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Community Roadmap

Once Shepherd’s Valley Homesteads officially closes on the property, the process unfolds in several clear phases. This ensures fairness, organization, and a peaceful, enjoyable experience for every family.

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🗺 PHASE 1 — Explore the Land (Weeks 1–4 After Closing)

Each reservation tier will receive a dedicated exploration week.
During your week, you are welcome to:

  • walk the land

  • hike or ride the old logging roads

  • explore potential homesites

  • look at views, slopes, and access

  • camp or RV (simple facilities at first)

  • get a feel for where you’d like to build

Nothing is being selected yet. This time is purely for exploring and identifying your top 3–5 lots.

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📍 PHASE 2 — Choose Your Lot (Weeks 5–8)

After all tiers have had time to explore, we begin lot selection appointments.

  • Lot selection follows reservation order

    • Tier 1

    • then Tier 2

    • then Tier 3

    • then Tier 4

Each family will schedule a:

  • short in-person appointment, or

  • Zoom / phone appointment if distance makes travel difficult

During your appointment, we will:

  1. Review your preferred lots

  2. Answer any remaining questions

  3. Confirm your final choice

  4. Immediately mark the lot as “claimed” on the master map

Once chosen, the lot becomes yours for the life of your homestead lease.

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🛠 PHASE 3 — Early Development & Setup (Spring–Summer)

Once lot selection is complete, we move into early development:

  • improving access trails

  • setting up the sawmill pad

  • building the first community pavilion

  • clearing a small portion of the valley for shared farming

  • establishing tool storage and staging areas

  • creating signage

Early work will mainly use:

  • chainsaws

  • hand tools

  • a portable sawmill

  • occasional rented equipment

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🚜 PHASE 4 — Community Equipment Acquisition (Months 4-6)

Portable Sawmill — Month 4

The sawmill will allow us to turn our own trees into:

  • cabin lumber

  • beams

  • siding

  • garden structures

  • barn components

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Tracked Skid Steer — Month 5

Equipped with:

  • auger

  • grapple

  • forks

This machine will help homesteaders:

  • small pad clearing

  • moving logs and brush

  • improving access trails

  • early-stage homestead preparation

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Mini-Excavator — Month 6

Used for:

  • stump removal

  • small terrace cuts

  • simple grading

  • preparing the valley for orchard and garden spaces

  • drainage improvements

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🤝 Community Use of Equipment

These tools are community equipment, funded by the community.

We will:

  • use them for shared projects

  • make them available for group work days

  • organize cooperative efforts to help one another

  • rely on experienced operators who volunteer time

  • use them for essential infrastructure in common spaces

Many homesteaders bring valuable skills:

  • skid steer operators

  • excavator operators

  • loggers

  • sawyers

  • builders

  • tractor owners

  • mechanics

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⭐ Shepherd’s Valley is a cooperative, pioneering community.

We support one another.
We share tools.
We help where we can.
And everyone builds their own homestead in the order and pace they choose.

The equipment will accelerate shared projects, and we will do our best to assist early homesteaders as time and resources allow, but each family is ultimately responsible for preparing their own homesite.

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🌄 PHASE 5 — Homestead Building & Community Growth

As equipment arrives and families begin making progress:

  • cabin sites will take shape

  • the valley farmland will expand

  • trails and roads will improve

  • community gatherings will become more frequent

  • shared resources will grow

  • the land will gradually transform into a thriving homestead village

This is a gradual, organic process, not a pre-developed subdivision.
It will unfold across months and years as families build, grow, and settle the land together.

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