Development

I received a package in the mail yesterday from one of my brothers. Included was a "Development Application" which is, in fact, an application for approval of an OSSF, or "On-Site Sewage Facility." This is the first step in beginning the 'family compound' that I have on my "to-do" list for this year; it's my 'place in the country' that I've always dreamed about. It appears to be an 'iffy' process as the application clearly states in several places that the mere fact that an application may be approved does not mean an OSSF can be constructed. The double-speak of bureaucracy is sometimes mind-numbing.

I wonder how long this process will take, and how much it will cost. One way or the other, though, I'm going to begin. I'd like to see progress by the second half of the year and, if money holds and time is available, some construction by the third quarter.

I'm afraid, though, that there may be plans for the area about which I am unaware. I regularly receive "I want to buy your land" letters from developers who are, ostensibly, in California. My guess is that they buy small tracts of land that are in what they believe to be (or know to be...they probably control it) in development corridors. They buy for pennies on the dollar, knowing that at some point the land they are buying will be worth many times what they paid. I don't relish the idea of being in a highly-developed area at some point in the future. But maybe their plans are so far in the future it won't matter to me, personally.

I'm in the early days of my busiest season at the office, so it looks like the next several months will see me in the office every weekend, including this one. Drat! I have no interest in that!