A Development Pattern for Farm Village Development
IDEA'S 26-31
There are hundreds of little towns and villages (hamlets) scattered all across Dakota. I am dealing with those of 100 or less. Everyone has written them off. They have no future. No one will ever move there. They will become farmland someday. Good riddance. That’s the attitude in any case.
I’m not convinced. I propose a solution that has potential, doesn’t cost much, and has the possibility of creating a desirable quality of life for people who live there or choose to move there. The attraction in living in these hamlets is the remoteness of them without being totally disconnected from any other people.
There are Texas Towns that have made this work. In France and Germany there are many rural villages which are part town part farm clusters.
They allow a mix of rural and city living in a unique way. I won’t call them by name but if you consult your North Dakota map you will quickly recognize which ones I mean. I am visualizing several as a conglomerate in making these recommendations. Have them in mind? Good. From here on out I’ll call this fictitious town of our new design Hamlet.
First 26
Recognize that hamlet is windswept. The wind blows across the prairie without mercy in winter, spring, summer and fall. Since Hamlet is small in area surrounding it with a robust shelterbelt and filling in the middle with aggressive tree plantings will stop the wind for good. In spring it’ll be a gentle breeze inside when it’s 50 mph outside, when a blizzard roars it’ll be a soft snowfall, when the summers hot dry dusty winds kick up it’ll be pleasantly breezy inside. I have lived in ND inside just such a treed shelter belted conclave. It was always pleasant. Sometimes I hated to leave the protected area when the wind was blowing as it often does in Dakota. This is the first step in improving livability.
Second 27
Create 10-acre farm sites around the Hamlet. They each boast 500 feet frontage that abuts the shelterbelt on the outside and 900 feet deep. Access is by a road cut thru the shelterbelt off a ring road that circles Hamlet along the shelterbelt. This acreage is large enough to have a few horses, or an orchard or grow some vegetables. This will attract hobby farmers who want to live in the country but not too far out. If a hamlet occupies about 100 acres including this new shelterbelt system it will mean roughly 20 of these hobby farm setups. I am assuming that someone prepared to own and “operate” one of these hobby farms will have outside income or savings of their own to do so. They “buy” these farmettes on a contract for deed. There are strings attached. They must maintain the shelterbelt in the front of their property. They must maintain the road in and out. They must occupy the land with a home of some kind or their primary residence must be in the Hamlet. They cannot be an absentee owner. No restrictions on who can buy these, in state or out of state. There is a restriction on how and when it can be sold. No consolidation allowed, no liquidation to a neighboring farmer. You can surrender it but when you took out the contract for deed you agreed to a certain set of restrictions. You also cannot pay it off ahead of time. You can deposit the money and stop the interest but you do not take full legal possession until the contract is complete. This is designed for people who are going to come and live in Hamlet.
There will be other limitations, codes and controls, which will maintain control on what the people buying this property, can and can’t do. We are building community here. If this worked well it would double the population of Hamlet.
Third 28
Any unoccupied house in Hamlet must be offered to a national market if it is not sold in the first year. In fact it might even be good if that home was GIVEN to someone who would move to Hamlet with children. If there are unoccupied lots in Hamlet suitable for building they must first be offered locally and then perhaps GIVEN to people who would move to Hamlet and build a house and live there.
An internet auction site (like EBAY) could be used to market these homes to the highest bidder. The point of this is to attract people to move to Hamlet by offering inexpensive housing. This has been tried other places nationally and with good success. Why not in North Dakota. It only fails if we do not try.
Fourth 29
Aggressive drainage management will be needed. Because flooding often can happen when development of this type is undertaken it is critical to plan surface storage and dispersal of all storm waters, melt and other water management issues. As part of this, one lot or pair of lots in the lowest area topographically of the town (two if needed) to be excavated with a slow slope. If practical a natural grass ditch draining the pond to an outside of town ditch would be best. If that’s not possible bury an underground 10” tile line running to an out of town lower drainage area. Then all storm drainage and any other would be funneled to this retention pond. Best if it were big enough to be ornamental as well. Call it a lake if you want the panache. But in any case create this water interest with an outlet above or underground. Do not drain off the bottom. The best would be if it were 4’ deep at stasis. This makes a nice community skating rink in winter. It could be artificially stocked with fish in summer for little kids and to keep the mosquitoes out. This pattern should be repeated often enough to provide drainage and retention for the huge rainfall events that will come. Water standing on roads makes poor roads.
Fifth 30
Create or provide a service center for Hamlet. This could be a co-op or it could be operated for profit. The vision is like a C-store except with these additions. Groceries could be delivered from an Internet grocery store to the co-op for pick up or later delivery. It would have services like a copy machine, a fax machine, UPS and FED EX shipping points. There could be many other services. I believe that those people who move to Hamlet will need some services to work their business. This service center will evolve into whatever services it needs.
Sixth 31
Each small business will get a free facelift. If there are empty commercial businesses, churches, schools and so forth they will be encouraged to be put into use. Empty schools will be encouraged to become private charter schools. Empty Churches will become part of the city meeting room structure. Roads entering and leaving town will have welcome to and you’re leaving signs professionally made. They will make you feel like you have arrived at a special place.
Finally, in my minds eye, I see a pretty little town surrounded by farmettes, small self-sustaining because those owning them have other incomes. I see a significant population increase. I see a peaceful conclave surrounded by a thick shelterbelt blocking out noise, dust, wind, blizzard, and smells. I see a little school and working churches again. This doesn’t solve all the problems but it makes good sense to solve some.
There are hundreds of little towns and villages (hamlets) scattered all across Dakota. I am dealing with those of 100 or less. Everyone has written them off. They have no future. No one will ever move there. They will become farmland someday. Good riddance. That’s the attitude in any case.
I’m not convinced. I propose a solution that has potential, doesn’t cost much, and has the possibility of creating a desirable quality of life for people who live there or choose to move there. The attraction in living in these hamlets is the remoteness of them without being totally disconnected from any other people.
There are Texas Towns that have made this work. In France and Germany there are many rural villages which are part town part farm clusters.
They allow a mix of rural and city living in a unique way. I won’t call them by name but if you consult your North Dakota map you will quickly recognize which ones I mean. I am visualizing several as a conglomerate in making these recommendations. Have them in mind? Good. From here on out I’ll call this fictitious town of our new design Hamlet.
First 26
Recognize that hamlet is windswept. The wind blows across the prairie without mercy in winter, spring, summer and fall. Since Hamlet is small in area surrounding it with a robust shelterbelt and filling in the middle with aggressive tree plantings will stop the wind for good. In spring it’ll be a gentle breeze inside when it’s 50 mph outside, when a blizzard roars it’ll be a soft snowfall, when the summers hot dry dusty winds kick up it’ll be pleasantly breezy inside. I have lived in ND inside just such a treed shelter belted conclave. It was always pleasant. Sometimes I hated to leave the protected area when the wind was blowing as it often does in Dakota. This is the first step in improving livability.
Second 27
Create 10-acre farm sites around the Hamlet. They each boast 500 feet frontage that abuts the shelterbelt on the outside and 900 feet deep. Access is by a road cut thru the shelterbelt off a ring road that circles Hamlet along the shelterbelt. This acreage is large enough to have a few horses, or an orchard or grow some vegetables. This will attract hobby farmers who want to live in the country but not too far out. If a hamlet occupies about 100 acres including this new shelterbelt system it will mean roughly 20 of these hobby farm setups. I am assuming that someone prepared to own and “operate” one of these hobby farms will have outside income or savings of their own to do so. They “buy” these farmettes on a contract for deed. There are strings attached. They must maintain the shelterbelt in the front of their property. They must maintain the road in and out. They must occupy the land with a home of some kind or their primary residence must be in the Hamlet. They cannot be an absentee owner. No restrictions on who can buy these, in state or out of state. There is a restriction on how and when it can be sold. No consolidation allowed, no liquidation to a neighboring farmer. You can surrender it but when you took out the contract for deed you agreed to a certain set of restrictions. You also cannot pay it off ahead of time. You can deposit the money and stop the interest but you do not take full legal possession until the contract is complete. This is designed for people who are going to come and live in Hamlet.
There will be other limitations, codes and controls, which will maintain control on what the people buying this property, can and can’t do. We are building community here. If this worked well it would double the population of Hamlet.
Third 28
Any unoccupied house in Hamlet must be offered to a national market if it is not sold in the first year. In fact it might even be good if that home was GIVEN to someone who would move to Hamlet with children. If there are unoccupied lots in Hamlet suitable for building they must first be offered locally and then perhaps GIVEN to people who would move to Hamlet and build a house and live there.
An internet auction site (like EBAY) could be used to market these homes to the highest bidder. The point of this is to attract people to move to Hamlet by offering inexpensive housing. This has been tried other places nationally and with good success. Why not in North Dakota. It only fails if we do not try.
Fourth 29
Aggressive drainage management will be needed. Because flooding often can happen when development of this type is undertaken it is critical to plan surface storage and dispersal of all storm waters, melt and other water management issues. As part of this, one lot or pair of lots in the lowest area topographically of the town (two if needed) to be excavated with a slow slope. If practical a natural grass ditch draining the pond to an outside of town ditch would be best. If that’s not possible bury an underground 10” tile line running to an out of town lower drainage area. Then all storm drainage and any other would be funneled to this retention pond. Best if it were big enough to be ornamental as well. Call it a lake if you want the panache. But in any case create this water interest with an outlet above or underground. Do not drain off the bottom. The best would be if it were 4’ deep at stasis. This makes a nice community skating rink in winter. It could be artificially stocked with fish in summer for little kids and to keep the mosquitoes out. This pattern should be repeated often enough to provide drainage and retention for the huge rainfall events that will come. Water standing on roads makes poor roads.
Fifth 30
Create or provide a service center for Hamlet. This could be a co-op or it could be operated for profit. The vision is like a C-store except with these additions. Groceries could be delivered from an Internet grocery store to the co-op for pick up or later delivery. It would have services like a copy machine, a fax machine, UPS and FED EX shipping points. There could be many other services. I believe that those people who move to Hamlet will need some services to work their business. This service center will evolve into whatever services it needs.
Sixth 31
Each small business will get a free facelift. If there are empty commercial businesses, churches, schools and so forth they will be encouraged to be put into use. Empty schools will be encouraged to become private charter schools. Empty Churches will become part of the city meeting room structure. Roads entering and leaving town will have welcome to and you’re leaving signs professionally made. They will make you feel like you have arrived at a special place.
Finally, in my minds eye, I see a pretty little town surrounded by farmettes, small self-sustaining because those owning them have other incomes. I see a significant population increase. I see a peaceful conclave surrounded by a thick shelterbelt blocking out noise, dust, wind, blizzard, and smells. I see a little school and working churches again. This doesn’t solve all the problems but it makes good sense to solve some.
posted by Gene at 5:00 PM
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