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Pat Snyder of National Land Realty evaluates opportunities and constraints on a large acreage property in Black Mountain, N.C. PAT BARCAS PHOTO
Land and Legacy A Team Approach to Finding Land That Meets Your Stewardship Goals BY PAT SNYDER ong a popular destination for people looking to reconnect with nature, the Western North Carolina region is attracting increasing numbers of hopeful landowners seeking an escape from crowded cities and a safe haven from climate change. By teaming up with Green Built Alliance members, prospective landowners will gain a better understanding of the opportunities and constraints of a specific property, inform their decision making, and enter ownership with executable plans to realize their dreams while mitigating risks and avoiding costly mistakes. Many local buyers prioritize ecological design, sustainability, conservation, and privacy while balancing the need to build a home or family legacy property in the mountains. It often takes a group of professionals including land brokers, land planners, archi-
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tects, permaculture consultants, foresters, and land trusts to develop a clear and implementable plan for long-term land stewardship.
Finding the property The land broker is an experienced local land expert and is generally the person that buyers contact first. The acquisition process starts with a needs analysis that allows the broker to aid them in identifying properties best suited for their goals. When a potential property is found, land brokers will act as advisors and project managers who assemble highly experienced teams for detailed due-diligence investigation, site planning, design, and education to advise the buyer on how to best accomplish their goals. This initial work gets further refined in the more detailed master
planning after the property is purchased.
Planning the site Property analysis and conceptual site design is frequently led by land planning and landscape architecture firms. These firms offer specialized site visits and analysis to develop plans for the client that minimize disturbances to the land, conform with governmental and private restrictions, and consider factors such as roads, building sites, trails, and conservation-easement planning. These services are key to successful due diligence and help all parties understand land-use ordinances, property features and challenges, environmental concerns, stormwater and erosion risks, and stream and wetland delineations. Land planners also offer other services like soil analysis or natural resource inventories, which are essential in understanding the con-
servation potential of a property as well as educating all parties involved about sensitive areas and unique habitats. Collectively, this information is compiled into an overall master plan that becomes the road map for the new landowner. “It’s so important for a landowner to fully understand any limitations before they make the investment,” said David Tuch, owner and landscape architect at Equinox. “We always recommend first exploring the basics such as access into the property, potential building locations and the identification of any obstacles. Then we can focus on developing a plan for the property from permaculture design to creating a resilient homestead or any other goal our client envisions.”
Considering conservation Land trusts help us protect the land and water. The land being
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