money was once a huge aspect of my deal, but I hit the wall...I said "Wait a minute" (or a year, or two or three, maybe forever), "this ain't working. I love what I'm doing but I'm all stressed out. What's up with that?"
So I gave it a breather, I let my intuition take over. I took a little break. I'm learning to listen to the universe.....It's calling me.... "you know you want to do this" she whispers...and Tim Durling keeps popping up in Facebook saying, "let the strain be gone"....."How can I just do what I want to do?" I wonder.....
I'd love to just sit back and sketch up my little designs for whoever wants them...sure just email me, tell me what you want, what you think you need, and I'll let you know. I could do this for ten clients, maybe more, maybe fewer, (my folks are first in line though, so you could just follow this blog) NO CHARGE.... approximately 20 hours each design..... if you want more time later you could pay me.... maybe a lot...(because I'll be really busy, LOL)..... maybe not so much because I've got my day job (and that almost pays the bills)... I dunno.... BUT.... you'd have to be real... you'd have to be aligned with a strong probability that you were gonna build it....it'd have to be done by MY SYSTEM.. .SoHo2go arKITecture..... if I'm gonna give it away... it'll have to be the way I do it.... you'll see, I've got some pics of my work that I'll get up, maybe even tonight.... your plans to build have to be real, (you'll need a site and a budget) and modest too, less than 1,111 square feet of foot print, that would be no more than 69 4'x4'squares. That's right, it'll be done on a 4'x4' grid.... you can choose traditional or contemporary styling, but the construction techniques will be how I do it.... tried and true (financable) but highly systematized for efficiency of material, readily available, environmentally sound, and easy to assemble. Maybe even by you and your husband... (and some friends?)That's where I come in again.... you get your materials all priced out using my online forms, get a Skype account and we'll have a video conference every construction day if you want... Piece of cake...especially after I've posted video tutorials on how to put the KITs together...WoW won't that be fun....Virtual arKITech...that's what I wanna be when I grow up....in the meantime, Want a free small house design? Just get a gmail account and follow me.....WTYL (write to you later)
Accessory Apartment, Affordable Housing Defined
Town of Jericho, Vermont
Land Use & Development Regulations
Adopted August 6, 2009
Effective August 27, 2009
1. DEFINITIONS
CHAPTER 117: 24 VSA, Chapter 117, the Vermont Municipal and Regional Planning and Development Act as most recently amended.
ACCESSORY APPARTMENT:
A second dwelling unit which (a) contains up to three rooms (excluding the bathroom), one of which may be a bedroom, (b) is located on the property the principal use of which is a single family dwelling or farm, and (c) has a floor area not exceeding 30% of the principal dwelling, or 400 square feet, whichever is greater.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE or ACCESSORY USE:
A use or structure which is incidental and subordinate in size and overall appearance (except for barns) to the main use or building, and which is located on the same lot, or which is incidental and subordinate to the use of the land. Examples: pools, man-made ponds, storage sheds, barns, and satellite dishes.
ACRE: A self-contained and contiguous parcel of land containing 43,560 square feet.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Housing that is either
(a) owned by inhabitants whose gross annual household income does not exceed 100 percent of area median income, as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, where the total annual cost of the housing, including principal interest, property taxes, insurance, and condominium association fees is not more than thirty (30) percent of the households gross annual income; or
(b) housing that is rented by inhabitants whose gross annual household income does not exceed 100 percent of area median income as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development where the total annual cost of the housing, including rent and utilities such as heat, electricity, water, garbage collection/disposal, and lights, is not more than thirty (30) percent of the households gross annual income. Affordable housing units shall be subject to covenants or restrictions that preserve the above affordability requirements defined above perpetually (for a minimum period of 99 years from the date of first sale or lease).
AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT: A housing development in which at least 20% of the units are AFFORDABLE HOUSING units.
Land Use & Development Regulations
Adopted August 6, 2009
Effective August 27, 2009
1. DEFINITIONS
CHAPTER 117: 24 VSA, Chapter 117, the Vermont Municipal and Regional Planning and Development Act as most recently amended.
ACCESSORY APPARTMENT:
A second dwelling unit which (a) contains up to three rooms (excluding the bathroom), one of which may be a bedroom, (b) is located on the property the principal use of which is a single family dwelling or farm, and (c) has a floor area not exceeding 30% of the principal dwelling, or 400 square feet, whichever is greater.
ACCESSORY STRUCTURE or ACCESSORY USE:
A use or structure which is incidental and subordinate in size and overall appearance (except for barns) to the main use or building, and which is located on the same lot, or which is incidental and subordinate to the use of the land. Examples: pools, man-made ponds, storage sheds, barns, and satellite dishes.
ACRE: A self-contained and contiguous parcel of land containing 43,560 square feet.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Housing that is either
(a) owned by inhabitants whose gross annual household income does not exceed 100 percent of area median income, as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, where the total annual cost of the housing, including principal interest, property taxes, insurance, and condominium association fees is not more than thirty (30) percent of the households gross annual income; or
(b) housing that is rented by inhabitants whose gross annual household income does not exceed 100 percent of area median income as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development where the total annual cost of the housing, including rent and utilities such as heat, electricity, water, garbage collection/disposal, and lights, is not more than thirty (30) percent of the households gross annual income. Affordable housing units shall be subject to covenants or restrictions that preserve the above affordability requirements defined above perpetually (for a minimum period of 99 years from the date of first sale or lease).
AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT: A housing development in which at least 20% of the units are AFFORDABLE HOUSING units.
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