New private lake in Norcal - viable?

[Loppy]

So, a few of us know this guy who is an owner in this place:

http://www.redwoodshores.us/

Its very similar to Bell Aqua and other "watersports communities" that are getting more and more popular around here and around the country.

Turns out, I'm on the board of directors to my families estate. Part of the estate is 90 acres of farmland, right ON the Sacramento River just north of town. I'm thinking about proposing a land development deal to the rest of the board (my sister and two cousins) and build myself a private lake community right here in the valley.

a. What do you norcal guys think? Viable? Think I could sell lots on something like this?

b. Would you keep it to land owners only (like Bell Aqua) or have a private club, where people who dont live there can be a part of it too.

c. Open the lake to the public and run it like an exclusive, pay to ride spot? (this scares me to death).


I just feel like I have 90 acres, right on the river beckoning me to do something cool with it. And with 90 acres, I'm thinking more than one lake, ramps, sliders, gaps, it call be built in EASY before a drop goes in.

[scott a]

There's a place in NV that's kinda like this. About 8 people live on the water, and the whole place is gated off. In order to ride there you MUST be with someone who lives there. There can only be one boat towing riders at any point in time, and if others are waiting to ride, you have to limit your run to 3 passes or whatever. This also means that you can build rails and leave them in there because nobody is gonna come and cut them down (unless they are in people's way).

I think something like this needs to be the same way. Keep the lake private to those who own land at the lake. That way when they wanna ride, they can do so without waiting for some schmuck to get off the lake.

And yes, I'm pretty damn positive something like this would sell. If you keep the number of lots per lake limited to maybe 8-10, with any luck you'll have a waiting list of people wanting to buy a lot.

[jlaws]

wow i wish we had some cool places like that here :/

[Loppy]

Thanks Scott. I'm trying to get some ideas on how to present my idea to the group. My goal of course, is to turn this into something I can make enough money on to pick the best lot and build a sick house free and clear.

Or even better, actually tie into the levee and have the property accessable by the river itself. The river is fully navagable where the property is adjacent to it. But then the engineering/money/government red tape involved with tieing into a levee operated by the Corps of Engineers I can only immagine would be a nightmare at best. But my DREAM would be to have the private waterway accessable to the river. Have a little marina, gas dock, restraunt/bar, pro shop, board school and run that along with the private land.

There is a killer public boat ramp 200' down the street too.

A lot of things would have to come together. It's a dream. Maybe a pipe dream.

[devon]

radar lake looks cooler
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Mercedes F700

[03Belmont]

What does radar lake have to do with his idea? how could it "look cooler" than somthing that does not exzist

[K-dub]

devon, i'm still confused.....what the hell is parksall?

[WHY]

i think it is an awesome idea and ur definatly rite about ur last idea, it scares me too. i am no geenius(thats why i can't spell) but i think ppl would love to have houses on a private lake. they would probally be willing to pay more though if ppl from the outside weren't allowed to use the lake.

another question i have is, would u rent them out the lot but they would own the house(u would have more control this way) or would sell the lot completly.



i think this is a great idea and would love to stay posted with more info.....i will PM u with my email.

[vette74]

They have a few of these in the Houston area.

[WakeBoarder44]

b. Would you keep it to land owners only (like Bell Aqua) or have a private club, where people who dont live there can be a part of it too.

looks cool...

[Loppy]

Yeah Vette! Something like that is exactly what I'm talking about building.

Screw Radar Lake. Mine would be based on pure performance with a nice splash of trees, parks, lots of grass and other nice things to look at. Like Belmont said, that site was just an example. Mine would be WAY different.

The rest of your questions are good. I think I would shoot for mixed use. Assuming I could get three good sized sloughs like Vette showed above, I would probably try and leave two of them just for homeowners, and leave one available to the public in one way or another (day use, hourly, non-resident club) on certain days or times depending on season. I think I would let the market dictate this. If ALL the lots sold like hot cakes, then I would prolly shut off the public altogether. If sales were slow, I would prolly open something up.

Even if it was all HO owned, I would still like to have open days, where friends and others could join in the fun. Certain weeknights? Weekends? and I would dig to set aside a large plot for a clubhouse, boatdock thing where we could even host tournys and demos etc.

And after doing some checking, tying into the river would be a fawking nightmare. Just the legal liability, paperwork, government intrusion into my development, the amount of politicians hands I would have to grease, it's just not feasable.

But that's ok. Like I said, there's a killer public ramp just across the street. We could even have a tow rig service for HO's.

I'm getting fired up about this. I'm getting the plat map any day now and am going to go check out the site. Will take tons of pics and keep ya'll posted.

IF this does happen, and it's a BIG IF. And we get the lake operational, you KNOW there will be a huge "come porkchop it up" blowout party for everyone here.

[vette74]

Here is the website http://www.lakes-of-katy.com/

[Justin 25]

Loppy, man...good luck getting it up . And you should probably only let land owners on the lake.