Since the idea first surfaced, we’ve been imagining a place to rest and revitalize the human spirit while spreading health, happiness, and harmony throughout our community. It’s been a long road already, but good things take time.
Our vision of The Shire at Old Ranch includes opportunities to connect around the topics of agriculture, community, energy, and education. The structures that facilitate this connection include multiple elements described below with locations, sizes, and type shown in the Site Plan.
The Visitor’s Center tells the story of The Shire at Old Ranch.
The Plant Nursery offers native and adapted plants, products and knowledge.
The Café provides comfort, food, and beverage.
The Indoor Gathering Space hosts events and workshops to quench people’s curiosity.
Energy Independent Habitations offer exhibits of alternative building style and house permanent and temporary residents.
The Health and Wellness Space provides holistic health products and services.
SEE (Sustainable Educational Experience 501c3) is a non-profit organization focused on educating about land stewardship, agriculture, and the arts.
Support structures including equipment barn, water tower, and windmills provide storage space and necessary resources.
The Site
The features are integrated with a main-drive loop, service-drive loop, and network of multi-use trails. The drive and service road are one way loops bounded with thoughtful landscaping. Trails will be open to the public by day and will provide a serene alternative for folks walking the surrounding roadways. Structures are thoughtfully sited to preserve and enhance neighbor’s views. The whole site is to be dressed in a patchwork of forest and meadows.
Visitor’s Center will be located in the heart of the community, and serves as a resource center for both staff members and guests. The space will feature display area to showcase design process and philosophy, designed and natural systems, and tenants that comprise The Shire at Old Ranch.
Plant Nursery is comprised of a Retail Co-op, wholesale greenhouse, three retail greenhouse structures, and some field growing operations. By nestling buildings into the topography of the site, greenhouse roof lines will be held well below the perimeter landscape height and the mountain horizon line. Plant nursery elements will utilize intensive conservation techniques including grey water recycling, drip irrigation, deep mulching, and intelligent plant selection. The philosophy of sustainability is present in thoughtful plant selection of native, adaptable, and edible plants. Inventory will be maintained at levels sustainable by current water rights and innovative water management.
The Cafe will be a small one offering a cozy, quaint space for people to enjoy food and beverages inspired by the seasonal produce of the site’s flora and fauna. The cafe will offer grab-and-go style offerings of prepared goods and made to order beverages.
Indoor Gathering Space will serve a variety of community and educational gatherings with an open format.
SEE (Sustainable Educational Experience) is a 501c3 non-profit organization focused on offering both children and adults hands-on learning experiences relating to sustainable practices in gardening, animal and livestock care, and the arts of woodworking, metallurgy and clay works. SEE’s administrative offices will occupy the current residence at 3820 Old Ranch Rd, at the southwest corner of the property. SEE’s efforts extend to other facilities including: a teaching garden, animal barn, outdoor classroom, and the commercial kitchen of the Cafe.
Energy Independent Habitations will offer simple accommodations for permanent and temporary residents and also serve as a demonstration. The grouping would feature six structures ranging in size from 300-1200 square feet with up to four housing permanent residents and two existing to serve temporary/seasonal visitors and demonstration efforts.
The Yurt Area would feature four Yurts varying in size from 16’ diameter to 30’ diameter (1 @ 16’, 2 @ 24’, and 1 @ 30’). These structures would serve as housing for temporary residents in a recreational camp setting. These facilities would be clustered near a restroom facility.
The Health and Wellness space will feature an apothecary and private offices for alternative healthcare practitioners such as massage, acupuncture, and therapy. Office spaces will be leased separately.
Support Structures will include water storage tanks, windmills, community restroom facility, and an equipment barn.
Water and Waste Plan
Through deliberate application of freshwater, greywater reuse, and blackwater treatment we propose to furnish water enough to meet the needs of a moderately demanding site while returning more than the required amount of water directly to the earth and aquifer on which we all depend. This water plan will be documented and displayed in the Visitor’s Center to educate the public on innovations in water stewardship. Bioswales will capture, slow, and sink water onsite to offer local aquifer recharge.
Waste will ideally be processed through aerobic decomposition, sterilized, and utilized on non-food crops. Alternately, waste will be directed to a traditional septic system with leach field.
Traffic Plan
Traffic would access the site from Howells Rd. on the east side of the property with the center of the driveway approximately 330’ from the center of Old Ranch Rd. This access point would serve to access all of the site with the exception of existing driveways serving the residents at 10755 Howells Road, 10655 Howells Road, and 3890 Old Ranch Rd.
Parking will be oriented nose-in along the main drive and service drive to eliminate the need for parking lots. Dense plantings will be utilized to make vehicles nearly invisible from outside the site. The semi-permeable compacted aggregate roadways and drives will generate stormwater which will be captured in bioswales, slowed, and sunk into the earth to recharge local aquifers.
Status Update (9/4/2023)
The project has successfully moved through a Traffic Deviation Request (allows commercial traffic to access the site) and a Variance of Use (a permission slip for the multiplicity of uses and a precursor to the formalized Site Development Plan).
The project is currently in the Site Development Process, likely to be submitted by the end of 2023. If you’re interested in supporting the project as the Site Development Plan moves in front of the Planning Commission and goes through public review fill out this form and you’ll be the first to know when the time comes!