The Problem:

County Ordinances and Building Codes in the U.S. are designed to protect Banks that finance

construction. They can repossess and easily resell what was financed as buildings are all

standard products and can be sold as is.

How can an Intentional Community explore new building techniques and shared community

land and assets that cannot be repossessed?

Of course, financing such a venture will require non-bank financing. But the next hurdle is still

getting around the standard ordinances.

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Facts & Assumptions:

A) . . My research was in Florida but I believe the Building codes and land use are for the

most part standardized in the U.S.,with variations. This holds true for insurance practices

as well. Both the building codes and Insurance practices are in some way set up

by the Banking industry.

B) .  . The lowest form of land is rated as “Agriculture” and it is the least controlled by ordinances.

C) .  . There are ways of satisfying investor insurability of their loans outside of traditional

building insurance. Some options might be self Insurance; putting up bonds; third party

guarantees or derivatives.

But another option is the project itself. If a community is created for the sole purpose of

housing its members, and that organization designs and constructs the homes, then they are

in a position to self-insure the project, Per Se.

“Per Se” means that a shoe cobble has no need to insure his personal shoes.

If one is destroyed he simply makes a new one. It speaks for itself.

D) .  .  The simplest method is purchase land zoned Agriculture. Set out a piece as residential for

the owners home. Add a barn as a “farm outbuilding”. It does not require a building permit.

Build it after you have a power pole set near it with a 200 amp box on it and a light on the

pole. This cuts the county out with just the pole in the area.

Once the barn is complete, the owner can install the electricity without a permit and a

septic tank without a permit.

E) .  .  All the above in “D” can be done for bunk houses for migrant workers or farm outbuildings.

How To Skirt County Ordinances

We moved in a two room portable school building 900 sq feet) under this circumstance.

We added a bathroom and kitchen, then ran power to it ourselves.  We even installed a

homemade septic tank.

F) .  . The county Zoning Office controls the permits by controlling the power service.

Once you get the pole and 200 amp box, you are finished with the county.

G) .  . Water wells require a county permit (and state). But after that they are finished on

agriculture land.

H) .  . It is hoped that in 2026 we are back under the Constitution and will have easy leeway to

avoid the County Zoning and Building codes.

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The Plan:

1) .  .  You can take a large parcel of Agriculture land (In Florida) and zone a parcel for a

primary residence.

The rest is still zoned agriculture. Therefore, you don’t need building permits for “farm

outbuildings and housing for migrant workers.”

One home is the canning facility, another is seed preservation, another is crop planning,

Migrant Hiring, Farm parson, etc.

2) .  . Parcel out piece of land and build an apartment building on it.

Because of the community goals, the apartments can be much smaller due to other shared

areas (Laundry, exercise, diners garages etc.)

3) .  . If you don’t have a skilled construction person (Electrician or plumber etc.) the hire one

for the first time needed. Have someone watch closely and create a relationship with the

professional.

The your group can do the installations and rely on the the expert to pull an informal

inspection to insure you did the job safely and correctly, all without a permit.

4) .  . Present yourself as a non-profit organization with the purpose to experiment with

alternate construction methods and living community models.

5) .  . The Zeitgeist : the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate

of an era). Once things collapse in 2026, then Zeitgeist mood in the U.S.

will be much different.

There will be extreme loss of jobs and a major homeless problem for

local governments.

That will be the time to approach a county leadership head on with a plan they

cannot dispute nor disregard.

The plan I am suggesting is something like the Co-Op Villages plan,

both website and a bound Grant Proposal.

This is a well documented and detailed plan that cannot be ignored.

This plan will create 100 to 500 new jobs in the county. It will show itself with

the possibility of a grant or already with a multi- Million grant in hand.

This plan will be able to remove up to 500 homeless persons from their

community.

This plan can be replicated many times over in that community; it is not just a

One time opportunity.

This plan can be placed in the hand of an official to be shared with a spouse,

preacher or others. That official does not have to read it all, he can simply

share it and let the plan sell itself.

This is how to get around the county zoning and construction ordinances.

6) .  . Shot Gun It. Approach a neighboring county Planning Department and

seek approval and/or advice. Consider it your practice pitch.

Then pitch to your own county and tell them you are already approaching the

neighboring county. This may motivate your county politicians.

7) .  .  Draft A Variance for your project. Tie it to the published book of the Co-Op

Villages; The Next Evolution, or the Grant request bound manual or an

Electronic copy of the Co-Op Villages website.