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kensey_gw

Lot with driveway access over cliff

kensey
10 years ago

I am looking at a lot which is very cheap for its location. Naturally there is a catch: The lot is at the end of a public road, only access from the road is over a 20 foot (near vertical) drop. (see attached map, said lot is the one at the lower right, the lane extending at the top from the road to the right is a private driveway that someone was allowed to build)

There are basically two options:

1) build a driveway over the slope (which would require a very large amount of fill material)

2) See if the planning board allows to extends the road with a private road. This would run along the cliff for about 200 feet towards an area that has flatter access.

Both options appear to be engineering challenges.

Can anyone give me a rough estimate of the cost I have to expect (in particular for option 1). The land is about 100k cheaper than comparable land elsewhere so I need to weigh vs the added cost.

Comments (4)

  • lazy_gardens
    10 years ago

    My quick guess is that it's going to cost about 100K ... just based on the lot prices where there is easy access.

  • virgilcarter
    10 years ago

    Can't give you any cost estimate, but I can give you some things to think about:

    --The constant down slope of the lot (as much as visible) probably precludes a "standard" house and foundation designed for a flat lot. This lot will likely need a custom "downhill" focused house and stepped, pier and grade beam or pole foundation;
    --Driveway/auto access to the property is only one of the challenges;
    --Surface drainage from your neighbor's properties appears to flow across your property, so water pick-up, diversion or handling by other means is an issue. Is this an area of heavy rain fall?
    --Soils conditions on sloping lots are always challenging and a soils engineer should be commissioned to determine soils conditions for stability and for foundation bearing. One doesn't really want one's property to heave and slide down the hill to someone else's property!
    --Utilities, including sewer/septic system will likely need special design. If there is sanitary sewer in the street above the lot, you may need a lift pump from your property to the street above. If you need a septic system, the leech field design is a major concern.

    Just a few things to think about. I certainly wouldn't pursue this property until I had reasonable answers to all these issues. There's a reason the lot is priced below those adjacent.

    Good luck on your project.

  • GreenDesigns
    10 years ago

    That drainage ravine is unlikely to be allowed to be filled in and may qualify as wetlands since it seems to drain the surrounding properties. You're now at quite a bit more than the 100K difference in lots. And that is if a bridge across it would even be allowed to be built.

    The lot sounds undevelopable without a LOT of money. Money that you won't get back in any type of appraisal unless the surrounding homes are very expensive and had to spend similar amounts in order to be able to build.

  • kensey
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Thanks, some good tips what to consider. Drainage is less of a concern for the potential building plot since further into the property there is an area somewhat elevated vs the shown part. A road extension definitely would require quite a bit of drainage consideration, the little stretch of the driveway that was built has several 15 inch pipes underneath. The whole mess with the cliff stems from the way the road was surveyed in the 1930s, if it would run just 20 feet to the north it could be easily extended opening several other lots. It must have happened without anyone looking at the topology.

    I guess to get answers to these questions I'll have to get a civil engineer to do a feasibility study.

    This post was edited by kensey on Mon, Jun 3, 13 at 23:44