ArizonaRanch

  Ranch Security – First Steps by admin on Jun.30, 2004, under Security When we were up for Memorial Day, 2004, we were getting A LOT of traffic using our private drive. Some was intentional, most was not. We hate to do it, but due to the erosion on our drive, we decided to place No Trespassing signs at the lower end . This won’t keep out those who don’t care, but will inform those that just don’t know this is private property .   Private Property Sign After just one summer of being wired to the fencepost near the end of the drive, the winds blew it around so much that it tore off the holes and fell to the ground. Our good neighbor up the hill patched up our sign as best as possible.   Old Sign When we arrived, we replaced the worn out sign with a new one. As we dug the new post hole, we discovered how much the recent rains had been helping. Two feet down, the ground was still moist. Very nice for this part of the country.   New Sign The spa...

  Laying the Septic Lines by admin on Jun.30, 2004, under Septic System Septic System Installation June 27 – 28, 2004 ——————————————————————————– The process comes to an end with the installation of the lines from the house sites, and the washroom site. The layout of the Septic Tank Lines was absolutely perfect to get this sewer line installation completed as fast as possible. All the strings are to work out the angles such that we could make all of the turns with 45 degree and 22.5 degree angles. These are the two most common angles available in building supply outlets.   Layout of the Septic Lines Digging We were fortunate to have a site with a natural 2% grade built in. For the most part, we simply dug all of the trenches at a constant depth of 18 inches, and let the natural grade supply the slope for us. The slope is very important for the septic installation process since we don’t want our sewage getting clogged once everything is built over it ....

  June at the Ranch by admin on Jun.10, 2004, under Seasons June Warm days & Cool Nights June is a great month to visit the ranch. Trees and bushes now have leaves, the stickers have not yet returned to the meadow, and the temperatures are mild. Wear long sleeves and pants, though… The gnats will drive you crazy this month. They go away after a few weeks, thankfully… Antelope June 5th, 2004. Afternoon. We were driving around Sierra Verde Ranch, doing some exploring when we came across these antelope about a mile from our place. It was in the 900 parcel number range. Please excuse the pixelation, as I didn’t have quite enough optical zoom on the camera…   Antelope Deer June 5th, 2004. Dusk. While taking an early evening walk, we ran across these deer crossing Gunner’s Mate Road, just East of our Ranch.   Deer at Dusk on Gunners Mate Road Processed Deer June 5th, 2004. Dusk. We applied a little digital magic to this photo, to better brin...

  Getting the LittleHouse Permit – Part 3 by admin on Jun.07, 2004, under LittleHouse Permits Page 7 Page 7 is used if your parcel is on a county road. Ours is not, so we didn’t need to fill it out.   Page 7 Page 8 Page 8 contains instructions for page 7.   Page 8 Amended by County Here is the plot plan, as amended by Yavapai County. They were wanting distances to the easements, rather than distances to the lot line. So Ace just penciled them in for us.   Ammended Permit Permit Issued Overall, our experience with the Yavapai County Development Services was very good. We arrived at 0830 and waited about 5 minutes for someone to take us back to Ace, our representative that walked us through the process. He was impressed with our clean drawings, and showed them to others in the office. After a short question and answer period, Ace signed off on our permit. Next, he walked it through Land Use. That went through with no questions asked. Finally,...

  Getting the LittleHouse Permit – Con’t by admin on Jun.07, 2004, under LittleHouse Permits Page 3 Page 3 is a checklist for the plot plan on page 2. There are a few things not checked on the septic part, because the land use specialist at the county said we didn’t need them, since our septic is already approved.   Page 3 of the Permit Packet Page 4 Page 4 is to provide a map to the parcel. The county requires a line type map, not just written directions.   Page 4 of the Permit Packet Map to Parcel Here is a little cleaner image of the map to the parcel.   Map to the Parcel Page 5 Page 5 is to calculate and document the outdoor lighting for the parcel. Yavapai County has a light pollution ordinance that must be adhered to.   Page 5 of the Permit Packet Page 6 Page 6 is to determine if you need to fill out forms for connecting to county roads. Since Juniper Valley Ranch is on a private road, we do not need to fill out the next page… ...

  Getting the LittleHouse Permit by admin on Jun.07, 2004, under LittleHouse Permits As of early June 2004, there are still two levels of permits for building. The less restrictive type is the Zoning Clearance, and requires no plan review, no building inspections, and small fees. The more restrictive is a normal building permit, with higher fees and inspections to insure you are building to code. The little house will be built on a Zoning Clearance, as it is still available for the rural areas of the county. Sometime this year (as early as July) all new permits will fall under the more restrictive building permits.   Lot Plan for the LittleHouse House Site We picked a location near the eastern edge of the property on the north side of the meadow for the house locations. The house sites are sheltered on the west, north, and east by trees. The hill on the north also protects from strong winter winds. There is a very nice view of the Black Mountain to t...