Natural living school cited for code violations

[tod evans]

Mountain man fights local government to keep nature school natural

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/02/28/mountain-man-fights-local-government-to-keep-nature-school-natural/?test=latestnews


A self-styled 'Mountain Man' who left modern conveniences for the backwoods of North Carolina decades ago is butting heads with local officials who say his forest compound isn’t up to code – and he may have television to blame.
Eustace Conway, who owns and operates a school that teaches hundreds of people how to live closer to nature, received a cease and desist letter from county officials who say his buildings don't meet code.
"Basically I'm living like the American heritage pattern of all our ancestors and the modern world isn't, and they don't know how to accept me," said Conway.
But Conway says the county has inspected the property before and told him everything was fine. Some believe the county only took notice after Conway appeared on the History Channel's "Mountain Men."
Everything in Conway's Turtle Island Preserve is organic and made from nature. The preserve's website notes the property's buildings are "carved literally from the wilderness."
But the naturalness of the property is precisely what has sparked county officials to take notice. Officials say unless Conway can meet building codes and safety regulations, the camp and school will be closed.
"If we complied to everything the county is requesting, we would cease to exist as we are," one Turtle Island staffer said. "We are inherently primitive."
The county says it is just looking to fulfill its duty to protect public health and safety.
"The primary concern of the county is that these visitors are in and out of these buildings which were neither permitted nor inspected for compliance with the NC building code," said the Watauga County Planning and Inspections Department.
"This is supposed to be the land of the free. Government is supposed to help people, protect their individual liberties and freedom -- that's not what's happening here," said Conway.
Conway says he plans to fight to keep his nature school the way it was built.
"I'm not confident I can win it. I'm confident I ought to win it," said Conway. "This is something I spent this much of my life, I don't have much left."

[kathy88]

...and if he'd stayed away from the media he'd still be keepin' on. Mixed feelings about this one. Bringing attention to yourself it's to be expected in this climate. Don't get me wrong, I still think it's bullshit, but could have been avoided.

[GunnyFreedom]

The Code harassment came way before Eustace's public pleas.

[acptulsa]

The progressives are increasingly encountering the basic and inescapable conflict between 'we need to protect the environment' vs. 'we need to force people to conform to protect them from themselves'. There is nothing ecofriendly about an idiotproofed society as we know it, and it's highly doubtful even the most brilliant designers can make a truly idiotproofed society at all, much less make it ecofriendly. Their expectations are unrealistic, and they're coming face to face with this simple fact.

Good! Send this to every prog you know!

[Origanalist]

The county says it is just looking to fulfill its duty to protect public health and safety.

Protect and serve, how noble.

[asurfaholic]

What specifically are the violations?

[Philhelm]

What specifically are the violations?

Uhhhhh...interstate commerce.

[seraphson]

Down with free market, free trade, and Capitalism!

Oh wait...

[cjm]

"The primary concern of the county is that these visitors are in and out of these buildings which were neither permitted nor inspected for compliance with the NC building code," said the Watauga County Planning and Inspections Department.

From http://www.wataugacounty.org/main/App_Pages/Dept/Planning/home.aspx ...


Watauga County Planning and Inspections



The Watauga County Planning and Inspections Department is located in downtown Boone at 331 Queen Street, Room 104 (the Rock Building beside the Courthouse). Normal business hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Mission Statement

The Watauga County Planning and Inspections Department prepares and revises comprehensive and strategic plans for the County; prepares and enforces land use regulations including subdivision, erosion control, watershed, zoning, and flood plain; enforces the N. C. State Building Code; provides technical and clerical assistance to the Watauga County Planning Board and community councils; and provides technical information to governmental agencies, private groups, and individuals. The Department is also involved in preparing applications for Community Development Block Grants, Farmer's Home Administration grants and loans, etc., and is responsible for administration of the programs.

The Planning and Inspections department consists of eight (8) staff members which include a director, five (5) professionals involved in the above-named activities and two (2) administrative support personnel.

Citizen Boards

The Watauga County Planning Board, with seven (7) members appointed for 2 or 4-year terms by the County Commissioners, makes recommendations regarding the development of comprehensive planning programs in the unincorporated area of the County, including implementation and revision of land use regulations. The Planning Board also acts as the review board for subdivision plat approval.

The Watauga County Board of Adjustment, with five (5) regular members and one (1) alternate appointed by the County Commissioners for 3-year terms, is a quasi-judicial body which may interpret the zoning ordinances in disputes regarding their meaning, grant variances to the zoning ordinances, and authorize the issuance of conditional use zoning permits; the Board also has responsibilities under other ordinances.

The Valle Crucis Historic Preservation Commission reviews development plans and building exterior plans for issuance of Certificates of Appropriateness pursuant to the Valle Crucis Historic District Ordinance.

Your homework, RPFers, is to research the citizen boards, commissions, authorities, and committees for your locality and get on them. I will be applying for one in my area in the next couple weeks.

[TonySutton]

What specifically are the violations?

There are a whole bunch. They went in and did a by the book inspection. Some deal with out houses, some deal with construction, there is even one where they built a bridge over a small creek. One that most adults could jump over and maybe 2-3 foot high. It only has a hand rail on one side, oops violation...

[AGRP]

"This is supposed to be the land of the free. Government is supposed to help people, protect their individual liberties and freedom -- that's not what's happening here,"

http://lastfrag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/2473273-page0_blog_entry34_mj_laughing1.gif

[phill4paul]

I have updated some info in this thread.....http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?397157-Folks-if-you-ever-wanted-to-fight-against-government-tyranny-then-this-is-a-start

[tod evans]

I have updated some info in this thread.....http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?397157-Folks-if-you-ever-wanted-to-fight-against-government-tyranny-then-this-is-a-start

Maybe some kind-hearted mod will merge them?

[Lucille]

Maybe some kind-hearted mod will merge them?

That would be great.

Guy Who Runs Wilderness Camp Told to Install Sprinklers, Use County Approved Lumber
http://reason.com/blog/2013/03/14/guy-who-runs-wilderness-camp-told-to-ins


Meet Eustace Conway, 51, the owner of Turtle Camp near Boone, North Carolina. He's a back-to-the-land guy who bathes in a creek, grows his own food, and welcomes others to learn some survival skills at his place (which he runs as an educational nonprofit) for a small fee.

He's been doing this for 30 years, but he was recently featured on a reality TV show. That bought local planning officials sniffing around his campfire.

Want to guess what happened next?

Ah, Wilderness! Mountain Man vs. the Building Inspector
County Shuts Rustic Preserve; Self-Sufficiency Doesn't Meet Code
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324178904578340850547093268.html


..."Codes don't apply to what we're doing," he says.

Mr. Conway has attracted supporters, including Don Carrington, vice president of the John Locke Foundation, a libertarian-leaning Raleigh, N.C.-based think tank. "Why can't you do what you want on your own land?" he asks. "Shouldn't you be able to have guests come in, and say here's where you go to the bathroom, here's where you eat, and if you don't want to do that, don't come?"

State building officials say they would like to help Mr. Conway and are considering changes. Local officials say their hands are tied because the codes are written by the state. They also say even amending building codes wouldn't address fire and health issues at Turtle Island.

Mr. Furman, the county official, says it is simple. The cabin built and slept in by campers last summer needs a bathroom, fire sprinklers and smoke detectors. "Does anyone sleep there? Then it has to meet the residential code," he says.

Mr. Conway can't sell his $10 Turtle Island T-shirts, either, unless the common area where they are on display has a restroom. As for the old trucks used on the property, parked by a maintenance shed? "That could be considered an automobile garage, but let's not go there," Mr. Furman says.

Watauga County Commissioner Perry Yates said the problem isn't Mr. Conway's primitive methods but rather his less primitive ones, like using an oven range in the outdoor kitchen. "If we are going to teach 1776, let's teach it the way it really was," Mr. Yates says.

"There needs to be give and take on both sides," he says. "We need to respect our ancestors' way of life, but we also need to do it in a sanitary manner."

Last year, Mr. Conway was featured on the History Channel's "Mountain Men," a reality TV show about what it is like to "shed the complications of modern society." He and two other men, in Montana and Alaska, are depicted facing hungry animals, bad weather and contentious assistants. The second season started filming last month at Turtle Island.

Mr. Conway questions why the local government is acting now. "Maybe we were oblivious, but we had no reason to think about it," Mr. Furman says. "We're liable for it now that we know."

Mr. Conway says his property is safe because visitors spend most of their time outdoors. "People say, 'think outside the box,' and I say, 'just think outside,' " he says. "I mean, really, go outside! Think!"

Retired history teacher David Gould took nearly 2,000 ninth-graders over the years on retreats to Turtle Island from Durham Academy, a prep school. "Most of these kids come from privileged backgrounds and have virtually no knowledge of the out-of-doors," he says. They learn how to trek through the woods in the dark, use a hunting knife and make their own meals. "The girls in particular come back way more self-confident and empowered," he says.

More than 11,000 people have signed a petition from the change.org website asking the N.C. Building Code Council to exempt primitive structures like those at Turtle Island. Mr. Conway is answering supporters by email. "I write something on a piece of paper, then I tell it to someone and then they email it," he says. The computer in the camp office is solar powered, as the camp doesn't have electricity.

"I believe our founding fathers would do anything to come back and get in on this one," he said in the email.

[Occam's Banana]

[...] local officials who say his forest compound isn’t up to code [...]

Well, there you go. The guy has a "compound" - 'nuff said.