Good evening all! 

I am being gifted some acreage out in Whatcom county WA that is currently zoned as open space / dairy, and want to keep it for that use (it is a field that gets hayed) and build a home on in.  I see many land owners around me have their land as open space / ranches, and ones who have bought property and built on it are now zoned as residential.  Does anyone know what I need to do to keep the land as open space?  (I plan on developing < 10% of it).

Thank you!

I suspect at issue here is that CountryPlans type plans are generally used out in the country away from city planning departments or as a starting point for a build.  Yes they lay out the build and you can build a cabin or small home with them (I built a cabin) but as someone who used to build condo's etc some 30 years ago, they aren't a full set of engineered drawings that might be required by a largely populated city or county (or one near larger populations) where building requirements are considerably more strict.

I'm sorry you are running into this, it's unfortunate really as the engineering costs sound like a considerable sum frankly, but that's what happens in some areas.  Sometimes permitting costs as much as framing and in my opinion (which isn't worth a whole lot) is criminal.

I get why they do it, but I don't agree with it.

Here is a response I got from countryplans.com:

Just looked over the plans for you. Looks like the calculations on the plans (and in the booklet) themselves are all we have for those. There are some header load calculations for instance, in the plans. That's very normal with plans of this type. You'll likely want to work with a local engineer who's familiar with your local codes and conditions, so that they can ensure that everything is up to all of the local standards and requirements.  
CountryPlans Team

I am inquiring with an engineer to get a price for engineering calculations for the 20' by 34' cottage. I will post to let you know what happens.

Finally after all these years I am working on a console for my solar power and car stereo.  I'm not a cabinet maker by any stretch but I think this will turn out fine for my uses

Once the glue dries I'll give it a light sanding and stain it and with luck, maybe even get some varathane on it before we head to the cabin with it Friday.  Otherwise I'll have to leave it as is (stained anyway).   

The open space below is for fire starting stuff (papers, dryer lint, tools etc).  The top will just be a place to set things.

Great!  Hope it works out well for you!

Quote from: OlJarhead on February 07, 2024, 11:16:12 AMWhat I meant was that insurance would pay for someone else to build a new one

My sisters home burned down and they rebuilt it for her.  It was a very old home too but in the end she basically got a new home.

Well, I got enough that, added to my savings allowed me to buy a house in Florida. Fortunately, the new (to us) didn't need a lot of repairs. We painted it inside and out, plus the fact it had a large extra garage was a plus. 

What I meant was that insurance would pay for someone else to build a new one

My sisters home burned down and they rebuilt it for her.  It was a very old home too but in the end she basically got a new home.

Very sorry to see the fire damage. However, I am happy that you weren't there as you could have been injured.  I know what you mean by not wanting to build another. I'm 78 and don't mind remodeling or repairs but I am not sure I would want to build from scratch again.

Quote from: OlJarhead on February 05, 2024, 09:37:52 AMWow!  So sorry to hear!  Hopefully Insurance will build you a new one?

Not near enough. Remember, materials were a whole lot cheaper back when we started. Plus... not sure wife and I could do it all again without having to hire help ($$$$). I'm now 75 and don't really want to go climbing ladders and such.