Looking for some local help in the Klamath falls and surrounding areas (Spray: real estate)

[tahoedave]

Hello, after reading tons of others posts and the replies to them I still can't seem to find all the answers I'm looking for. ( maybe I'm just stupid )
Like so many of the posters on here I to am looking to purchase property in the area. I love to fly fish and hike so near rivers and streams is what I'm looking for. But my real worry is the zoning and if you need permits for building. I want to build my own. A small but stylish log cabin from a kit is where I'm headed. But that would be quite a few years down the road since I have over 20+ before retirement. I would work on it slowly on my vacations and would like to be able to put a tent at first then a motor home later. So I would be able to go and work on the property.
With all the other posts I am confused about the zoning and if I would be able to do this.
I would like to be In an area that I DON'T have go get permits. Also I don't care if I ever see another person but need to be relatively close to great fishing.
If any people from the area or areas in the region have any helpful ideas for me i would be ever so grateful.
I would like to have electric close but even if its not by the time i am ready to build it could possibily be right at my door.
any and all help will be appreciated. Thank you in advance neighbors.

[hamellr]

Everywhere in Oregon requires permits. Perhaps you should look at Alaska?

[tahoedave]

wow, ok, that's the first I have heard that all of Oregon needs permits. several real estate agents have told me that if I purchase a R-1 zoned area ( recreational use ) I could do what ever I wanted and didn't need permits. but now I am thinking they said not for building. but maybe for septic and well. since it's Sunday I will have to wait and call this week.
thank you by the way.

[PNW-type-gal]

Septic and well have to be approved by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.

What the agent may have meant is that there are places that you can buy land and use it recreationally, without permanent structures - so parking an RV there for a couple months in the summer wouldn't be a big deal.

You might argue that on remote enough land, they'd never know - which is probably true, but you'd never be able to sell it and you'd likely never be able to get electric service to it (because Pacific Power won't put in power without a permit).

R-1 is not recreation use, it is rural residential. I don't think there IS a recreational designation.

[hamellr]

Yeah, you'll still need permits for septic, well, electric, etc. The Klamath County Codes are here: Klamath County - Planning Division

There is no such thing as a recreational designation as far as I know, but there are "non-buildable," recreational plots of land you can buy that are directly on rivers. I've seen a lot of these along the Rogue and Umpqua Rivers, but not along either Klamath river or the Spray.

I'm not even sure Klamath County is a very good fly fishing area anyways. The guys over at IFish would know better then most of us here though. Hiking wise you have some options, but Klamath County isn't full of great hikes in my opinion. The other downside is that many of them will require you to pack extra water in. There are some good places around Lake of the Woods and Mt. McLoughlin

[Billy_J]

Building permits came into being because people died from structures collapsing, from fires, and from being electrocuted due to unsafe electrical wiring (which also causes fires).

Actually electrical codes are developed by the National Fire Protection Association!

Anyway the codes are there to protect YOU, your family, visitors to your property, and persons who may purchase your property after you are long departed.

If you don't want to learn about/deal with building codes, maybe buying something already built would be a better option?

And be aware that if ANY contractor see unpermitted work being done, they are quick to report it to the local building codes office. (They feel they are being cheated out of work!)

[oregonwoodsmoke]

There is no place in Oregon where you can build without permits and inspections. If you are near any body of water, the septic requirements will be quite stringent and you might be required to put in an expensive system. As it should be; we don't need anyone's untreated sewage going into our water system

If a parcel won't perk, it is designated recreation only and you will not be able to put in any sort of septic system or sewage handling system. All sewage will be required to be trucked out. You might be allowed to out in cabanas or storage sheds, but nothing permanent that is meant to be lived in. Those parcels are for you to go in and camp and then go home.

You can easily get a permit for owner/ builder and some progressive and green types of building can be permitted. If you are buying a kit house, the manufacturer should be able to send you a set of plans to take to the building department to get approved. If other people in the area have used the same kit, the company would already have a county approved set of plans.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Just a warning here. The Sprague River has trophy size brown trout migrating up it, whenever that run is. However, I've owned a parcel on The Sprague that I bought to be a fish camp and where the river leaves the trees and goes out into the open, it gets too warm and grows lots of algae. It makes for unpleasant fishing.

The Williams is a better river and land near the Williams is a lot more expensive.

[Hawk J]

There is fly fishing in the Klamath Falls River...

Klamath River Keno Fly Fishing

https://www.google.com/#q=fly+fishin...iver%2C+Oregon

Oregon Fishing Forum ...

OFF has some members whose threads show some nice fish being caught & released. You can do a search on OFF forum...

[tahoedave]

Thank you all for your input. I do want to follow all guidelines for permits. Also want the fishing to be the best I can get so I will also look into the sites you've suggested.