Unlike some areas with land and luxury homes for sale, Nakoma is fortunate that Plumas County, our “Authority Having Jurisdiction” (AHJ in developer-speak), is an outlier in the state of California in that getting building permits is easy and affordable. 

Likewise, the Nakoma Community prides itself on fostering an environment of architectural excellence, but gives buyers wide latitude to see their dreams become a reality. All of which amounts to a pain-free process in getting your home built in the 1,280-acre Nakoma development.

Our in-house builder, North Sierra Homes, can take care of the whole process for you. The design-build workflow is as follows:

1. Conceptual Design: Usually our clients, having purchased a homesite, have an idea of what shape their home will take. North Sierra Homes specializes in mountain-modern homes. Many times the buyers’ vision will be based to some degree on a previously built home or existing design. But “dropping” a plan on the site almost always instigates substantial changes — topography almost always nudges changes in the interest of build efficiency and drainage, plus the view has its say in terms of orientation and window placements.

2. Design Review Committee: Once we’ve got our conceptual plan confirmed, we submit it to the Nakoma Community’s “DRC” (Design Review Committee) for initial review. This is a rather benign experience, as the committee spends more time giving helpful suggestions on roof lines/snow management, etc. than critiquing design.

3. Consultants: With DRC approval, the plan goes to the various consultants: engineers, Title 24 (energy calculations), solar design, sprinkler design (both are required in California).

4. County submittal: When all architectural and consultant collaborations are reconciled and compiled, the whole package is submitted to Plumas County. The planset will go first to the Planning Department, whose role is to confirm that there are no planning/entitlement barriers to the project. From there, it goes to the building desk, where it is reviewed for building code compliance and safety. Along with the building permit application, we submit applications for fire safe driveway (to County Engineering Department), and septic permit (to County Environmental Health Department).

5. “Will Serve Letter”: before the county can stamp a set of plans, staff needs to assure that the house will have utilities (water and sewer). While the county is reviewing the project, the owner of the property engages with our utility provider, Gold Mountain Community Services District (GMCSD), completes required paperwork and pays the System Development Charge. When these steps are completed, the community services district will send a “Will Serve Letter” (as in “I Will Serve this property with utilities.”).

6. Final steps: The DRC will need to review the project once again, essentially to confirm that the approved plan hasn’t changed substantially. Also, we’ll likely need to file an application with the California Department of Forestry for tree removal prior to preparing the site for construction

7. Build!