soggy donkey herder on Nostr: We decided to move from Boulder Creek when we could no longer ignore how ...
We decided to move from Boulder Creek when we could no longer ignore how fundamentally indefensible the whole region is. Now California is (finally!) mandating new construction have a five foot no-vegetation buffer zone directly against new construction - and the year after, in 2026, existing homes have to comply as well.
https://laist.com/brief/news/with-wildfires-growing-california-writes-new-rules-on-where-to-plant-shrubs
But Boulder Creek and the other little towns nearby are built in a redwood forest! We lived in three different houses in our time there and only one could’ve been brought into compliance. The rental cabin had a redwood growing in the deck, and our own house was built against a steep hill (less than five feet clearance from the hill at the kitchen end) and had a mature (>100’) redwood cluster against the west end of the house. We looked at it real careful when we bought, but the closest trunk was at least six inches away from the house, so it was a future problem but not imminent. It would cost at least 30k to have those glorious trees felled, and redwoods don’t die easy - the stumps will throw up new shoots for A HUNDRED YEARS, per the people with old cabins built over stumps. SO MANY houses that simply cannot be made defensible.
It’s such a beautiful place, but it’s got an expiration date.
https://laist.com/brief/news/with-wildfires-growing-california-writes-new-rules-on-where-to-plant-shrubs
But Boulder Creek and the other little towns nearby are built in a redwood forest! We lived in three different houses in our time there and only one could’ve been brought into compliance. The rental cabin had a redwood growing in the deck, and our own house was built against a steep hill (less than five feet clearance from the hill at the kitchen end) and had a mature (>100’) redwood cluster against the west end of the house. We looked at it real careful when we bought, but the closest trunk was at least six inches away from the house, so it was a future problem but not imminent. It would cost at least 30k to have those glorious trees felled, and redwoods don’t die easy - the stumps will throw up new shoots for A HUNDRED YEARS, per the people with old cabins built over stumps. SO MANY houses that simply cannot be made defensible.
It’s such a beautiful place, but it’s got an expiration date.