The Death of Small Homesteads is Coming!
I was talking to one of my friends recently about activities here in the Paint Lick Area. They have put in a new sewer system and they are considering extending it out to and past College Hill Farm. Now having a sewer system would increase the property value of our property without a doubt. No longer would you have to have a big enough piece of property to construct a septic system. Thus you could section our property off into ¼ acre lots and sell each lot at a considerable price as a building lot. Or construct houses or set mobile homes and do the same. I know the kids will probably not adopt this lifestyle and would probably sell this property when we are gone and this would increase the value for them. But, I don’t know.
Crystal and I had basic criteria when we moved to this homestead. We wanted to be in proximity to a decent size hospital – we are getting older. We wanted to be within 30 minutes of a city of larger than 18,000 so we could get services, we have always lived 3 hours away from such services in the past. We wanted to be within 1 hour to an airport, haven’t flown in a long time but have family in other parts of the country that we may need to get too quick. Finally, no zoning such that you could do what you wanted on your own property. There are some statewide requirements that all people have to meet but not the county efforts to tell you what you could or couldn’t do on your property. Also, we wanted nothing to do with an HMO.
Now, that being said there are some drawbacks to living in a rural community. The truth is that rural communities tend to have poverty. It is just the nature of living rural. In living rural, the number of jobs available are limited and what they pay for a comparable job in the city is less. But, generally the cost of living is less. When we lived in Harlan County there was no zoning and a high poverty rate. So you would see a nice brick ranch house constructed next door to a 4 room tar paper shack. If you are going be worried about what your neighbors are doing you probably would not enjoy living rurally. If you want services like 5g and 1 gb internet speeds then rural living is probably not for you either. We have no cable tv or curbside garbage service.
We moved to Garrard County Kentucky. There is no zoning in the county. We have about 15,000 people in the county and there was not a major grocery store in the county when we moved here. There is no Walmart, nor Lowes. We have a few restaurants, a hardware store, gas stations, Family Dollar and Dollar General, a couple of banks, a few little clinics, and some other various mom and pop shops. From us the county seat of Lancaster, where all this stuff is located, is about 13 miles away. However, we are on the border of Madison County. Madison County has all the stuff we needed Hospitals, cities, no commercial airport. Richmond is the county seat a town of about 38,000 people and then Berea is a town of about 8000 people. They are 15 minutes and 10 minutes away respectively. But, Madison County is zoned. Finally, the airport requirement was met since we are about 1 hour from the airport in Lexington Ky. Lexington, a town of about 350,000, also has major hospitals like the University of Kentucky Medical Center within an hour from us.
So, we get all the benefits of an unzoned community but can obtain within a short distance all the services of a Major City. It really was the perfect match for us. We looked at all sorts of rural property when we moved here and not many places matched the benefits of Garrard County. We are close enough such that our kids can obtain work as commuters to more populated areas but far enough away that everyone is not in our business. If I want to raise some pigs no one has anything to say. If I want to have chickens no one can complain about my rooster at 5 am. That doesn’t mean that I am inconsiderate of my neighbors. I would never put our hog lot close to their house or property line. That would just be inconsiderate. Same goes for all livestock. People very close to us have goats, chickens, pigs, and cattle. To have that in a zoned county your property would have to be zoned agricultural. Most agricultural property has to be 10 continuous acres or more in zoned areas.
Thus, the 2 acre homestead would be dead. I know plenty of people don’t pay attention to the zoning and have animals anyway. But, if your neighbors complain – and let me tell you the Karen’s of the world will complain, you will have to get rid of your animals. Some people would say this younger generation complains about everything. Every Karen I have come in contact with are white, female, upper middle class and over 45. It is our generation not the younger generation. It is our generation that decided to go to the zoning stuff. These are affluent people seeking to separate themselves from less affluent people, with their gated communities and private schools. I get it. They are not trying to be bad but hang onto the stuff they have worked hard for.
So unless rural people fight to keep their rural communities and keep zoning at bay the days of the small homestead are limited. The people advocating for zoning are not your enemies. They are people with good intentions that do not see the ramifications on other people. I say that they lack empathy for anything they have not experienced themselves. So when zoning eventually raises its head here in our county, and inevitably it will, I will be right there at our county judge’s office and fiscal court meetings to oppose it. I hope the other rural homesteaders will too. But, the ballot box may be the only thing they hear. That is why it is important for rural people to vote. I don’t care what party you are from, no national party has rural people in their interest. It is only the local folks that you can actually have sway over. Unless you have a $100,000 donation your congressman or senator has no time for you nor cares what you say. The last senate election in Kentucky – A minor state – dropped $100,000,000 in advertising. No rural community I know can influence that. So you have to influence your local magistrates and city councilmen and other county officials to stand up to zoning. I consider it to be a basic loss of freedom in our communities.
I hope this finds you well. When you get a chance send up a prayer for us and we will send one up for you. Fight the good fight, run the fair race, stand for what is right, and I am sure you will be talked about badly for doing it. Do it anyway. But, always remember that Life, Like Homesteading is a Marathon NOT a Sprint – Slow Down and Enjoy the Ride.
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Had a friend who ran one of the last remaining dairies in my county. He had a neighbor move down from a northern state. Neighbor called epa on him. They said his manure handling wasn’t up to par as they found traces of cow manure in the branch below his farm. Had it been beef cattle, manure didn’t matter. So they told him he could either install a manure handling rig that would costed him 70k at the time. So he got out of dairy and turned it into a hog farm. I can only imagine that neighbor probably wished they kept their mouth shut. God bless
ReplyDeleteGood example of karma right there.
DeleteJoel, your location sounds a whole heck of a lot like ours. Ours is a smaller community, a whopping 35 people, and no businesses of any kind. But it’s home and where I grew up, and I’ve got pretty deep roots here.
ReplyDeleteWe are not zoned, which I have always fought for property rights and whose business is it anyway what you do with your own place, right? Well, that mindset came back to haunt us. A mega corporation moved in, and built 600 foot tall industrial wind turbines all around us. We don’t have that much wind more than anywhere else, but what was attractive to them was the unzoned land. No hoops, no red tape, just build and get that subsidy. It really divided our little community into opposed sides and it will never be the same.
We now battle a low frequency barrage constantly, the infernal shadow flicker like living inside a strobe light, and the blades have completely disrupted the TV signals now that it’s been mandated to be “digital”. It’s horrible. Since they put them up, our beloved purple Martin colony who have been regulars since the early 1980’s failed to return.
Yes, zoning is bad. But don’t rely on your neighbors sense of community and mutual respect when there is money involved. I think a common sense approach would be best, but as they say, common sense ain’t too common.
Those monstrous tax credit generators… err I mean wind energy generators and their $10k a year lease could have saved many a small family farm around here. But as things usually are, the mega farmers who already are gobbling up the small acreages got the line share of them. Our largest local landowner got 13 of them, at $10k a piece that’s a pretty nice passive income. Oh! Pay no attention that he also was the chair of the county commission that welcomed them in without public input. ($$$$)
So my opinions on zoning have evolved.
They are gobbling up the small farms. Housing developments going up everywhere. I agree common sense ain't too common.
Delete