Life by the seaside

[mme_hardy]

Power can be chancy up here, what with high winds and wildfires. We'd like to install a generator. The local electrical contractors sent a request for a permit to the planning department. They got back:

Your building permit application was referred to the Planning Division of Mendocino County Planning and Building Services for approval. Please be advised that the Planning Division is not able to approve your building permit at this time. The proposed Propane/Generator installation does not meet the criteria for an exemption. The project site is designated as Highly Scenic and Coastal Development Permit is required.

Not gonna lie, it is Highly Scenic. It'll be interesting to see if there's a way to hide the generator that complies with the planning board's esthetics, or whether it's simply a no-go.

Comments

[movingfinger]

There are similar issues here (I have not personally faced them). A fence may be acceptable as screening, particularly if plantings mask the fence. Underground installation, in an area that gets occasional torrential rain, is probably not great for the generator, but might work for the tank. And put the generator on the side of the house least visible to others, I guess, although that may be difficult. Modern generators are not very obtrusive and the noise is more of a problem than the footprint.

[mme_hardy]

I'm guessing, given the disastrous history of old oil tank leaks, that the seaside commission will be very unhappy about burying it. We'll see. The current (presumably grandfathered in) propane tank is right beside the house and is quite ugly.

Could be worse; I could be living in Concord.

[movingfinger]

I wouldn't approve a diesel generator myself, but aboveground propane in a fire zone isn't desirable either...

[lilysea]

I don't know how dangerous the wildfires in your area are, but it would seem that if home generators allow water pumps to run (for firefighting) they could be lifesaving

I <3 aesthetics and natural beauty but

lifesaving > aesthetics

[mme_hardy]

I'm willing to cut them slack for "this house is right beside the road and is also right above the ocean".

[movingfinger]

Yeah, I agree, which is why a wooden fence enclosure around it might work. You can also baffle the inside of the fence to reduce the noise emitted. The specs may tell you noise levels are fine, but I promise you they are not fine.

[mme_hardy]

Oh, I'm sure. And adding multiple levels of difficulty, I have just remembered that our well is directly under the gravelled parking space.

[dsrtao]

The secret to dealing with the conservation committee around here (on the other coast, two towns south of Concord) is to read the previously published permits and decisions for the last 3-4 years, and ask for something very close to what has been approved.

Is there a local style of shed or other small outbuilding that could be used to disguise and quiet a propane tank and generator?

[mme_hardy]

This is absolute genius. Thank you.

[cofax7]

This here.

Speaking as someone who has to deal with these regulators frequently, but from a position of much more power than a local homeowner.

I also suspect that many of your neighbors didn't bother to get permits for their emergency generators.

[mme_hardy]

(cough) The information may have been volunteered to me that permit-less work would be impossible because my property faces the highway. I didn't request permit-less work, btw.

[armiphlage]

Would a Tesla Powerwall be an option?

[mme_hardy]

I'm not prepared to go to all the hassle right now of installing solar and a Powerwall. When we do have outages (fingers crossed) they can last for days.

[oursin]

Enclose it in a folly? - cf 'Queen Victoria's Elephant House', which is actually an electricity substation in Mayfair.

[mme_hardy]

That is wonderful. So much so that italics do not suffice.