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Fair Light Farms

~ Foundational Site Assessment ~

Foundational Site Assessment

Location: Navarro, CA

Land & Climate Characteristics: The 10 acre property sits atop a ridge and southwest facing hillside. The upper two acres of the property is deer fenced to protect an establishing botanical garden on the southwest facing slopes. The terrain is quite steep and suffers from some erosion issues in both of the valley draws, with evidence of subterranean piping and slippage.

FLF property boundaries and zones of use.

Major points of focus included an examination of the existing off-grid solar power generation set up and ways to improve the efficiency of the water pumping and pressurizing infrastructure. The existing cottage on-site is being moved to a new location across the small valley to the western border of the property, and a new residence is being constructed in its place.

Foundational Site Assessment Key Takeaways

The following issues were identified during the FSA which will pose significant ongoing challenges to the landowners in meeting their goals unless rectified:

  • Water
    • Severe piping and subterranean erosion is occuring along the northwest edge of the property where a culvert discharges onto a fill slope. Piping was 6′ deep in some places.
  • Access
    • Access throughout the property was mapped and evaluated for feasibility of aging in place. Recommendations provided to enhance drainage, reduce maintenance, and adjust footpaths in a few locations to help them drain better while reducing the need to navigate steeper grades.
  • Living Systems
    • Existing rare perennial nursery on-site was mapped and suggestions provided to enhance passive water filtration above the planted areas to decrease water requirements during the long, dry summers.
  • Energy
    • Inefficiencies in the current well pump > storage tank > pressure tank distribution system were identified and recommendations provided to dramatically reduce the electrical load required to move water from the well to the storage tank. The desire is to go off-grid, and reducing the water pumping expense will represents a huge efficiency gain.

Existing Conditions Map Callouts

  • Environmental energy sectors influencing the home sites at FLF.
  • Existing catchment area feeding the culvert driving the severe erosion in the northwest corner.
  • Size of the subterranean piping erosion in the northwest corner.
  • Existing footpath access across the property.