Riverbed Ranch Homesteading Community & Country Store
Utah's 1st & Only Off-Grid Homesteading Community
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where is the Riverbed Ranch located?
It's located in Juab County, Utah, at the border of Tooele County. When we first saw the land, we were worried it was too far out. Now, with all the craziness from COVID and society in general, we're wondering if it's far enough!
You can see where it's at by googling "Utah OSR Land Co-op", clicking the map, and zooming out.
Why are the land and construction costs so low?
We're Utah's first and only non-profit land developer, so we're saving everyone on construction costs through more inexpensive building methods, as well as group purchases. Traditional land developers are focused on maximizing their profits, our focus is on saving our members money (in both the short and long-term).
Is this a legitimate project?
Here's some links to demonstrate the legitimacy of our project:
1. Browse here: https://secure.utah.gov/bes/ and type in "Utah OSR Land Cooperative" and you'll see our registration with the State of Utah as a non-profit.
2. Then browse here: http://63.78.118.148/recorder/taxweb/search.jsp , click "Public login" and in the field "Last Name First Name" type in "Utah OSR Land Cooperative" and hit "Search". That will show you all 9 parcels of land that make up Riverbed Ranch and that we are the owner.
3. Here is the official map for the Utah Division of Water Rights that governs the use of well water in Utah: https://maps.waterrights.utah.gov/EsriMap/map.asp.. If you know where to look, you can zoom in to Riverbed Ranch and you will see the map I have attached. For transparency, our co-op’s water rights (totaling 2,854 acre-feet) have been allocated across the planned 250 homestead sites, ensuring each member has access to sufficient water.
Will we be building any other states?
Operation Self-Reliance's long-term plan includes building similar communities in AZ, WY, ID, and Alberta Canada. Hopefully land prices will come back down to make this possible. OSR Green, LLC, purchased 1,300 acres near Snowflake, Arizona, to build a second OSR community, Coslor Cove, Arizona's largest off-grid community.
Are there payment options?
Because the Riverbed Ranch is being developed by a non-profit organization and not a deep-pocketed investment group, payment plans are not an option.
Is this an HOA community?
We have no interest in setting up an HOA. Home Owner Associations were invented to preserve property values; our goal is to preserve lives through food production and to preserve the lifestyle of self-reliance, not to preserve property values.
Are there building restrictions?
The vast majority of restrictions are imposed by government agencies. The homes will need to be permanent and pass Juab County's building inspections. They use the International Residential Code. The County also requires the homes to be engineered to a 115 mph wind load and a 40 pounds per square foot snow load. Since this is an off-grid community, the homes will have to be able to stay warm in the Winter and cool in the Summer. To that end, most of the 130+ members are planning some combination of:
• Solar panels for electricity
• Passive solar home designs
• Geothermal heating and cooling elements
• Highly-insulated walls and ceilings (40 to 50R in the walls, and, 80 to 100R in the ceiling)
• Some type of backup fuel (wood or propane) for those really long, cold, overcast Winter weeks that rarely happen.
What are the next steps to join and obtain a homestead site?
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First, prepare a plan and funding to build your farmstead. Next, schedule an entrance interview to address any questions.
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Once ready, a one-time membership fee of $30,000 is required to join the co-op (this secures your homestead site in the community – see our Membership Agreement for details).
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After joining, you’ll be able to select an available 2-acre homestead lot from our community map. The most up-to-date lot map is always found here.
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You will have 3 years from the time of joining to build your passive solar home, set up your water well, your septic system, and build your barn & greenhouse.
Is there Internet access there now, or planned in the future?
Yes, Elon Musk's Starlink Internet network is 8-times faster than Hughesnet that our residents were using. We're very pleased with it.
Is this where we order meat products?
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No, that's RiverBEND Ranch up in Idaho.