Actually had a relatively laid back weekend, which was really nice. Cary and I staked out the area for the wetland mitigation planting, which, if we did the math right, came out to 5355 square feet, just over the required 5349. We made it easy for ourselves by staking out a big rectangle 40' x 100' and then tacking right-triangles onto each end to taper it back into the existing vegetated areas. It's been a long time since either of us had to do much geometry, but I think we did pretty good.
Now we need to see what we can do about the sod. We have to plant 115 native plants, mostly shrubs, in what is currently a grassy field. We're supposed to dig the sod away from each plant about 2 feet. It's a little daunting to think of digging 115 2' holes through tough sod by hand, so we're trying to think of alternatives. We also don't have that much time anymore, since the house is running ahead of schedule we need to get started on the mitigation.
The whole mitigation project is a "custom requirement" on our building permit, it has to be installed and inspected (and pass!) before our final inspection can be done. Which means we can't move into the house until it's all done, including the stupid fence.
Have I mentioned the stupid fence before? No? well, in a nutshell, we have to build a split-rail fence that goes down one side of the driveway, loops around the back of the house, and then goes back up the other side of the driveway. Picture a split-rail condom keeping the wetland safe from, um, something. Why did I ever agree to build such a stupid fence? Basically, because I was really, really, really, really tired of the permitting process, and giving them anything short of my left arm seemed like a good deal at the time.
Second thoughts have been had.
2 comments:
Holy crap! Can you plant a garden or anything in your yard? Is it one big protected wetland with an island of house? Is it just to keep 4x4 people out? Can you plow a field? Orchard?
Yeah, we can plant a garden, or an orchard, or plow up the field (although the county'd really like us to get a soil disturbance permit first). The wetland people at the county are excessivly (in my opinion) concerned that people will drive off the driveway and out into the wetland. We have permission to put in lots and lots of gates and/or gaps, just so long as they aren't wide enough to drive through. And we're only going to be monitored for 5 years, after which I suspect the fence may fall into disrepair...
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