#67 CHOOSING THE MANAGER * (revised 6/4) breaking barriers

Choosing our manager


There is no person more important to a garden store business than the on-site working manager. We say this because, too often, the owners or accountants or buyers are given more attention, more incentives and more recognition. No one gets paid; No one has a job unless products move out the door. It is the responsibility of that manager keep turning the wheel every minute, every hour. If that does not happen, failure will happen, guaranteed.


At green garden gates, we have developed guidelines for the hiring of managers at our stores. While not any one of the guidelines eliminates prospects from this position, the composite is very important.

Male or Female?

“They laughed at me. They said it was a store for biker guys and we did not need any fru fru. Well, I fought them all the way. I tricked out those dungeon biker stores and the ladies started to walk in and buy and boy did they buy, and so did the men who were lawyers and doctors.

Sarah Lindsey-Banks
Managing the upgrading of the Harley-Davidson Stores

It has been automatic to think of a manager of a garden store to be a man. This business seems to demand that physical strength and stamina are paramount. After all, who is left unloading a semi of heavy trees when there is no one else around? Who moves loaded plant carts, or fills an order for twenty bales of frozen peat moss into an enclosed van? It is all tough and muscle straining day after day. Absolutely, it takes a man. Well, not so fast. If the only real reason for a excluding a woman for manager is strength, muscle, height and weight, let’s set that argument aside for the moment.

Seventy percent of the gardening customers who come to green garden gates are women. More than that a larger percentage of the buying decisions are made by women. Doesn’t it stand to reason that, without question, the look, the products, the atmosphere, the presentation, the approach to customers is directed primarily to those women shoppers? Would not a both a male or female be qualified to direct the store operations? We, at green garden gates, are not a feed store; we do not make parts for radiators. Many of our customers arrive in heels, they arrive in their Lexus. They want the feel or they will not freely purchase.



Ok, let’s simply solve the muscle thing. We will make available the tools and the human resources at any time to get the job done for our female or male managers.



A male or a female both possess sometimes different but equally important skills for green garden gates. We welcome both men and women as our managers.

#1 Managers for green garden gates can be either male or female




Young or not so young?

Here are some myths that We have to avoid when making choices for our managers Young workers have more energy, spirit and stamina for the long haul. Young managers are trained more easily. Young managers have more hunger and thirst for success. Young managers have “fire in their belly”. Young workers are the last into work and the first to leave. Young workers will stay long enough to add a job to their resume. Young workers have to be rewarded all the time or they will get discouraged. Older workers are more resistant to change, more hesitant. Older managers are likely to be “set in their ways”, following patterns learned and not able to adapt. Older managers do not have the stamina for the long haul, their interests are elsewhere. Older managers have been “burned” and are cautious, taking the easy road, avoiding difficult choices that may endanger their positions. Older managers cannot relate to their young employees. Older workers value a job well done. Older workers relate to customers more easily. Older workers will stick with a task no matter how tough it is

Both the young and not so young managers and employees bring equal talents to green garden gates.

#2 Managers can be of any age



A higher formal education or the “school of hard knocks”?

“They turned me down for the job because I did not have a college degree. That was it. I had been doing that job for months and always was at the very top of performance. They dead ended me at that level. They said I was the best person ever to be in that job.


Sammy
Applying the business manager position of his company

So many bright and talented employees have been passed over when applying for the job of a manager because they did not have a college degree. It is tragic and a waste of talent. Not possessing college work, beyond a high school diploma or its equivalency will absolutely not exclude their selection. We want our managers to have been exposed to the real world as well as the classroom world. Of course, there will be standards of proper speech and decorum that needs to be closely aligned with the customers of green garden gates, but that does not translate to the necessity of having a college educational background to have gained these social skills and decorum.

#3 Managers are to possess a basic formal education as well as experience in the workplace.

Gardener, haberdasher or gravedigger?

We get hung up on this gardener thing. Some garden store owners insist that the mangers and key employees need to have some sort of degree in horticulture, botany, or landscape architecture. Nonsense. And to add insult to injury, those employees are regarded as very important employees. Nonsense again.

Some of finest most knowledgeable employees in the store have never stepped foot in a place of higher learning, let along getting a degree in these fields. Some of the worst employees post these diplomas proudly on the wall. There has yet to come a decent number of graduate landscape architecture majors who can tell the difference between crepe myrtle and crepe paper. And the master gardeners? Forget it. Most have just enough information to make them dangerous in the retail garden store. If you want your customers to have a tour of your plants and learn about the stages of plant life, leaf color, and flower characteristics or if you want your customers to have a pretty picture with little tree symbols, property boundaries, these are the people to send on that mission. If you want your plants purchased, skip this group!

Now, that is being a little rough on these graduates and degree holders. Some have made the change for the retail store. Together with their knowledge and their newly acquired “street smarts” on plants, they can very fine and valuable employees. Just be careful that the staff is not loaded with a bunch of plant snobs. Garden stores are not botanical gardens. We sell things.

The first quality of the manager is that he or she knows how to sell; to have a basic understand of the gardening products, give honest advice, and close the deal. The best plant a garden store has is the one that left the parking lot in the customer’s car. Experience in a garden store retail setting is great. More importantly, however, is experience in a fast moving, high product turnover retail environment, where movement is the key. Some of the best employees of garden stores come form the cosmetic and clothing industry. Those employees know how to display and sell, leaving only dust on the shelves. Likewise a manager from these businesses knows how to motivate and how to promote. Like the haberdasher, the object is to get the suit on the man and satisfy him so he will never want to take it off ever again!

The manager needs to be part gravedigger, sweating away during the long hours of the spring planting season, digging those holes one after another from dawn to dusk endlessly until the season draws to a close.

#4 The manager has to have a basic understanding of gardening, experienced in selling and moving products and be willing to put in the long difficult and demanding hours of a garden store.

#66 CHOOSING THE LAND * (revised 6/4) "signing day"

Signing day



The four gathered around the big table for the final completion of the checklist. The property scored high for the best place in Tulsa for a green garden gates. They were eager and ready to move ahead with this land.

Signing day for the land was set for May 1st. The start of construction was scheduled for September 15th. During the last several months, anticipating the acquisition, the process of formalizing the companies was completed. The financial investors brought together by Sarah Bank’s husband, John were registered in the state of Oregon under the name of Mt. Hood Investment Group. The four partners of green garden gates formed a Sub-Chapter S corporation named GGG National. It was agreed, and accepted by the seller of the land that Mt. Hood Investment group would lease the land and sign the contract. The land would be then sub-leased to GGG national for the development of green garden gates.

Everyone was invited to the land for dinner the evening before the signing; the accountants, attorneys, real estate agents, consultants, and the local media. The children played in the newly mowed green field of the land. A long table with a white table cloth and matching chairs was set. Blooming red geraniums in clay pots were placed on the table near where the they would be on display for their customers this time next year. The evening was warm with a light breeze.

Sarah Lindsey-Banks rose to offer the first toast. The evening sun picked up the vivid auburn of her hair and face.

“To Sammy, what an adventure you signed up for! To Twyla, it’s finally time to break out the hammers and to Nick, my dear friend; we are riding your dream with you. Now let’s get started and have some fun making it all come true!

Sarah picked up the Champaigne bottle that she had saved for these many months. With one wild swing, she thrust and smashed it on a nearby wooden fence post.



“I christen thee green garden gates, the first.
The flagship of our crazy, wonderful journey”

#65 CHOOSING THE LAND * (revised 6/4) "working down the checklist"

Access to overflow parking

The ability to grow and prosper in the garden store business is directly related to the amount of customer vehicles that can be accommodated at one time. Sure, it’s the selection and the service and the “buzz”, but getting gardeners parked to shop is the key. Springtime can bring huge parking problems for garden stores.

Some stores have employed parking attendants to ease the congestion. Some have valet customer service, moving the cars on and off site at peak business hours and days. ‘the lucky garden store owners have had adjacent or near their land, an overflow parking area. This may be a church parking lot, a school lot or a vacant piece of property.

The owner will pay a fee or contribute in some way to the organization, insure against liability and damage, and take care of the maintenance of the property. This valuable asset may only be used during the busy spring months but this overflow parking can be worth its weight in gold.

Is there the possibility for overflow customer parking near the land?

Yes, there are several possibilities for this. The neighboring land is occupied by a meg-church with a huge parking area. Although they are active each day with gatherings, there is an abundance of parking remaining on the weekdays and Saturday. Sundays are out of the question for use by our store. We have had some preliminary conversations with the church board of directors and they are very interested in providing this overflow. Further negotiations will continue if we take possession of this parcel of land. There are a number of rural pieces of non producing farmland in the area that could be used as overflow parking. Although possible, the cost of minimal improvement to accommodate vehicles may be prohibitive

Utilities on the site

There can be a prohibitive expense to bringing utilities to an undeveloped piece of property, especially in a rural area. That cheap land is not cheap anymore when all the bills are paid for bringing in these services. Gas companies are not interested in running a line unless they can be assured that the usage will be large profitable for them. Connecting to a local sewer district often requires that landowner to pay a “capitalization fee” as much as 20,000.00 and pay for all the hookups and piping into the land. Water also may require a cap fee and hookup expenses. Electrical companies may have to sink a new pole and run new lines to the property, often all charged to the landowner. Those costs have to be seriously examined when weighing this “cheap land” against a property equipped already with the utilities. Oh yes, one more thing. Don’t forget the fire hydrants. Most municipalities want hydrants installed with frequency along a commercial area. The cost to put in these babies is pricey and you will pay the freight for them.

Does this land have all the utilities necessary for a green garden gates?

With one exception, the land is fully ready with the utilities. Fortunately, the nearby mega-church has brought most services to the area. Gas lines, underground power lines, and water lines were installed when the frontage road was built. In addition, a fiber optic transmission line was bundled with these services. We will incur the normal cost of piping the utilities once it reaches the property lines, which is normal. We will however, have to pay for the cost of installation of at least two fire hydrants for the land, with an estimated total expense of about 10,000.00.

What’s that fire truck doing in the azaleas?

As the planning for the building construction begins, all governmental agencies get involved. Sometimes there is a little sleeper restriction by the fire department about the land that could catch you flat footed and really pissed off.

The firemen get nervous about getting onto the property for an emergency. If the land is fenced with locked gates, they will most likely insist on a “Knox Box”, a steel lock box containing keys to the fence and business door locks. The fire department will only have the key to this Knox Box, enabling them to open the gate and doors rapidly. The cost for this box is about 300 bucks, a good investment to save breaking down doors and fence gates

That one is easy. This one can make you very angry.

Fire Departments want more than one way to get into the property to get to a fire or emergency. If your land is on a road that dead ends and the entrance to that road is blocked off for any reason, They may determine that they cannot get the water hoses and equipment to the site. They may require another access off a nearby road for an alternate pathway. It Sounds reasonable doesn’t it? Just put a locked gate on your fence line bordering that another road. But that is the easy part.

Then the fire department will probably have to drive from that emergency entrance into your property to the buildings. That means that FOREVER a pathway large enough for a fire truck will have to be clear and unobstructed AT ALL TIMES, leaving a big swath of land unusable for display and sales of garden store products. That is a lot of land that cannot be used for anything.

When choosing land for a garden store, look closely at roadways for emergency entrances. You may be buying land that can never be used.

Employee commuting

Rural businesses, far away from employee living areas can be difficult for everyone. The commute can be long and rural areas can have many obstructions such as railroad crossings and narrow crowded sometimes unimproved roads. The employee can come to work exasperated and tired of the commute and not in a positive frame of mind for customer service. Also, the services of day care and medical help are far from the location causing additional stress on the employee. The difficulty of the commute may mean the loss of excellent employees over a period of time. When considering land that requires a long commute, understand the sacrifice an employee must make to get to your workplace. Again, that cheap land may not be so cheap after all.

Will there be a difficult employee commute to this site?

The employee commute will be very easy and hassle free. Two major highways leading from the urban core are available from all directions. There are a number of medical and day care facilities near the land. The employees, like our customers, will have not obstructions to get to green garden gates

Taking possession of the land

The time between purchasing the land and taking possession of the land can become very important. Sometimes the owner wants or needs a period of months to vacate the property. There may be buildings and equipment on the site or destruction and removal needed of some facilities. If this lag time occurs during the prime building months of the spring and summer, the garden store business cannot be ready for the planting season. Also, getting possession of land in the dead of winter, with no possibility of construction, can cause a strain on cash flow to no advantage.

Can we take possession of the property at an optimal time for the business?

We have indicated that we would like possession of the property in the early fall of this year. That will give the seller four months lead time to vacate the premises, move all the farming equipment and needed structures, and re-fence his farming property. If we decide on the land, we will sign the contract immediately. Since there is an advantage to this lead time for both buyer and seller, our contract for payment will begin at the time of possession rather than at the time of signing of the contract.

#64 CHOOSING THE LAND * (revised 6/4) "the dirt and the dips"

Topography and soil


The topography and the condition of the dirt on the site can be extremely important in locating a new garden store.


The first and most important lesson:

NEVER DEVELOP A GARDEN STORE BUSINESS ON ANYTHNG BUT FLAT GROUND.

There are horror stories out there about owners who disregarded this advice. They are spending the rest of their days pushing and shoving carts up and down hills and blocking customers shopping wagons with little rocks so they don’t end up rolling all the way to the bottom. They are running back and forth up and down terraces to retrieve plants for the many customers who simply refuse to walk up even the slightest grade, no matter how easy you make it for them. The slight dips and rises in the land can get ignored so easily when choosing the property. It all seems so simple when you look over the land with that uneven topography; a cute little bridge, a pretty English cobblestone set of steps leading to the upper tier overlooking the whole outdoor nursery. Sounds so quaint doesn’t it? Well, it ain’t nothing but a huge headache. Not to mention the huge cost of leveling and filling the land when you find yourself in this fix. Mark my words; it will be a big mistake.

The condition of the soils can also give you trouble. Fortunately, there are real property laws in effect that forces the previous owners to disclose what has been on the property and what is or could be in the soils. Demand this disclosure. Examine carefully what could lay jut beneath the surface of the property. It is pretty hard to build and develop the land if there are 15 old junk Fords poking up in that pretty field. Although most garden stores will not be planting much if anything in the retail operations, chemical deposits of rancid gas left over from a chrome plating company could spell the end to those fresh geraniums that are sitting on your display bench, not to mention the child who starts to wheeze and cough. Make sure you don’t have trouble lurking just under that ground.

Another concern is the type of soils on the land. If the area has heavy clay soils that do not percolate properly, there may be substantial expense getting water away from the surface of the display areas of the garden store This will have to be done as customers will not walk around looking for plants in pools and puddles of water.

Are the topography and the condition of soils acceptable for a green garden gates facility?

The property, although generally flat, has a sight elevation in the topography near the back of the land. The area will have to be graded with special attention given to bringing that elevation down with the rest of the property. We project a moderate expense to get this accomplished.

The condition of the soils is generally excellent, with a sandy loam consistency that drains well with no runoff outside the boundaries of the land. Towards the rear of the property, there is a small portion with a heavy clay pocket on the surface. After the land is leveled and inspected it may be necessary to “tile” that problem area (placing perforated piping under the surface and directing the excess water away from that site)

The area has been a family farm for several generations. The historical farming chemical dump and equipment storage area from the farming operations is a great distance away from this portion of the land. There is no evidence in the signed disclosure document to indicate any degradation of the soil or objects under the soil.

#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