Greenhouse frustration.......
Greenhouse frustration.......
Well I was going to be purchasing a low cost prefab greenhouse, the metal pipe/cloth cover type of deal. Then figured it would be a much better alternative to build a wooden one at a size of my choice. Called the city works today to inquire about permits etc. And this is where the fun begins.
In good ol' Florida if you want to "build" a greenhouse you need architectural plans with wind ratings. Ok that's doable, but at a couple hundred dollar cost. Then came this interesting tidbit of information. It has to be wind rated at ..........wait for it......... 140 MILES PER HOUR!!!! That is friggin impossible to do with a structure that has shade cloth for walls O_o
So asked if I can put up a prefab el'cheapo one up without a permit. The answer NO. The lady at the city tells me I can put it up but take every day its up as a blessing, cause city code enforcement could show up at any time and site me for it and then I have to take it down!
Guess I will get one and put it up and see what happens. But not sure what to do a year from now if there are 2000 cactus in there and I have to remove their home.
Some wheres there is this term "land of the free" written down. Umm yeah, they need to re-word that a tab bit.
In good ol' Florida if you want to "build" a greenhouse you need architectural plans with wind ratings. Ok that's doable, but at a couple hundred dollar cost. Then came this interesting tidbit of information. It has to be wind rated at ..........wait for it......... 140 MILES PER HOUR!!!! That is friggin impossible to do with a structure that has shade cloth for walls O_o
So asked if I can put up a prefab el'cheapo one up without a permit. The answer NO. The lady at the city tells me I can put it up but take every day its up as a blessing, cause city code enforcement could show up at any time and site me for it and then I have to take it down!
Guess I will get one and put it up and see what happens. But not sure what to do a year from now if there are 2000 cactus in there and I have to remove their home.
Some wheres there is this term "land of the free" written down. Umm yeah, they need to re-word that a tab bit.
Sharpy (Doug)
Just say NO to glochids!
Just say NO to glochids!
- CoronaCactus
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Re: Greenhouse frustration.......
Talk to your neighbors beforehand, the city will only come if somebody complains. They sure don't just cruise around looking for violations!
Re: Greenhouse frustration.......
Put it in your yard where it isn't easily visible from the street. Most places won't go out of their way to look for that kind of code violation unless they can see it from the street or a neighbor complains. Also do some investigation on your own to verify what you were told. For one thing, in many places "temporary" structures don't have the same regulations as permanent ones. It may be that if you don't have a foundation for the greenhouse it won't count as a building. It isn't all that different from having a cheap aluminum storage shed in your yard and I'm certain LOTS of people in your town will have that.
I'm now selling plants on Ebay. Check it out! Kyle's Plants
Re: Greenhouse frustration.......
Yeah the neighbors don't care if I put 10 buildings in my yard, but the city actually does drive around looking for violations. They go through my neighborhood probably 2-3 times a week. I was stopped just for mowing a 4' path on the other side of my chain link fence. That area happens to be a fire break that the city has to come out and try to keep clear anyways. All I was trying to do was keep it knocked down a little.CoronaCactus wrote:Talk to your neighbors beforehand, the city will only come if somebody complains. They sure don't just cruise around looking for violations!
Unfortunately I am on a corner lot with a chain link fence. My back yard is completely visible from almost any angle.Saxicola wrote:Put it in your yard where it isn't easily visible from the street. Most places won't go out of their way to look for that kind of code violation unless they can see it from the street or a neighbor complains. Also do some investigation on your own to verify what you were told. For one thing, in many places "temporary" structures don't have the same regulations as permanent ones. It may be that if you don't have a foundation for the greenhouse it won't count as a building. It isn't all that different from having a cheap aluminum storage shed in your yard and I'm certain LOTS of people in your town will have that.
Here "temporary structure" doesn't exist. Was told that you can't even put up one of those shade roofs that you park a car under. My neighbor was in the process of adding a 2'x3' little storage room on to the side of his shed. They stopped and fined him just for that. This is truly a unique environment to say the least.
After a few beers last night to relive some frustration, I can only come up with a couple options. Put up a 6' privacy fence, which definitely can't take 140 mph winds lol. Or possibly a row of those 2' tall cold frame box types. The main thing about the boxes I don't like is that its more like having a comic book collection then a cactus collection. Have to open up the box to see what you have instead of being able to actually sit in a room with your plants and really enjoy them.
The problems I foresee with the cold frame boxes is heat and ventilation. So not sure if the pre-fab ones are even doable. Would have to go out each morning and open the lids then run out and close them if its going to storm. And there is zero ventilation if they are closed. Maybe have to design a wooden version of it and do all 4 sides in shade cloth for air movement, but still have a plastic lid for weather protection.
Pretty sure no one can say anything about what would appear to be a row of "wooden bench". Couple rows and it will look like I am going to hold outdoor Sunday services
Sharpy (Doug)
Just say NO to glochids!
Just say NO to glochids!
Re: Greenhouse frustration.......
I guess the wind rating is because of possible hurricanes? I suppose I can understand if the city doesn't want a surplus of sharp projectiles hurtling about at hurricane wind speeds. Maybe they should outlaw cacti altogether?
It looks like the sturdiest hobby greenhouses available are only wind rated to about 100 mph, which is still pretty amazing, but not up to your local code.
http://www.4seasongreenhouse.com/riga-i ... 59026bde61" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(they are also more than $2,000).
Is it possible for you to get an exemption or special exception? Do you see any other greenhouses in the general area? I might be tempted to ask around and see if there's some way to get a special permit or something. I wonder what commercial growers do?
peterb
It looks like the sturdiest hobby greenhouses available are only wind rated to about 100 mph, which is still pretty amazing, but not up to your local code.
http://www.4seasongreenhouse.com/riga-i ... 59026bde61" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(they are also more than $2,000).
Is it possible for you to get an exemption or special exception? Do you see any other greenhouses in the general area? I might be tempted to ask around and see if there's some way to get a special permit or something. I wonder what commercial growers do?
peterb
Zone 9
Re: Greenhouse frustration.......
I have 2 nursery's within 5 minutes drive of my house. If your property is zoned agricultural then none of these rules/laws apply. I guess the wind "knows" not to blow as hard on those pieces of land
A friend of mine is in a different/older neighborhood that luckily is all zoned agricultural. Yet it is not much different then the area I live in. Not sure how they come up with who is agricultural and who is not. She has a gigantic 20' x 60' greenhouse that the neighbors call "the Hindenburg". Location location location ftw, lol.
A friend of mine is in a different/older neighborhood that luckily is all zoned agricultural. Yet it is not much different then the area I live in. Not sure how they come up with who is agricultural and who is not. She has a gigantic 20' x 60' greenhouse that the neighbors call "the Hindenburg". Location location location ftw, lol.
Sharpy (Doug)
Just say NO to glochids!
Just say NO to glochids!
Re: Greenhouse frustration.......
Brevard County and the rest of coastal Florida seems to have gone overboard in zoning since the summer we had so many hurricanes blow through. I guess that is good when there is a big storm coming, but not so much the rest of the time. I have neither complaining neighbors nor a back yard visible from the street, so I count myself lucky!
It’s not the fall that kills you; it’s the sudden stop at the end.
Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Douglas Adams (1952 - 2001)
Re: Greenhouse frustration.......
The city code seems pretty unreasonable, in my opinion. However, even if you risk it with the el cheapo set up, you might have to move a ton of cacti if a hurricane is projected to blow through.Sharpy wrote:The lady at the city tells me I can put it up but take every day its up as a blessing, cause city code enforcement could show up at any time and site me for it and then I have to take it down! Guess I will get one and put it up and see what happens. But not sure what to do a year from now if there are 2000 cactus in there and I have to remove their home.
Re: Greenhouse frustration.......
Yep central Florida is like a different world it seems now. I understand what they are trying to do but my wood frame house won't even be here if 140mph comes thru. They could at least make it a little bit more on the realistic side of things.
Tuna, if I did do the el'cheapo one I had already planned on taking the covering off and moving the plants into the garage for a hurricane. Better safe then sorry.
The more I have thought about it the more appealing the low to the ground cold frame style is probably better, but not as fun, in the long run. Have decided to make what I guess will call a "warm frame". ~6' x 30" x 24" All sides done in shade cloth for ventilation and polycarbonate lids. I believe if they are anchored down pretty good, the low height should make them pretty much storm proof. Maybe it was just meant to turn out this way
Tuna, if I did do the el'cheapo one I had already planned on taking the covering off and moving the plants into the garage for a hurricane. Better safe then sorry.
The more I have thought about it the more appealing the low to the ground cold frame style is probably better, but not as fun, in the long run. Have decided to make what I guess will call a "warm frame". ~6' x 30" x 24" All sides done in shade cloth for ventilation and polycarbonate lids. I believe if they are anchored down pretty good, the low height should make them pretty much storm proof. Maybe it was just meant to turn out this way
Sharpy (Doug)
Just say NO to glochids!
Just say NO to glochids!
Re: Greenhouse frustration.......
Man, I feel your pain. I went through that sort of nonsense with a pool at our house in CA. Everyone said the city did a terrible job keeping records back when it was built, but the guy in charge was none-the-less not helpful and made plenty of threats to me. Finally, after getting the tax records from the county that showed taxes were collected on the pool for some 20 years, they decided to let it go. Otherwise, they would have collected taxes for a pool without a permit and that would be their problem... Ugh! Hope you can find a good solution.
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti
Re: Greenhouse frustration.......
Ugh sorry to here about the pool battle, but at least they let you keep it and not fill it in with dirt
The up side of the cold frames just seems to keep adding up. Can have different shade values for different plant needs and should be very versatile in the long run.
The up side of the cold frames just seems to keep adding up. Can have different shade values for different plant needs and should be very versatile in the long run.
Sharpy (Doug)
Just say NO to glochids!
Just say NO to glochids!
Re: Greenhouse frustration.......
Well seems like you are looking for the best in your situation. Commendable. You'll have to post pictures of your frames when you get them all set up.
All Cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are Cacti