Driveway and Progress... They Do Go Together!

Well, it looks like we are finally getting somewhere on our land.  We met with the Selectmen this past Tuesday.  As some of you already know, we’ve been getting the run around since day 1.  We don’t have a driveway yet and we’ve been actively trying to get one since the early part of March.  We started this process, though, in January!

So we went to the Selectmen’s meeting on Tuesday to discuss what we need and what they need.  The road agent told us that we MAY need an engineer to determine the size of the culvert for our driveway.  We kept being told that we may need an engineer to engineer our driveway.  Well, here’s the problem.  We’ve pretty much exhausted our resources in trying to find someone that can engineer a driveway.  We were laughed at when we would tell them that we were looking for an engineer that could engineer our driveway.

We were laughed at because it simply doesn’t exist in NH.  People who have been in the driveway profession for decades have told us that it’s the Road Agents’ job to determine the size of the culvert.  The Road Agent was telling us we need to find an engineer to do it. If we were actually to get a Civil Engineer, it would cost us a fortune for them to engineer our driveway!  Mike also said that at the meeting to help drive another point home. 

So at our meeting on Tuesday, Mike took the floor and discussed what we’ve done thus far.  He discussed how we got our permit, the length of time it’s taken to not even have a driveway, and what we are going through now.  It was a plead for help but he was extremely firm on points that he gave.  I think they could tell that we were frustrated and at the ends of our rope.  I let Mike do most, if not all, the talking because he was doing such a good job explaining everything and showing his frustration in a very professional kind of way.  I was really impressed, actually! 

Near the end, the guy sitting to my right spoke up and said that they needed to help us.  He really spearheaded the rest of the conversation and asked if he could keep a copy of the application and all the materials that we had brought with us.  He said he was going to talk to the Road Agent and try to work something out.  I got a call earlier today from this particular selectman saying that he was planning on having breakfast/coffee with the road agent in the morning and wanted Mike to give him a call tonight to see if Mike and our driveway contractor could meet them in the morning.  I left Mike a message to let him know and I’m hoping they both can!!

PROGRESS!  It’s such a beautiful thing!

Cross your fingers for us!

Wetlands Permit Accepted!

On Saturday, August 27^th, we got our Wetlands permit from the State!  That’s 30 days ahead of schedule!  I’m really thrilled that they were able to push it through so fast!  Of course, I think Mike and his boss are right- I think the State would be more concerned about a larger parcel of land being filled for something like a Walmart or a Home Depot or something, and not necessarily as concerned with a few feet to cross for a residence.  It makes sense to me.  I’m sure they are still concerned, but I think they put less emphasis on a home owner than they do a retail store/chain.

Anyways, it’s very exciting news!  Since my last update this is what has happened with this process:

The Conservation Committee of the town would not sign the expedited minimum impact application because they wanted to see the parcel first (and I had offered to show it to them at their monthly meeting, but they wanted to see us first!)  and they wanted us to get it delineated by a forester.  Fine, we got it delineated by a rather well known forester in the area.  Mike got to meet with him and he was very knowledgeable and walked Mike through the whole process and explained what different plants were (like Princess Pine… which do not grow in wetlands- they are an upland plant!).  But since the Committee wouldn’t meet again for another month and told us they would only sign it then, we submitted it anyways.

We brought it to the Town Hall so that the Town Clerk could sign the paperwork.  She was very sweet and it was the first one she’d ever done, so we had to walk her through it.  I made it as painless as possible.  When I brought the paperwork to her, there was the woman from the Conservation Committee there.  She instantly jumped down our throats, told the Town Clerk she was not allowed to sign it until we met with the Committee again.  Mike was a little heated, so I stepped in and asked her why, and she said that we couldn’t submit the paperwork without the Committee’s signature, but I pointed out to her that we didn’t need their signature according to the paperwork that we had filled out and read her the line that said the application would automatically transfer into a Standard Dredge and Fill if the committee didn’t sign it.  She got on the phone with the head of the committee (who is a really nice gentleman) and she continued to try to poke holes through our application process, which I continued to show her the different sections in the application where she was wrong while she was on the phone with him.  He ended up telling her that there was nothing they could do, that we were doing everything according to the book.  I think I upset her and her power trip she was on because I had shown her all the instances in which she was wrong. 

The Town Clerk proceeded to sign all 5 documents and sent the paperwork into the State on July 12^th.  On July 19^th, we were notified that we were missing one piece of information from the Standard Dredge and Fill, which we hadn’t thought about since we were focused on the Minimum Impact and not the Standard form.  It was a letter and map from NHB stating that there were no recorded findings in the database of rare/exotic plants.  At first I thought that it was going to take forever to get- but they have a website that you can type in the zip code, put a pointer on the map, and they automatically generate and try to find anything in their database of any occurrences of rare/exotic plants!  From there you can download a PDF of the letter and map from NHB and you’re done!  It was so easy! 

So then, the paperwork was resubmitted to the State on July 25^th.  The State then has 60 days from the time they send us a notice (which they sent the notice of receiving all necessary paperwork on July 28^th, which was super fast in my opinion!) to when they must correspond with us (whether it be them requesting more information or giving us a decision).  From there, we waited, and hoped that they wouldn’t ask for more info over and over again so that we’d have to be stuck in the process.  We just got the permit on Saturday- August 27^th!  I wasn’t sure if the State was going to hold onto it for the full 60 days or not, but we got it and can now move forward with submitting for our driveway permit! 

But now we must get the road agent over to the property, show them our plans for the driveway, where we want to put the driveway (where it was approved by the state), and reasoning for putting it there.  We have to draw a plan for the road itself to scale with any obstructions (like hills, corners, trees, other driveways, etc) within 500 feet in either direction.  We hope to get the road agent over there before their next meeting (next Tuesday, September 6^th) so that we can then get the permit and push forward and get at least a portion of the driveway put in! 

Hopefully moving forward, this process will become a well oiled wheel.  We could’ve had the entire house up by now if not for the running around like crazy trying to get a hold of people to answer questions and getting the wetlands permit! 

On another positive note, and since this isn’t JUST about building our home (though mostly it is) Mike and I are engaged!  We have the wedding date already set and the wedding will be before we build our home and during a beautiful time of year! <3 I can’t wait to marry my best friend!

Love Can Build a Bridge