BSL and building codes/restrictions

Hello everyone. I'm sitting here at a rediculous time. It's 4:56 am and I'm clicking away at these pages. There is so much info here. This might be one of my new hang outs. I'm seriously considering a GH and am pretty much about size and durability. Obviously there are other factors that need consideration as well. One of my biggest concerns is local coding and restrictions. Our house is situated on a coldesac and it backs up to a greenbelt that is part of a water-shed. I know that the land behind our property will never be built on because it IS a water shed. I'm just wondering how far back up to the property line I can go. I know this will vary from location to location but was wondering if there was anyone here who might have had experience with this. Having limited space, I want to maximize the land in doing this GH. The biggest bummer of this whole thing is that in order to do this I will have to clear out lots of native natural growth. Young oak trees, southern magnolias and hundreds of saw palmetto. I'm going to try and minimize the clearing. I have been told by the builder of our house that the only restrictions in place along the property line against the watershed are for permanent structures. He went on to add that I can actually put things up outside of the property line toward the greenbelt area so long as it's nothing permanent. Would a GH be considered a permanent structure? That may be a silly question to many here with so much experience but I'm just hoping that some of you will share some of that experience. Again, I'm just looking for input from anyone who has had to deal with this sort of thing.

Thanks.

Bug,

I would not build or put up anything on some one else land (city,state,county or private) without seeing it written in black & white. I surely would not take the builders word.

Honeybee

BF: Your Deed should (or may) list any deed restrictions such as what you can put where. If there are no restrictions listed in your deed, check any restrictions and covenants for your sub-division (you should have a copy of those, or get one from the Builder or Land Record office), then you still need to check Zoning.

Your local county or city Zoning board will have the required setbacks (how close to your legal boundary you can get) for your lot, and the definitions as to things like whether a GH is a permanent structure. Usually a "permanent structure" is defined by whether it is easily moved, but not always. Some regulatory boards consider those portable metal sheds permanent structures even though they are not usually anchored.

Some regulatory agencies have definitions that call for electricity and/or water in a building to be considered "permanent". You just have to ask yours what the rules are.

Under NO circumstances should you build anything not on your property. I think kids building simple tree houses in the woods sometimes get by with it, but I wouldn't do any more than that.

I built a 3-sided potting shed very close to my side line, and since it's anchored by posts in concrete, it's considered a permanent structure here. Fortunately, it backs up to a very tall hedge and no neighbor complained to the authorities so no problems. I'm sure it is in violation of Code and the worst they could make me do is take it down.

Thank you both. You have given me something to work with.