Will California Pines Property Owners Pay Up?

As you may know, many of the 12,000 parcels in the California Pines subdivision are uninhabited and owned by people who live outside Modoc County. Modoc County, the smallest state in California by population, just passed two measures to save their failing hospital.

The first taxes each parcel in the county an additional $195. The second creates a hospital district. So it appears that the residents of Modoc County are hoping to collect about $2,340,000 ($195/year X 12,000 parcels) in annual tax revenue from California Pines property owners.

As I watch these events unfold from afar, I wonder if these far-flung California Pines property owners are actually going to pay-up. At this point a huge number have already stopped paying their taxes, and this extra tax will up-the-ante on this real estate investment game.

The Real Financial Problem

California Pines is just not a smart place to build land. It costs too much to meet the California Pines Property Owners Association (CPPOA) rules & regulations. From watching recent land auctions it's clear that selling a one-acre parcel is difficult even at a price of $1,500. Adding another $195 a year to the game seems like it may make some land owners consider folding their cards.

If California Pines sinks deeper into the quagmire it has been stuck in for decades, there is less and less hope that the county will ever see those tax dollars.

A Real Solution

The most obvious win-win solution for Modoc County and California Pines property owners is to find a way to make the subdivision viable. This may seem nearly impossible because for as long as it has existed, it's been a flop.

But there is one thing they could do that would begin to bring land buyers back, and that's change the rules and/or do away with the CPPOA altogether.

In other words remove the barriers and open the place back up to people who want an inexpensive place to build a small cabin. A certain amount of governance can add value to property, but too much can kill it. From what I can tell the CPPOA's additional governance is not adding value and in many ways is making building homes at California Pines a financial fiasco in the making.

How To Make California Pines Viable

In short, empower people to build their own low-cost and low-impact cabins.

• Remove any building size minimums and allow small structures to be built.
• Make rainwater collection an alternative to drilling wells.
• Allow grey water systems and composting toilets for waste treatment.
• Embrace alternative construction methods.

Alternatives like these would protect the environment and community while dropping the costly financial barriers many owner-builders face. Land values should theoretically go back up as the usefulness of the place increases.