[Greenbuilding] Straw Bale Flash Demo

[Speireag Alden]

Sgrìobh Kathy Cochran:

>I have been told that if you approach the Assessors Office, you can tell
>them that "Say, we have worked really hard to build an energy efficient
>home.  Why should we be penalized by having to pay higher taxes on the part
>that is just the insulation?  Why can't we be taxed on the INSIDE
>measurements, plus another 6" to the outside that is standard in
>stick-built homes today?  I know people who have done this, and have gotten
>the "variance."  Has anyone else tried this out there?

     I put this point to our assessor, and he parried with the 
following:  since we didn't have a toilet (the sawdust bucket doesn't 
count) he was classifying us as a "camp", which saved us oodles of 
money.

     When the finish assessment comes around, after this last 
addition, I may apply for a variance.  We'll see how it comes out.

     Or, since the front-to-back measurement is fuzzy, because the 
back is completely earth-bermed and consists of arches and 
buttresses, and therefore there's no good way to get a single 
front-to-back measurement, I suppose I could just tell him that 
dimension which will work out to actual internal square footage plus 
6 inches in every direction.

     Because I agree that for tax purposes, usable square footage is 
the fair basis for comparison.

-Speireag.

-- 
Anger, if not restrained, is frequently more hurtful to us than the 
injury that provokes it.
--Lucius Annaeus Seneca, philosopher (BCE 3-65 CE)