#63 CHOOSING THE LAND * #6 (revised 6/4) "the power of others"

“Now, boys, don't get caught watchin' the paint dry!”

Wilbur 'Shooter' Flatch

The film “Hoosiers”

The power of others over your business

Often overlooked zoning regulations, land use restrictions, easements, rights of way, and legally shared facilities can be troublesome for a garden store. Just when you have figured out the solution, a little used ordinance, rule or previous agreements to a property use can derail your plans. The smart purchaser will seek a land use/zoning professional to spot these restrictions well ahead of time. Just as important, that professional can gain information as to when a business interruption may occur because of the re-building of a nearby road or the construction of a new power line or water source to the property. Of course, all of these restrictions can be appealed for change, modification, or elimination. But don’t rely on any success in an appeal. They are rare and very expensive to pursuit.

The use of the property for outdoor activities

Some municipalities restrict outdoor activities Because of the explosion of outdoor flee markets and parking lot sales and complaints from nearby home owners about open air manufacturing on land, local governments have been forced to act on limiting outdoor activities. Sometimes that outdoor activity allowable is based on the square footage of permanent buildings on the site. Other ordinances restrict outdoor activities based on the overall square footage of the land. As we know, a garden store business is all about outdoor activities.

Outdoor lighting allowances or restrictions

The “dark skies” movement, a national effort to restrict the amount, kinds, and direction of outdoor lighting in communities is beginning to limit uses on all kinds of property, even commercial and manufacturing zones. Many garden stores need outdoor lighting in the early spring, late fall and winter seasons for their livelihood. Be sure you know the restrictions before you proceed. Selling Christmas Trees in the dark is no fun.

The use of outdoor speakers for announcements or music.

Outdoor speakers for music and announcements have been extremely helpful for outdoor areas of a garden store. Neighbors’ often complain about them regardless of whether they are used respectfully or negligently. Some local governments have banned them completely. Check it out

Sound decibel restrictions in the outdoor sales area.

Some cities and towns have placed a maximum limit on sound decibels that can originate from a property. This limit may, for example, restrict a garden store from having a live Jazz combo during Mothers Day. Find out if the local ordinances have a decibel limit, and test the decibels against common activities in the outdoor area of the garden center.

Restrictions on the use of plant care materials, fungicides, fertilizers or insecticides on the property.

As private residences and commercial buildings began to share land areas, neighborhoods have begun to reject certain activities critical to the operation of a garden store. One of these is spraying and applying chemical and fertilizers to plants. The odors are offensive to them not to mention the larger concern of the health affects of this plant care. An ordinance may be in place in the local government rules that will restrict the kind of, frequency of, and the time in which the plant care can be performed at a garden center.

Height and architectural restrictions of any structures

Areas of restriction often overlooked are height and architectural restrictions on commercial buildings. Some municipalities have adhered to “themes” for their town. Santa Fe New Mexico, with the southwest them and Leavenworth, Washington, with a German Bavarian look are good examples. Local laws require that the buildings and structures reflect the theme. There is often an accompanying height restriction on buildings and other structures. There can be some extra expense complying with these themes and in some cases will limit the use of tall greenhouses and outdoor structures.

Access restrictions to and from the property

Look closely as to how your customers and your vendors can access your store. Local governments and state agencies are designing roadways with limited access to the adjacent stores and businesses. The only entrance and exit to the garden store may be a traffic signal a great distance from the property. In some cases the arterial road, and maybe the only roadway that feeds the store, may have barriers at the center line allowing only one direction of traffic to turn into the business.

The percentage of permanent landscaping materials for the use and any extra landscape screening to the surrounding properties

What sounds like a minor irritant may affect your garden store business more than you know. That is the case with landscaping requirements for a piece of land. Permanent landscaping can suck up an awful lot of selling area of a garden store, especially, landscaping “islands” in parking areas and screening landscaping on the property perimeters. Familiarize yourself with the most recent landscaping requirements before making a decision on the property

The restrictions of delivery trucks to the site.

If a properly is located near a residential housing area, watch out for a city restriction on when and where deliveries can be made to the land that interests you for your garden store. Springtime can bring deliveries at all hours of the day and night with all types of delivery trucks and vans.

Fencing restrictions

Some local governments simply will not tolerate some fencing in commercial businesses. Some will allow fencing but limits the height of the fencing to be so low that it is of no use in protecting garden store outdoor areas from theft and vandalism. Some municipalities ban the use of certain fencing fabrics, such as chain link. So if the goal is to keep people in the middle of the night from backing up their pick-ups and helping themselves to the plants, read the rules carefully about fencing.

Restrictions for residential living on the property

One particular possible restriction is of great importance to the development of green garden gates; not allowing residential living on the site of the commercial business. Although this limitation is rare, for our stores, it is a deal breaker. Our model is predicated on allowing residential living on our locations.

Signing restrictions

Signing restrictions have been an angry outcry for garden store owners for many years. Those sign codes, which are getting more restrictive each year, may not allow what the garden store owner needs to conduct a successful business. There are all sorts of rules in outdoor signing; heights, square footage restrictions on each sign and the total signing of a store, positioning on the property, movements of the signing and sometimes even artistic restrictions subject to the approval of an artistic committee!

Restrictions on the use of the existing water well

If there is existing water well on the property, which is the case with the property for green garden gates, don’t assume that the well can be used for the business. The local governmental agencies may prohibit the use of the well if municipal water is available to the site. A quick check with the agencies controlling the well is important.

Unusually high requirements for customer parking areas

Many communities have considered parking lots in commercial retail area as blighted and unsightly for the “look” of the town. Some officials have gone to great lengths in limiting how parking lots can be constructed. There are minimum parking spaces depending on the use of the land, large numbers of handicapped parking spaces, and sometimes tremendous requirements for landscaping on the perimeter of the parking area and with fully landscaped and irrigated “islands” within the parking area. There can be restrictions on the type of surface for the parking areas with a percentage being asphalt or concrete and a percentage required to be only gravel or grass areas for parking. Building a parking area to these standards can add huge costs to the garden store development

Irrigation water retention or filtering system requirements

New local, state and national laws have been adopted that may require all irrigation water generated from the property to be collected and in some cases filtered and retained on the property recycled again onto the irrigated areas. This requirement adds a large expense; installing collection piping under the plant display areas, building and equipping a filtration storage area and significant energy maintenance costs operating this system, The days of irrigation runoff to the ground water are gone. Plan on this expense.

“We were humming right along that second season in my garden store. And then it happened. The city closed off the street and blocked all the entrances to the place. For the next four months, they tore up the asphalt and rebuilt the pavement. I was dead in the water. I layed off all my employees and locked up the place.”

Garden store owner

Michigan

Others have plans that could seriously affect whether the garden store will be a success or failure. The governmental agencies that have absolute control over the adjoining roadways, the utilities, and the types of uses for the neighboring lands need to be consulted before the deal is made for the property. All garden store owners will face these disruptions in the life of the business. A roadway is closed right in the middle of the spring season, the water lines or the power source are re-built causing irrigation interruptions and electrical outages during the hot summer months. The change in land use can also cause havoc. The local zoning board may decided to allow a a beef processing and slaughter house to be construction right across the street sending horrible odors walfing into the noses of your customers as they select your petunias.

Before a purchase is finalized on the property, look carefully at all the controlling governments that can affect your business. Examine their “future plan” for the area and their immediate needs to “upgrade” in your area. Ask to see the plan, called a “comprehensive plan” for the land use in your area. “Don’t get caught watching the paint dry.”

Easements, rights of way, liens, judgements and shared property agreements.

The title report on the property should tell it all. The title company is insuring that all the public records have been examined and all the issues that “cloud” the title will be in the report. If it is not on the report, you get to collect from the title company. Sometimes, however these documents are not recorded with the local courthouse, the title company does not pick it up and there is a knock on the door with a man with a piece of paper holding trouble for you. It is rare but it does happen.

SURPRISE!!

Easments and rights of ways

The road and power line easements are the most common. The road that is in front of the property is more that what is seen. There is the little item about all of that square footage that is controlled by the highway department off the asphalt leading toward your land. It may be only five wide wide and no big deal. It may be as much as thirty to fifty feet eating into what you thought was land you could use for your little garden store. There will come a day when they will want that land so be prepared to knock down your fence and hand it over.

The power line easements running in your property are less disruptive but a real bother occasionally. Nothing can be built under them, nothing can be planted under them that will interfere with the lines. Further, the power company in the easement must have the absolute right to have a pathway to drive their trucks right through your garden store to get to them for repairs. So plan for that to happen in your design.

Sometimes water easements occur when, for example, a municipal water canal is running along your property. They, like the power guys, will need to get in there once in a while and that means you sometimes have to make way for the trucks right through your business!

Liens and judgements

If the farmer did not pay for work on the farm, there could be a lien placed on the property demanding payment when the property is sold or transferred. Perhaps, an injury occurred and there was a court judgement that the farmer failed to pay. Likewise that money is to be paid before the property is sold or transferred. Lending agencies and banks that make the property loan will demand that these liens and judgements be paid to make the title “clean”. But if the sale is done in cash or by private contract without the use of a title company, there will be a BIG knock on the door and a big headache. Make sure the title is “clean”, demand that the seller “cleans” the title or be prepared to pay more dollars than the agreed price when you hear the knock.

Shared property agreements

Thirty five years ago two farmers sat down on the old chairs outside the local cafe. They needed to rebuild a little washed out road on their shared property line to get to the upper pastures. A short piece of the road, because of the washout had to be moved to higher ground one hundred feet onto one of the farmers land. They wrote the agreement to share the road on a paper menu and signed it. This year the land was sold by the son of the deceased farmer for a garden store and nursery. The garden store owner received a clean title for the land and started construction of a greenhouse on that old roadbed. Then came a knock on his door. It was the neighboring farmer holding the old menu in his hand. The greenhouse structure was knocked to the ground and moved elsewhere. The land could never be used for anything but a road. It was never recorded. It was never mentioned in the sale. The new owner of the land was unable to use a hundred foot strip of this land running the entire length of the property.

Shared property agreements often are drawn because of the need for access between adjacent owners. Sometimes agreements can be for well water rights where each person is allowed to draw irrigation water for their needs. In many cases, the agreements may not be recorded at all. They only come to light when the use of the land changes. TALK TO THE NEIGHBORS ABOUT THIS LAND BEFORE PURCHASING.

#62 CHOOSING THE LAND* #5 (revised 6/4) "zoning part one"

One of those nightmares that will keep you up at night is purchasing a piece of land for your garden store and finding out it is zoned incorrectly. Many buyers have relied on the real estate agency, signed on the dotted line and then learned that those agents did not know what they were talking about. Changing zoning can be expensive, tricky and sometimes not possible. You can get really stuck. Don’t rely on anyone. Don’t blow it off. Do the work yourself. Go to the official records. Talk with the local zoning department of the city. Learn what you can and cannot do with the land. Make the zone change a condition of the purchase. If you have to change the zoning, hire a local land use expert to represent you in the zoning change hearings. Don’t screw around with Zoning. Don’t touch that signing pen until you fully aware of the potential zoning restrictions.

Getting trapped in an “agricultural zone”

Some garden store owners purchase “agriculturally zoned land. They assume that they can get away with most anything on that property because they “grow things”. BIG MISTAKE. The operation of a garden store will, without question, have to be zoned “retail” in nearly all towns and cities in this country. Oh yeah, you might be able to get by for a while selling some stuff on that ag land, but when the customers and cars start rolling in and the activity and congestion starts to build, someone is going to complain and a city zoning guy will be knocking on your door. Often, it is your neighbors who get angry and make the call to the officials. They loved the peace and quiet of that vacant land and they are pissed. And when you begin the long process of trying to change the zoning, it can be a nightmare and darned expensive.

Usually, there is going to be one guy down there in city hall who is a smart ass and is going to hold you to the letter of the law and believe me, he has the law on his side. Don’t take the risk. Buy it zoned retail or get is zoned “retail” before you buy the land. And another thing, don’t just get part of it zoned, because you may need all of that ag land for expansion sooner or later and it is best to get it all done at once.

“Old Bud”

“My husband and I moved to a town and purchased some agriculturally zoned land. We needed to get it zone retail, but had no idea how to do it. When talking with the neighboring property owners, they suggested that we contact “old Bud”. Bud Marson had worked for 20 years as the head of the zoning department in the city government. He retired and started his own private consulting business specializing in zoning issues. We let Bud handle the whole ball of wax, applications, hearings, meetings.

Three weeks later, but brought us the zone change, with no conditions or problems. We paid him 2000.00 for the work and we could not be happier. You see, Bud knew how it work, he knew the people he had to convince, he knew the zoning laws so we would not be hung up on extra stuff to build or develop.

It would have taken us months to get that done and it may have been very risky to present it ourselves. I am here to tell you that if you need a land use or zone change, get “old Bud” or somebody like him!”

Susan Matson

Garden store owner

Florida

What is the present zoning of this land?

The land is still in an agricultural zone, which restricts all retail activity on the property. The area is changing rapidly to retail from predominantly agricultural uses along this corridor. There have been many zone changes to commercial in the past several years near this site.

In anticipation of possible zone change issues, We had hired a local zoning and land use expert to sheppard the process if needed. She has an employment history with the local zoning authorities and is familiar with the procedures as well as the contacts for negotiations on specific matters related to the zone change.

As part of the lease purchase agreement for the property, we will condition the contract on the successful change of the land use and zoning to allow green garden gates to conduct retail commercial business on the entire parcel.

We reserve the right to void the agreement if local zoning decisions place additional conditions on the property that will limit unfettered use of the land as a commercial operation suitable for the operation of green garden gates.

#61 COMMENTS* (revised 6/4) "my friend Al and his hog farm"

“My friend, Al, moved to a town in Utah to start a small tree growing business. He bought a house with some property behind for the young trees. While he was busy planting the saplings, two neighbors stopped by and angrily told him that it was against the city ordinances to have a commercial business in their housing development. Al was worried and upset. He had put all of his money in the house, the land and the trees. A few weeks later, he appeared before the town zoning board and pleaded his case. They turned him down flat and ordered him to stop planting trees.

“What can I do on the property?” he asked. They read from the ordinance. “You can do this, you can do that, and you can have a hog farm”. Al’s ears perked up, “A hog farm?” The astonished board member could not believe that was still in the zoning regulations, a use allowed years ago when the area was still a farming community.

Al quietly folded up his papers, thanked the board members and left the meeting room. The next day he placed an ad in the local paper seeking hogs for his hog farm. He put the word out in the neighborhood that he had ordered the hog pens and huge open hog manure holding containers.

One evening there was a knock on Al’s door. It was the same two neighbors. They spoke quietly this time, lowering their heads, as they sheepishly handed him a contract offering to give Al cash for all of his land and house right then and there. Al looked straight at them, scribbled down a number on the TV Guide and pushed it to them. He watched the anger boil up on their faces.

“This is my price, said Al. It is rock solid and if you guys open your mouths about it, each word that comes out will cost you an extra thousand dollars.”

Al deposited the money, moved out of his house, and is happily growing trees on some beautiful land and house he bought with cash from the hog farm caper.

Oh yeah, Al canceled the order for the hog pens!"

garden store owner

Utah

#60 CHOOSING THE LAND * #4 (revised 6/4) "using it wisely"

V A L U E

U means use the land wisely

Buying too much land for a garden store can be as deadly as buying not enough land. Some believe that garden stores are much like shrub and tree farming operations. They envision rows and rows of plants stretched out to the horizon. When they buy land for a new store, they feel they absolutely need lots of it. It does not take long for them to see that retail customers just will not walk to the end of these rows or sort through huge blocks of rhododendrons. Anything beyond three hundred feet from their car door is on another planet and they ain’t going to bother.

So what becomes of the long rows of shrubs? They are quickly moved to the front and that area is pretty much abandoned as a place for customers. Likewise, a garden store must have foresight to purchase enough land to reap the rewards of a full potential. Too much land or too little land can spell trouble either way.

Is the land the right size for green garden gates?

We, at green garden gates have set a minimum and maximum limit on property for our stores. We believe that the total land should be no more or less than two to three acres. That amount includes parking and driving areas, loading and unloading, retail building and living quarters, landscaped areas and outdoor display areas. With this range of property size, we are able to see a number of potential parcels. A larger property would limit availability and quality of a site.

This land falls within our range of property size. It will allow us to find and use the full potential of creativity for every square foot of the retail business. The size allows plenty of parking and display but does not squander areas that return nothing to green garden gates. Also, the size is affordable to us and affordable to a variety of businesses in the event a change in the business model dictates that we will want to sell the land in the future.

#59 CHOOSING THE LAND* #3 (revised 6/4) "can we afford it?"

V A L U E

E means acquiring the property economically

When shopping for property for the garden store, real estate agents will start with the premier sites. That is their job; to make as much money in commissions as possible. The reality is that the garden store will not support initially and probably will never be able to support the costs of this high dollar land, unless the plan is to hold it for a short time and flip the land, moving to the next one. A garden store, even if it is carefully planned can suck up a lot of square footage. Additionally, purchasing the land may not be the right choice. Sometimes a long term lease makes more sense or a lease with option to purchase might allow the owner to ease into the business. In all of these decisions for the property, the reality of failure must be faced. Any commitments must be seriously considered if the worst should happen.

Is the price right for the land and is the method of acquisition correct?

We chose Tulsa because the commercial land in the area was economical and abundant. We believe that this city and the surroundings are an emerging growth area in the next ten years and a prudent land investment will return well in the years to come. We further believe that this developing commercial corridor where the land is located will be in high demand for a variety of uses.

The amount of property, 2.5 acres, fits into our profile for green garden gates. We determine that, since this land will increase in value in the next 10 years, we may want now or in the near future to have ownership, rather than enter into a long term lease of the land. However, although we are extremely optimistic, we remain tentative of the success of our model. Therefore, if we go forward with this land, we have decided to lease the property for three years with an option to purchase the property at an agreed price anytime during the lease period.

We have entered into preliminary negotiations with the owner about the land. After these discussions, taking into account the added expense of bringing services to the site, the cost of the 2.5 acres land today has been set at 4.75 per square foot, for a total of 517,275.00. We agreed to a “triple net” lease agreement, paying for all repairs on the land, property taxes, and insurance. The base lease would be a fixed three year rate of 1,724.25 per month. The owners of the property agreed that the cost to purchase the land during the first eighteen months of the lease would be fixed at the original asking price of 517,275.00. After the first eighteen months until the end of the 36 months lease, the price to purchase the land would be 569,000.00, a ten percent increase over the original price. It is further agreed that after the first 18 months of the lease contract, we can opt out of the lease and cease operations on the land by paying a penalty of 10,000.00.

This financial arrangement for the property is advantageous. First, it eases the strain on cash flow during the start up period of the business. Second, it allows us to purchase the land at the original purchase price up to 18 months of the lease. Third, it allows us to exit the property with minimal financial burden if the green garden gates model is not successful.

#58 CHOOSING THE LAND #2* (revised 6/4) visibility and access"

V A L U E

A for access

Our customers at green garden gates deserve and quite frankly will demand easy access to our store. Often, garden stores overlook the importance of time to the shopping public. Increasingly customers simply will not go out of their way for products and services if they are forced to struggle with bad access. They want to be in their gardens not trying to get in and out of a parking lot. We strive for a seamless movement from the public roads to our parking areas

Will the access to our property be seamless for our customers?

Yes, this property has excellent access. Oklahoma highway 51, a six lane type no toll expressway is a major east west arterial lead into and out of the city of Tulsa from the neighboring major suburban residential areas and significant manufacturing and industrial campuses and regional shopping areas. Interstate 244 leading across Oklahoma into Kansas, Arkansas, and Missouri and points east and north is located nearby with a freeway link to highway 51. Near the property is a newly developed off/on ramp recently installed to carry large amounts of vehicles to a huge world class airline assembly facility. The ramp moves easily onto a four lane siding road that fronts the property leading to a variety of commercial operations, connecting and ramping back onto Highway 51 a mile north of the site. The siding arterial has been designed for heavy loads of traffic at peak hours with only a small inconvenience to the traveler. The design of the facility will take advantage of this excellent roadway access in their parking and loading designations as well as ingress and egress to the site. Our gardening customers will have worry free access to green garden gates saving time and frustration in their shopping day.

V A L U E

V for visibility



Can customers see the property from their vehicles?

Frustrated gardening customers who are forced to waste time searching for a garden store will likely never return to that store. They will look elsewhere for their plants and plant care products. You have lost them. The garden store must be seen immediately. Also, what they see from their vehicles must be pleasing to the eye. At green garden gates we want our store, our outdoor displays and our signage so visible that the customer can almost pick the plant from their vehicle before they even arrive and park their car.

We are fortunate with this property, to have all major roadways near the land straight with no curves or turns as the roadways pass near the location. There is high visibility from all directions. In addition, the two major roadways have been constructed to be slightly elevated. Motorists passing the property will look down on green garden gates from all directions of travel. The siding road, likewise, has no curves and turns in front of the land. The signage will be highly visible and unobstructed to the vehicle traffic on both Highway 51 and the linking arterial to Interstate 244.