It’s May and approximately seven months later from our Part One update last October.
In case you missed it, we applied for a permit and then had to apply for a variance. A county and town hall meeting later, we were approved for the variance with conditions – we had to have a surveyor come out and verify the numbers on our drawings. If you want the riveting full story, click here.
The Surveyor
We wanted to wait until spring to have the surveyor out, so when he verified our numbers we could immediately move forward with the garage.
Given how last summer went, we should’ve known that things were not going to go smoothly and there would be a hiccup or two.
I was at work when I received the call from Surveyor Don.
“Hiya, Kelly. Don here. Say, I am out at your house and it ah looks like that driveway where the easement is supposed to be is actually inside your property line.”
“Ahh, say what?” I reply, very, very confused.
Thank goodness this man had the patience of a saint and explained everything to me and later to Brett.
He told us he was going to dig a little deeper, look at the previous survey paperwork, talk to neighbors and get back to us in a week or so.
About two weeks later, after tracking down the old paperwork and talking to the neighbors, he notified us that we do indeed have more property than we originally thought.
You see that stake with the pink flag to the right?
Yup, that’s our property line. The easement [and where the driveway should be] is actually to the right of that pink stake.
The good news?
We got our variance and can extend our garage a bit more to the north.
The bad news?
We have to have an unpleasant conversation with our neighbors about our property, the easement, the driveway and their land. We’ve looked into getting a lawyer [Surveyor Don recommended it and referred us to someone] but are hoping it doesn’t lead to that.
The Next Steps
Now that we have the variance, we can move forward with the garage plans!
We have to submit a new application for the permit with updated drawings.
Brett has put out three different asks to get an electrician out since we need to move the electrical boxes to the other side of the house. Two of them stood us up and the third didn’t even answer his phone. So, things are looking up 🙂
With Brett traveling so much this summer and how long it’s taking to get things done, our new goal is to get the cement slab and sidewalk poured. Anything over and above that will be a nice surprise!
It’s always an adventure around here – here’s to hoping this garage thing get’s a little easier!
All our best,
