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wildwoodw
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# Posted: 26 Oct 2018 06:44pm
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We are looking at a piece of land off a seasonal road. The front of the property is not buildable because of a protected wetland. Thus we would like to build at the he back of the property. Although a small cabin <200square feet would not require a permit, we are told that there is a zoning requirement that any recreational occupancy set back more than 500feet requires a road that must meet 'fire equipment access' zoning laws. I see no discussion of such a thing on this forum, making me think no one here has ever been told this. I wonder if the town is getting this right??? Oswego county, nys. FYI: we are still waiting to hear back from the zoning officer on this. Anyone else run into this problem? The cost of building a fire access road would be out of question...would need to meet specs to handle a multi ton firetruck, with adequate clearance as well as build a turn around for the truck.
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ICC
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# Posted: 26 Oct 2018 08:11pm
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Emergency vehicle access requirements are not universal but not uncommon. Where I am there are minimum road widths, weight capacity rules, rules for turning radius and turn arounds, etc. All designed to ensure safe access for emergency services. Where I am all those rules and others are available on the county website. Yes, it can be costly but those are local government things.
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paulz
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# Posted: 26 Oct 2018 08:38pm
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In my local your abode must be within 300' at the furthermost wall from fire truck parking.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2018 09:28am
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Man they wouldn’t be happy with my location. I’m water bomber access only for fire protection
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Borrego
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2018 11:33am
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I built a house for a client in a remote area like that. the decided to permit the project (for value) so we had to create a 'Fire Road'...It wasn't all that bad...we just graded a dirt 'road' that met the requirements for width and had a 60' radius turnaround. Total cost was negligible.....maybe in your area it will be different, but in ours it was not a big deal. Of course being in the desert, there were no trees to deal with...if you have to take down a bunch of trees, I guess that could muck it up....
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wildwoodw
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2018 03:30pm - Edited by: wildwoodw
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Thanks for all the input. It may not be that bad. We definitely want access for emergency vehicles, but needing a 750,000lb fire truck access for one 12x12 building is a bit overkill. The terrain is very stony and naturally compacts hard. The thing is that this very small building doesn't even require a permit. But I guess zoning laws override that...
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ICC
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2018 04:55pm
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Are you 100% sure about not needing a permit? I've seen many places where the rules state no permit when there is an already existing home and also when the small building is not a habitable building. I've not built where you are but see that all over much of the west.
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rockies
Member
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2018 06:48pm
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Are you building the cabin with fire resistant materials? That may get you out of having to build the fire road.
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wildwoodw
Member
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2018 06:52pm
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Yes. No permit. However, the codes officer is not sure if the zoning restrictions will still apply if the structure does not require a permit (below 200sf, recreational only, non-permanent foundation, with no electric or water, and composting toilet). ....so anxiously waiting to here the answer, before we decide to buy the land. We mostly want to enjoy the forest and need a reliable, low upkeep place to get out of the weather and take a rest or occasionally stay overnight....simple.
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wildwoodw
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# Posted: 27 Oct 2018 07:42pm - Edited by: wildwoodw
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And another bewildering note, is that our lot of interest is off a seasonal road that is in poor condition and not accessible by anything but a snowmobile for 4-5 months of the year (but it's ok to build <500feet off that road) .... just hoped someone else here had a similar ironic situation that ended up being resolved. So the road we are told we could be asked to build would have to be better than the road it comes off.
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wildwoodw
Member
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# Posted: 2 Nov 2018 09:59am
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Here is a follow up to anyone interested.
It looks like if you build a 'dwelling' (other than a tent or camper) you have to be no further than 500' from an approved fire access road. And dwelling means any permanent or non-permanent foundation structure that you reside in overnight...even if it is one night (regardless if it is small enough to not require a permit). Tents and campers are the only thing that do not fall under this.
So we are going to put up a nice wall tent, when the weather is good on the back of the property and see what we can do to improve the existing road into the property so we can build something permanent a little further back.
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spoofer
Member
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# Posted: 2 Nov 2018 11:09pm
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Wildwoodw
Where in Oswego County?? I have a Shack up there and although I'm 500 ft from a fire access rd, but there are many that are not. I was told for insurance reasons it was recommended. My shack is on Beecherville Rd in Orwell. There is a camp/trailor 3/4 of a mile behind me that is only assessable by 4x4s and many others like that.
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wildwoodw
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# Posted: 5 Nov 2018 06:17pm
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The codes person says that there are places that existed before current regulations and are grandfathered in. And who knows if currently people do their own thing anyways...But that is pretty risky if caught and they could never upgrade utilities,,,cause any contractor will be required to get coding dept involved.
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spoofer
Member
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# Posted: 5 Nov 2018 07:24pm
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where in oswego cnty$$$
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