Juniper Woods Ranch Ashfork AZ (Prescott: homes, neighborhood, buy)

[backwoodswoman]

We, too, have been looking at a parcel of land we're interested in buying at Juniperwoods. We've lived off-grid in another state for over 10 years, with a solar power set-up my husband built, and we also have hauled water all these years. we live quite a few miles from town on bad roads, and we built our own home. So Juniperwoods seems like a good fit. (It's too cold and snowy where we live now. Ash Fork is not the wonderland of warm winters, but it's a whole lot better than where we live now in Montana!)

Do I get this right, from the previous posts.... we would need an approved septic before we could even put a SHED on the land? What about things like a composting toilet?

How long can a person stay in an RV on their land out there? Someone told me we'd need a permit to have the camper there long term, and that doesn't bother me. Would the portable dump tank (blue tank on wheels) be considered an adequate waste system? Where would a person have to take it to dump it? Can we re-use the gray water on the property?

I've also heard of some kind of road fee a landowner has to pay, something in the area of $2,500 to $3,500. Is this true? And is it a one-time fee when you buy land, or when you move on to your land, or annually?

In the long-term we hoped to build an energy-efficient house such as earth-sheltered. But I'm not sure we'll be able to afford all the other fees and permits and such. How much is a typical permit to build a house?

[rambrush]

I just want to make sure you have seen the posts advising to go look at your parcel prior to purchase as some may look great during the dry season.
I have been back in there after a storm and some roads turn into a river and lots into a lake. so access during all times is a good thing. So keep that in mind.

Similar situation we have in Montana our place does not have year around access due to heavy snowfall

[backwoodswoman]

Originally Posted by rambrush

I just want to make sure you have seen the posts advising to go look at your parcel prior to purchase as some may look great during the dry season.
I have been back in there after a storm and some roads turn into a river and lots into a lake. so access during all times is a good thing. So keep that in mind.

Similar situation we have in Montana our place does not have year around access due to heavy snowfall

Yep, same here, we're 3 miles up a dirt 'goat trail' with steep grades and curves, and heavy snowfall in winter. No bare ground for almost 6 months and the road turns to ice. (Lincoln county)

We wouldn't buy without going to the lot in person, which we'll be going to look at next month. We have friends down there that went and did a walk-over and took a ton of pictures and gave us their opinion....and they turned up a trailer and porch/carport roof on the property. It's been empty a while but there's no permit for it. The county records show it as vacant land, and taxed as such. The seller seems to be genuinely surprised and distressed. He bought it sight-unseen a few months ago and changed his mind and is trying to sell it. Now we don't know what to do about the trailer. It's about a 25' bumper-pull camper and our friends say it seems to be rodent-infested (no doubt!). We wouldn't want to live in it but would be interested in cleaning it out and bleaching it, and using it for storage. But...there's that deal with it not being permitted.

I know there's a lot of people out there who don't take permits seriously and that's their business. But I keep seeing news articles and stuff online about how Yavapai county is starting to crack down on unpermitted buildings. We'd just as soon start off legal... at least until we become familiar enough with the area to know what we can fudge on and slip by them.... JUST KIDDING! From what I see, permits are cheap, like around $9 for a shed, so I'd just as soon pay for the permit and not be worrying if big brother will spot it on a satellite photo.

But what the heck do we do about this trailer that's been sitting there for "who knows how long" that a couple of owners ago, someone brought in and didn't get a permit for it?

Like I said, we won't even consider making an offer until we get down there to look at it, which will be some time next month.

Anyone have ideas? Advice? Information?

[rambrush]

We again had a similar situation at our place in Montana.
Previous owner ran away back to Texas, left food and nastiness inside trailer. There were mice in the ceiling and pretty much everywhere in the trailer. No title to trailer etc.

So we suited and masked up and used saws and such to make that manageable to get things down 8 miles of logging road. We actually made money because the skin was aluminum so we hauled loads down into Butte recycler. We kept the rolling frame around as we thought it would make a great foundation for a walkway across the year around creek.
Little did we realize we would need that rolling frame to haul our logs for the log cabin we built. Semi's could not make it back to our place so loads were dropped down at main road.

So many options to be had and one might be that you will require a water hauler trailer, flip the axles for clearance shorten the frame possibly and good to go to town for water. Does depend on if the area requires a plate on a water trailer.
Here in Kingman a lot of those rolling without plates.

[backwoodswoman]

Those are good options for using the trailer, but what about the permitting issue? I doubt it was a problem in Montana. We have an old mobile home frame in the weeds on an old skid trail on the other end of our property. When we moved on here we tore it apart and burned what we could, then hauled off the rest. It was a packrat haven! But no permits were required.

From what I hear, the one there at Juniperwoods, having been put there and left there with no permit, could be an issue. Someone else said we'd need a permit just to dismantle and remove it. Of course, plenty of other people have told us just to do it and not tell the county.

Permits are cheap, I'm not worried about that part of it. We just aren't sure how to get straight with the county and kind of hope that the person who owns the land right now doesn't get in trouble. He's an older guy who bought it in July and didn't go look at the land. Then put it on craigslist, still unseen. Yeah, kind of dumb, but I hate to see him get hassled or fined over it.

There doesn't seem to be a clear list anywhere of "you pay this, then you pay this, and you get a permit for this," and so on, in order of what to do if we buy the land and move on to it. I've never lived anywhere that needed so many permits for everything. Up here in NW Montana we were able to build out-buildings and an addition to our cabin and all kinds of things without a permit or inspection. The only time government people have even come out to our land is the county assessor doing his thing for our property taxes.

We've been hauling water for the last 11 years. Wells in our area run $15,000 to $20,000. Off-grid because power would cost $27,000 and we have a complete and adequate solar set-up for under $10,000. So living at Juniperwoods would be a piece of cake for us. Even the roads don't scare us after what we live on up here. We've been wintering (boon-docking) down in Arizona and southern Nevada since 2010, so somewhat familiar with the terrain. We do a lot of hiking, bicycling, and kayaking (Kayaking on Lake Mead when it gets too hot down in Arizona and we start working our way north).

[backwoodswoman]

For anyone interested in Juniperwoods or Ash Fork, or even Yavapai County, here's the email we got back from the county regarding that un-permitted trailer on the land we were looking at and considering buying:

"We have done research on APN 302-XX-XXX (edited out for this forum) and find no permits associated with this parcel. There does appear to be a structure in the north east corner of this parcel showing on the satellite imagery that you have indicated is an old mobile home with somewhat of a lean too built over or next to it. There is no way to know how long this structure has been in place and it is unpermitted. A mobile or manufactured home is not allowed to be used as a storage unit nor is an accessory use allowed prior to the establishment of the primary use of the property.

At this point, this office would only look at this property if we received a complaint or if the property owner came in to obtain permit(s) and revealed the existence of the structure. We would deal with any issues surrounding the structure at that time.

Kathy Houchin, Manager
Customer Service & Permitting"

So there ya go. I think we'll keep looking for land. We have no intention of trying to live in it, and it wouldn't be allowed to use it for storage or "accessory use", so it would have to be removed. And who knows what all that would entail. There's lots of land for sale. Too bad, though, because other than this issue, it's a pretty darn nice piece of property.

[azbuilder]

YAVAPAI COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING ORDINANCE

Page 105 -SECTION 571 RVs AND TRAVEL TRAILERS TEMPORARY CAMPING

A. Temporary occupancy of one (1) travel trailer or RV as defined in Section 301 (Definitions) on
a lot without a primary use must meet the following standards:
1. Lot size of two (2) acres or more.
2. Occupancy limited to ten (10) consecutive days.
3. Frequency may not exceed three (3) times per calendar year with a minimum of thirty
(30) day intervals between stays.
4. Occupancy limited to property owner. Rental is prohibited.
5. Travel trailer or RV must be serviced by an approved on-site wastewater system or be
fully self-contained.
6. Travel trailer or RV may not be connected to any utilities.
7. Unit must meet the same setbacks applicable to a primary residence.
8. Unit may only be stored on the lot during occupancy term. No storage of non-occupied
travel trailers or RVs is allowed.

Or a storage container without a prior ZONING CLEARANCE.

YAVAPAI COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING ORDINANCE
Page 103
13. The outside storage of steel storage containers is allowed as an accessory use, solely for
the storage of personal items owned by the property owner, occupant or business (in
appropriate commercially designated areas in the RMM or less restrictive Use Districts
provided as follows:
a. A Zoning Clearance is obtained prior to placement of the unit.
b. Containers shall meet the minimum yard requirements of the primary
structure in the applicable Density District as well as building separation and
lot coverage requirements.
c. All containers shall be painted and maintained either the primary structure
color or an earth tone consistent with the surrounding terrain prior to
placement.
d. Any electrical service to comply with applicable County Codes.
e. No residential unit to exceed eight feet by twenty feet (8’x20’).
f. Minimum residential use parcel size is two (2) acres.
g. Only one (1) unit per residential parcel.
Any unit not able to meet the foregoing performance criteria will require a Use Permit
prior to permitting and installation. Temporary uses of such containers (up to two (2)
years) can be administratively approved in conjunction with approved
construction/remodeling projects.
B. The outside storage of objects and materials shall be a permitted accessory use in Cl and C2
(general commercial) zones provided that:
1. All conditions of OUTSIDE STORAGE shall be met except that "on-site personal use"
shall be construed to include those uses incidental to the permitted commercial (as well
as personal) uses pertaining to the property.
2. All conditions of OUTSIDE STORAGE shall apply except that one (1) travel trailer,
motor home

or recreational vehicle may be hooked up to power, water, sewer or septic
facilities or otherwise made suitable for long term occupancy for the purposes of a
caretaker/watchman’s quarters only per parcel in a C1 or C2 zone without a Use Permit
approval or PAD for a travel trailer/recreational vehicle park for watchman/caretaker
purposes.
3. No merchandise shall be displayed or stored outside in a C1 or C2 zone except as
provided for vehicles in the C1 Use District or by Use Permit (Section 582).
Merchandise displayed temporarily during business hours only under the roof of an
attached porch or carport shall be considered inside display. Vending machines
permanently installed against but outside of a structure shall not be considered outside
display.
C. The outside storage of objects and materials shall be a permitted accessory use in C3 (heavy
commercial) zones as per Paragraphs B 1. and 2. above except that square footage limits and
setbacks shall be waived. Height limitations and screening requirements shall not be waived.
D. The outside storage of objects and materials shall be a permitted accessory use in Ml and M2
(industrial) zones, provided that screening is provided from non-industrially zoned properties
within two hundred feet (200’).
YAVAPAI COUNTY PLANNING AND ZONING ORDINANCE
Page 104
E. Outside storage not complying with this Subsection is hereby deemed a public nuisance and
shall not enjoy any rights to continuation, restoration, exchange of uses, or expansion as if a
lawful non-conforming use, and shall be abated.

[azbuilder]

So is this a correct interpretation of the regs ? Called the county and could not get a straight answer. They referred me to the document, but no direct answer. My thought was to use my fifth wheel on weekends while putting up fences and watching the seasons on the lot to determine the best house pad loc. There is an existing earth tone painted shipping container already on the lot from years ago that I would keep my basic tools and quad in. Idea was to park the fifth wheel next to it so I don't have to pull it up all the time from Cottonwood. Comments or thoughts ?

[6.7traveler]

I just recently moved out of yavapai county, california. I bought a 40 acre parcel off Williamson valley and tried to build on it. If you are hoping to build any kind of off grid house (strawbale, Adobe, earth bermed etc.) then good luck. After you pay an engineer to "certify" and stamp your off grid plans (for a pretty penny) you then have the privilege of paying $3400 for the "very nice" lady at the building department to mark up your plans and say they aren't good enough ( even though you paid to have a structural engineer draw them up). After you have completed the run around and bow down to the building department, you then have to meet the inspectors out by the main road and have them follow you back in as they can't even begin to find their way around the roads back there. Then they fail your footing inspection just because there is no porta potty on the job site. You call every porta potty company in a 100 mile radius but surprise no one rents porta potties out that far. When you finally get everything around, monsoon season starts. Some rains literally stopped my one ton 4x4 truck with mud tires in its tracks. Anyways beautiful area, but be fully aware if insane restrictions and permits for such a remote piece Of land. Also for anyone interested in juniper wood ranch, I would recommend the sections of sierra verde ranch off Williamson valley road. Some have well depths of 150+ feet out there which is unheard of in ash fork or juniper wood. A little more expensive but you get what you pay for. Good luck in your off grid adventures.

[azbuilder]

So, maybe I should give up the idea of building the house, but it sounds like I could only use the lot for a small amount of time each year by regs with my 5th wheel ?! BTW, last week I came upon a unmarked white truck parked along the road, so I stopped to see if he needed help. He was ok, but had a dash mounted computer and a stack of property lot aerial photo printouts. I then noticed a Gov plate. He said he was verifying structures for followup!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Where did you end up after moving? I know what you mean about CA, my daughter took 18 months to fight a fine for a dog house in her yard in CA.. The local county sent a citation by mail based o an aerial Photo. The said she had to pay and then she could fight it. This is a 5x5 dog house/play house. They said it was an illegal
cabin built in a yard. She had to pay to have an inspector show up to agree it was a dog house with a slide off of the top. She is suing to get back the fees.