What the hell was I thinking! A tale of land development and our 1st rodeo in such.

[Homer Dokes]

I have some video to upload. What is the desired method for posting it in here?

 

[CM1995]

It was a requirement during the engineering phase to have the bylaws of the HOA already in place and submitted for approval by the county.

Required due to the maintenance of the detention pond and other common areas?

 

[Homer Dokes]

Here are some pics.

The first is a view from the north east corner of the property looking south.

The second is a view from the north west looking east.

The 3rd is taken from the north east corner looking at the north west corner

The 4th is the north west corner looking south along the west boarder

The 5th is looking from the south to the north east. The utility lines you see are on our property. There is a natural gas line (large one) on the same easement. The easement comprises 2 acres which we were required to purchase with the property. We can't build anything on this easement. Considering a walking path which we can do.

The tree line you see in the center is a winding creek that runs from the north west side of the property to the center south. It is wet when it rains. If it rains like a busted elephants bladder it will run for several weeks given no additional rain. It is like the snake river... just the put put golf version. It is 2 feet to 6 feet wide and 2 to 3 feet deep however water for the most part is just covering the floor when it is flowing.

These are before we started pushing any dirt.

Hope to have latest aerial pics tomorrow evening.

 

[Homer Dokes]

Required due to the maintenance of the detention pond and other common areas?

No, required because it is a subdivision. The pond played no part in it. We were not given an option. Were told our plans wouldn't fly without it.

 

[Homer Dokes]

How many yards of dirt to move and how far?

Wanted to let you know that the engineer has tagged 15,000 cubic yards need to be moved. Essentially from one end of the property to the other. The north side is the high side with the south side being the low.

There is another 16,000 cubic yards that will come from the retention pond and also moved to the south side.

The engineer has made dirt over/under essentially neutral.

 

[Welder Dave]

30,000+ yards? That's a whole lot of dirt to rely on 50 year old machines to move. Sounds like a good job for a scraper or two. They are the most efficient way to bulk out material.

 

[chidog]

Quick job with the right machine/ s and operator / s. The only slow down is for compaction.
Newer machines bit more efficient, but remember it takes X amount of diesel to move X amount of dirt.

Just curious about what do you think moving all that dirt will cost you, please include the special purchased machines as well. Rough estimate of fuel and operators etc. You can rough calculate blade loads etc.

 

[Welder Dave]

Even if the machines run good the operator(s) makes a huge difference. If they are inexperienced and/or haven't worked on large scale lot development will take a lot longer and cost a lot more. Even running a skid steer an experienced operator will do a better job a lot faster than someone with little experience.

 

[aighead]

I have some video to upload. What is the desired method for posting it in here?

YouTube is usually the method.

I mean no disrespect to your project, but I'd be bummed if I lived in one of the houses on the left side of your first picture. Granted, you don't own the sites, sounds, smells beyond your own property lines it'd still be a tough pill to swallow. A big fat berm with maybe a heavy row of big arborvitae on top of it may help both them and your dwellings enjoy the sense of tree'd surroundings the other sides of your property has.

Also, have you seen big rain on your creek? I only ask because my creek, also farm runoff, though not as big as what yours is, will flood about 2 acres of my back yard very quickly, to 6-10 inches deep. Without being able to see the terrain I can't tell if that'd be an issue or not, but it's worth considering.

 

[cfherrman]

Lots of people won't buy with any HOA involved

 

[Welder Dave]

I'll be the Devil's advocate here. You can't stop new development especially in rural area's where there are existing subdivisions with multiple residences. Most counties will have limits on how many or the size of lots you can create.

It reminds me of when I applied to subdivide 10 acres back in 2004. Other owners in the subdivision had already been allowed to subdivide their parcels (10-20 acre lots) as long as the minimum lot size was approx. 2 1/2 acres. The neighbor South of me subdivided their lot into two 5 acre parcels. The last people to move into the subdivision bought the 5 acre parcel beside my 10 acres. When I applied to subdivide into 3 parcels they opposed it. They were quite wealthy and somehow figured it gave them more power. At the county meeting to formally explain my plans the woman actually questioned; How many more times is the county going to allow further subdividing in the subdivision? She was a real piece of work! Figured the subdivision shouldn't have any more lots after they bought theirs. The only reason they could buy their lot was because my neighbor subdivided their 10 acre lot. They also got the lot for a lot less than it was actually worth. Talk about an entitled beatch!

She's the one I was really close to reporting for child endangerment because she was bombing around the property full speed on a new zero turn mower while holding a kid about 3 or 4 years old with one arm. Cringe is an understatement! If my dad would have still been alive I know he would have done something. He knew better than anyone how dangerous riding mowers can be if you're not paying 100% attention to what you're doing, especially a zero turn that requires 2 hands to operate.

 

[CM1995]

No, required because it is a subdivision. The pond played no part in it. We were not given an option. Were told our plans wouldn't fly without it.

Here it’s normal for gov’t to require an HOA for common areas maintenance such as ponds and other drainage infrastructure. They want no part of the cost to maintain and an HOA has the legal ability to lien owners when work is required.

 

[Welder Dave]

I think the pond is the same idea as when a large parcel of land is turned into an acreage subdivision here. There has to be a seperate "reserve" land parcel that can't be one of the lots. Generally it's for recreational use. Kind of like architectural requirements for certain houses where you have to have a certain number and type of tree's and landscaping. It's a bunch of BS most of the time. If you don't want a tree in your front yard you have find somewhere else to live.

 

[chidog]

No equipment person will want anything to do with another sub government, HOA.
Its like property taxes, you toss your $ thinking you own something and you really don't.
Anyone that buys a place with an HOA deserves what comes to them.
Ponds ? Many times they were a temporary deal and covered over after the project was done, seen that a few times.

 

[Homer Dokes]

30,000+ yards? That's a whole lot of dirt to rely on 50 year old machines to move. Sounds like a good job for a scraper or two. They are the most efficient way to bulk out material.

Hi Dave. Agreed. I have purchased an IH412 and it has been a work horse thus far. It is currently scraping the new road on the east side and moving material from the high spots to the low spots. I had hoped to get recent aerial picks but have to wait till morning. Had an unusual high spot on the south end and found it to be sand... a huge pile of sand. The scraper is having a hard time picking it up. Just falls right out.

 

[Homer Dokes]

Just a reminder to all. I make no bones about the fact that this is my first subdivision civil infrastructure development. I have a crew of 3 and I am the only one that has heavy equipment experience. Still.... even my skills are not near what a good experienced operator is... however... you all started somewhere... this is our start. All comments are appreciated but suggestions that I 'can't' do something because I don't have the 'right' equipment or operator has little productive affect. I have interviewed supposedly 'experienced' operators but can't get passed the back ground check. All have had rap sheets a mile long. I can get past a lot but I can't get passed felonies for theft which all interviewees have had. It's not that I can't use them... I know I can and given I have another dozer coming I will need another operator. It would be ideal to have a seasoned operator for numerous reasons. My point... I'm working with what I have to work with and what resources (or lack there of) allow me to. Does it mean it will take longer?.... I'm not only certain of it... I know it to be the case. But we will prevail.

 

[Homer Dokes]

I mean no disrespect to your project, but I'd be bummed if I lived in one of the houses on the left side of your first picture. Granted, you don't own the sites, sounds, smells beyond your own property lines it'd still be a tough pill to swallow. A big fat berm with maybe a heavy row of big arborvitae on top of it may help both them and your dwellings enjoy the sense of tree'd surroundings the other sides of your property has.

None taken. As you can see 3 of 4 sides have trees. We will indeed put some kind of berm and/or vegetation. That subdivision you are referring to has given us the most grief.

 

[Homer Dokes]

Yesterday I struck water. I've been working on the retention pond. I have several concerns. The first is the creek is two feet deep. It is not running now but did two weeks ago when we had 3 days of rain. It quickly dried up again however. The area I have been dozing however is still at least a foot above the base of the creek and I have standing water now. I ultimately have to go 5 feet below the base of the creek. On the high end of the pond (North end)... the clay I am having to remove is dried out and very hard. I have to come down as much as 18 feet to get to the base of the pond at that point. The blade skims over the top of the clay and leaves a mirror finish... well almost. I have the blade tilted to allow cutting from one edge over the other but it is having little effect. This, in part, is why I am going after the dozer with the ripper. These pics were taken three days ago before hitting water and tilting the blade.

Considering using sprinklers at the top and allowing water to run down to soften the ground as the dozer had cut very well during the 1st and 2nd day after the rain.

 

[Homer Dokes]

Also, have you seen big rain on your creek? I only ask because my creek, also farm runoff, though not as big as what yours is, will flood about 2 acres of my back yard very quickly, to 6-10 inches deep. Without being able to see the terrain I can't tell if that'd be an issue or not, but it's worth considering.

I have not yet seen a monsoon of a rain and we are certainly capable of getting them. Having said that, while there is evidence of bank erosion there hasn't been any evidence of rise above the ground surface.... knock on wood. In the three years I have been dealing with this property I haven't seen the creek any fuller than 1/4 of it's capacity.

 

[Welder Dave]

Are there any farmers near you? Thinking a HD chisel plow or even a heavy disc might loosen up your ground and wouldn't take too long. A subsoiler is another option. I know when I've dug with the backhoe once you get past the hard top layer the ground is much easier to dig. If you had aux. hydraulics maybe you could rent a heavy disc to pull with a dozer.