Eco is hard to due if it is very unconventional in San Diego at least with permits. I think James Hubbel’s son does or was doing this with straw bale houses. You could probably find him on a Search engine.
..solar panels, water collection systems, composting systems etc. Any sources for this would be much appreciated too…These are all doable of course good books are on Amazon. The more basic types of things would need to be done in a rural semi-rural area if they are to be done to any large extent.
As far as purchasing land..goes… I have always been told that land (Parcels)holds it’s value better than improvements in a down cycle presumably because it is owned outright usually. The market for parcels has soften up a little in the county and there is some legally parceled acreage for around 200-230K. Hopefull it will get softer any trend in that direction has just started. The legality of the parcel and what type of use and structure are varified in “Zoning” of the appropriate building department. You are very correct in having concerns about infrastructure. A water meter cost 10 to 15k if you have to run the pipes through a public area it is very expensive. Fire hydrant forget it. If the property is in a groundwater area you need to get a very good idea of the reliability of the water in the area. In San Diego you must have a minimum GPM production from the well. It is either 1 or 1.5 I believe.Usually this is not a problem but it is a little stressful not knowing. If you are investigating for yourself ply the people in the health department at building for information on good ans bad areas and use the yellow pages and call all the well drillers in it. Amazingly enough there are not that many terribly unproductive areas in san diego. Some small areas are unbuildable becauwe the water table is too high! Wells cost 5k to 15k and up + water pressure boosting equipment and storage for fire sprinklers which are required now in almost all County of San Diego controlled area.Electric poles are 10K each you pay SDG&E. They had a cost splitting program in effect that allowed one to pay 50% of all cost and SDG&E owned the poles and could charge future owners of adjacent parcels for the same poles & power lines. Sdg&e in my experience doesent bend over backwards to let everyone tie into the grid but it can be done. If the property has a pole near by you take the number of the pole and call sdg&e to make sure its “legal” there are some old one’s in the county and they will not let you use them. They are usually very nice about letting you talk directly to the area planner.
I have to go for now but if you check back in here and are interested in more I will tell you. Maybe someone else can pick up here.I will check back this evening.
Have a good day.

I have almost got the approval for a 20 acre “Architectural free Zone” in the Local mountains. Just kidding, the City and County own us when it comes to developement…unless you are a developer then its the other way around. Anyway I am sure the planners know what they are doing.

Straw bail is very affordable.. most people don’t know anything about it, so if they say it isn’t a cheap way to build they haven’t looked into it. Maybe if you tried to build in Del Mar, but think – why are you building a straw bail house instead of one made of wood? The answer to that will lead you to where you should look for property.

Plenty of lots in San Diego county with utilities at property line that can be had for under 5000 an acre.. I’m looking at about 20 of them.

$1k in Taos. Sounds like the deal of a lifetime!

Anyone who builds an alternative, creative house, please post pictures and share with us.

I agree, any info on this is very interesting and I would love to see some of the things you come up with!

Anxvariety
The properties are in Borrego,Shelter Valley?

I think the contamination issues with the tire and mud style construction are mitigated with an interior vapor barrier on all exterior walls. Wire lathe is attached to the walls and they are plastered.

Speeding pullet , My wife and I lived in a second hand travel trailer with a temporary occupancy permit while we built or admittedly conventional house. We(I) keep talking about it as the cure to affordable housing and enviormental issues. I had the idea of digging a huge hole on a knoll pushing the trailer in it, Making accomodation for the earths weight against the weak structure, access, ventilation and natural lighting in various ways. Then it would be covered with visqeen plastic so that water would plane off the knoll. About a foot of soil covers the plastic and the land is revegetated. I donated the trailer to a family in Tecate so it wasn’t a complete waste.With a few exceptions to the rule the county of San Diego by the way does not allow for living in these trailers anywhere under it’s jurisdiction . The ones you see are supposed to be parked only. There is another rule that allows visitors to live a total of 30 days a year in them. Could you all imagine what would happen to the economy if we were all allowed to do these kinds of alternative things.