Some developers are swine.

[ultrarunner]

We're going to look for a lawyer that has a track record of fighting and winning cases against developers.

My one and only HOA decided to fight a development of 9 homes on 21 acres… 9 years later the HOA won and the city park district now owns the property…

The downside is 400 homeowners paid special assessments in the thousands of dollars to win…

The HOA could have bought the property and it would have come out ahead… many of the most vocal leading the fight moved or passed away by the time victory was declared 9 years later.

Lawyers were the real winners.

 

[ultrarunner]

For someone estate planning with property, there could also be an option to Sell it to a conservation group, while keeping a life hold lease on the property. They sell get the cash, and stay on the house/property until they die. They dont own it anymore, cause the sold it, but they own a life hold lease. The heirs get any cash left in the estate; or the estate spends it all in their final years; doesn't matter.

This happens a lot in coastal California redwood areas…

Know several that sold with life estates… within 30 days of passing no trace of the home or improvements could be found… just about every trace removed…

Eminent domain has in part been replaced by life estate course as politically more palatable…

 

[paulsharvey]

I’m in the works with a much smaller development on 3.7 acres. The city required engineer stamped plans to comply with state regulations. The high points include sewer drawings, storm water runoff and detention pond plans, a road thats at minimum 20 ft wide with an 80 ft turn around for fire trucks and a fire hydrant 500 ft from the farthest house. Judging by the size of the project and the fact they mentioned retention ponds I’m sure the OPs developer already has engineers involved.

That's realistically around $20,000 for the civil plans, storm water plans, run the required storm events, traffic study, ect; and you haven't even gotten to the actually construction phase... Have gotten an earful from a guy that spent right at $70,000 for engineering, construction, and permitting of the storm ponds for his 1200 sq ft fast food place. Thats not building, thats not the basic parking lot, ect.

 

[4570Man]

That's realistically around $20,000 for the civil plans, storm water plans, run the required storm events, traffic study, ect; and you haven't even gotten to the actually construction phase... Have gotten an earful from a guy that spent right at $70,000 for engineering, construction, and permitting of the storm ponds for his 1200 sq ft fast food place. Thats not building, thats not the basic parking lot, ect.

My engineer was cheaper than that although he did delay the project by almost 2 years. I’m using city water and city sewer so we didn’t have wells or septic to complicate the process. I didn’t have to do a traffic study either. I ultimately had plans for 12 buildings but I reduced the permits down to 4 mostly to simplify erosion permits.

 

[paulsharvey]

Im not saying it Is the case, but it is also possible the original owner told the OP something to keep a nosy neighbor out of his/her personal fiancé, and had no intention in doing that. Is it a lie, sure, but it shuts up a nosy neighbor.

 

[paulsharvey]

Another thing to think of; Ag doesn't mean 62 acres of corn. It could easily be hog or chicken houses, rural event venue under agri tourism, packing house, seed and fertilizer dealer, heavy equipment mechanic, you pick apples/grapes/berries, ect.

Agricultural tourism/agri rural venues are keeping many farms from going under. Stuff like corn mazes, farm themed weddings, company banquets, ect. Remember Luke Bryan's Farm tour, i know members of one of family's that they used their farm; yeah, probably 18,000 people go to the concert, but the farm also brought in a years income off of a 3 week disruption. Mud bogs, and RV parks too, or heck, primitive camping.

 

[paulsharvey]

My engineer was cheaper than that although he did delay the project by almost 2 years. I’m using city water and city sewer so we didn’t have wells or septic to complicate the process. I didn’t have to do a traffic study either. I ultimately had plans for 12 buildings but I reduced the permits down to 4 mostly to simplify erosion permits.

I doubt you are making as much as the haters assume, when its all said and done. Yep, I hope you do well off of it, but that 3.7 acres isnt a $10m payday.

If you dont mind, did you end up with the boat and rv storage yard concept, or something else?

 

[4570Man]

I doubt you are making as much as the haters assume, when its all said and done. Yep, I hope you do well off of it, but that 3.7 acres isnt a $10m payday.

If you dont mind, did you end up with the boat and rv storage yard concept, or something else?

Duplexes. I wouldn’t use one of the few buildings lots left with sewer to build storage buildings.

 

[paulsharvey]

Duplexes. I wouldn’t use one of the few buildings lots left with sewer to build storage buildings. View attachment 4222359

Must have been someone else, had a rural property, across the street from a small new subdivision, that was debating on what to do to take advantage of the new neighborhood change...

 

[sandman2234]

Yeah, but I wouldn't want Rivertown dropped next to me either...

Rivertown is quite the investment for someone! I moved away from there due to a neighbor, and ended up just north of the other one you mentioned. I am on the edge of Oakleaf on the southwest side of Jax. We have a large creek buffer of about 1000 acres alongside of us, but unfortunately there are two parcels of land between us and that buffer. Those could become a housing development. I have pretty much decided that if one goes up for sale (owner is 90 years old) I will offer this place up for sale with it and move across the street to our other house! (However, this house won't go cheap!) If they want both places, then I will let them have it, simply because if they plan on buying both of the available ones, they can have both of mine!
David from jax

 

[paulsharvey]

Rivertown is quite the investment for someone! I moved away from there due to a neighbor, and ended up just north of the other one you mentioned. I am on the edge of Oakleaf on the southwest side of Jax. We have a large creek buffer of about 1000 acres alongside of us, but unfortunately there are two parcels of land between us and that buffer. Those could become a housing development. I have pretty much decided that if one goes up for sale (owner is 90 years old) I will offer this place up for sale with it and move across the street to our other house! (However, this house won't go cheap!) If they want both places, then I will let them have it, simply because if they plan on buying both of the available ones, they can have both of mine!
David from jax

Governors Park, just south of Greencove Springs is going to be another monster. Wildfire, Wildlight, wild whatever in Yulee.

But these are Thousands of homes, not 72. Also, although NOT for me; they arent the subdivisions of 1970s. They generally shape the roads, landscaping, storm water ponds, to seem less "man made". They also nearly always have landscape buffers to kinda hide them from their neighbors and roadways.

 

[paulsharvey]

There actually is a very nice state park there in the back of Oakleaf. Brananfield Wildlife Preserve or something. If you look at an aerial, there really is a large amount of undisturbed woods even within Oakleaf. I will also freely admit, that's likely not by Choice, that's wetlands, tree mitigation, ect.

Another important point, say Oakleaf, its 30,000 people on 6000 acres. Would you rather that, or as someone suggested, 5 acres per home= 150,000 acres to house the same population.

 

[threepiece]

You have no right to control what was once your property from beyond the grave.

I guess the parents paid in some way to have the covenant in place. Is it not reasonable to expect one to get what they paid for? One pays for a cemetery plot for when they pass. Is it okay to toss their ashes in the river?

 

[paulsharvey]

I guess the parents paid in some way to have the covenant in place. Is it not reasonable to expect one to get what they paid for? One pays for a cemetery plot for when they pass. Is it okay to toss their ashes in the river?

Probably just the opposite; generally, you get paid to reduce your land value.

We dont and never will likely have the full story. We dont know the dead folks did add restrictions or what type. If they did, what type, and how was it worded, did it have a sunset clause? Was it a conservative easement, some zoning thing, verbal agreement, or nothing at all. With that, we also dont know what the dead folks wanted, just what they told some random guy down the road.

 

[sandman2234]

Brannon Field was an OLF (out laying field) named after the Brannon family that owned the land that the government took over for the war effort. it was built over by urban sprawl in early 2002. There are no traces of the actual airfield that I am aware of. Now that is a shame because Brannon Field was where the training began for what is now known as The Blue Angels. Cecil Field was north of Brannon Field.
The toll road going down thru Cecil Field property was always known by locals as Brannon Field Road. I think they have renamed it something else, but it is still called Brannon Field road. Most of the property that resides in Oakleaf was originally either Cecil or Brannon Field property. Cecil while located south of 103rd street actually went all the way to I-10 with a little portion of it going as far as the railroad tracks that parallel Beaver Street (US 90).
When the base was closed, it opened up a huge piece of property for Jacksonville to develope, either in commercial or residential use. Where the houses are built, they are usually 6 or 7 to the acre.
David from jax
On edit...
Spencer Bombing range, located about a mile south of Brannon Field is now the site for Kindlewood Housing Developement, or at least very close to it. There is some land to the north of Kindlewood that hasn't been developed yet. The Corp of Engineers (i think) has to release the property after they do a study to confirm that it is safe (no old bombs laying around)
David

 

[ultrarunner]

Probably just the opposite; generally, you get paid to reduce your land value.

We dont and never will likely have the full story. We dont know the dead folks did add restrictions or what type. If they did, what type, and how was it worded, did it have a sunset clause? Was it a conservative easement, some zoning thing, verbal agreement, or nothing at all. With that, we also dont know what the dead folks wanted, just what they told some random guy down the road.

Deed restrictions should be public record…

 

[paulsharvey]

Deed restrictions should be public record…

Deed restrictions are something else... they can be a real problem, as they can have some really odd wording, but often Noone to enforce them. Stuff like "no Italians or other non whites"; the no manufactured homes thing (seems simple, but does include modular, or manufactured on a foundation, ect), square footage, these aren't actually zoning requirements, they arent building codes, some are actually illegal, and once the entity that wrote them is gone (often a sunsetted HOA), they still are restrictions, but Noone really has the ability to enforce.

Example, last house was in an HOA when we bought it, but after several law suits, FDLE investigation, ect it was deemed illegally reincorporated. So, judge says if is dissolved. Ok; but deeds included stuff only New manufactured homes are allowed (as in no used ones; not only manufactured), skirting requirements, thats each property allowed utilities to be placed on front and side 10 ft, ect. So, yeah, phone line was about 14 fr on our property (I hit it placing a fence post), phone company did not record an easement (doesn't mean they dont have an unrecorded one), but what about the next phone company?

 

[lman]

Our County allowed an old Mobile Home Park to transition to homes made from Semi Containers. The swine developer was required to put these units out of sight so at least they aren't visible from the road unless somebody left the gate open. I guess when you stack one container on top you have a double high instead of double wide. There were some major objections from the neighbors but they lost.

 

[Jstpssng]

Deed restrictions should be public record…

I believe that they are. They should be part of any deed.

 

[paulsharvey]

Our County allowed an old Mobile Home Park to transition to homes made from Semi Containers. The swine developer was required to put these units out of sight so at least they aren't visible from the road unless somebody left the gate open. I guess when you stack one container on top you have a double high instead of double wide. There were some major objections from the neighbors but they lost.

We have a local town that doesn't allow manufactered homes in their city limits, which has hurt their growth, but the county has no issue. County has had real problems with some of the tiny home things, that dont really meet the definition of a livable space; the semi permanent yurt tent things on a platform, and the bardominium things, shed to tiny home, ect. Basically, to be livable, you do need to meet certain requirements, such as power, water, sewer, hot water, heat, insulation, tie downs, wind ratings, ect.

The barndo thing is mostly, it looks like mixed light industrial; not residential. 1200 sq ft of conditioned space, bathrooms, ect and then 4000 sq ft of unconditioned, open storage. They see that, and it throws up red flags; is this a light manufacturing facility, maybe an auto shop, and offices? As would something like a 12 bed/12 bath, with 12 exterior doors. They do look at that stuff, and say "hmm, thats not a house, thats an apartment building"