This blog was prompted by the experience of trying to build and move into a house on five acres in Flamingo Heights, a small community north of Yucca Valley, in San Bernardino County, which is in southern California.
I understand the concept of the government adopting building codes and writing regulations to protect the citizens from unscrupulous contractors and other hazards, but it seems to me that the bureaucrats have become more of a hazard than the evils from which they are theoretically protecting us.
I am sharing this story in the hope that a few other people may avoid the traps that I stumbled into and save some of the money I wasted. Also, if enough people realize that the bureaucrats are totally out of control, maybe we can do something about it.
I am starting this Blog after about a year of dealing with the county, and will pre-populate it based on email exchanges and my memory, then continue in real time.
The initial topics are:
- A county ruling that requires a road dedication on 1/16th section lines, which in our case is on three sides of a five-acre parcel. Once you sign the dedication you can't block access to the easement, even if the county doesn't build a road.
- The conditions under which a fire sprinkler system is required, and the high cost due to restrictions on who can install it.
- The requirement in the new building code that almost all lighting in new construction be compact fluorescent (the kind with four pins on one end) even though there is relatively little in the way of fixtures for this kind of light and the bulb becomes hazardous waste.
- A proposed new county regulation requiring a connection to piped water before a building permit can be issued, and the enormous increase in cost to hook up to the local water system (increased from $2500 to $5000 in the past year).
I'm sure other topics will come to mind as I get into this.
Comments are welcome. For now they don't require membership and are not moderated. As long as spam and so on remain at low levels it will stay that way. If you have your own horror story that you would like to share on this blog, contact me and I will set up an Author account for you.
This is my first attempt at creating a blog, so if you have suggestions for improvement feel free to pass them along via the contact page.
Steve Lambert