Things to know about recreation (Forest Service) cabins

Sale Process: Forest Service will conduct a pre-sale inspection to identify items that need to be corrected in order to issue a permit for the cabin to a new owner. The seller of the cabin or the realtor may request the pre-sale inspection by notifying the Forest Service. It may take up to 3 weeks to do the pre-sale inspection and get the results out in the mail, so early notification is essential. Cabin owners are required by their permit to show a copy of the Special Use Permit to potential cabin buyers.

Transfer Maintenance Agreement: Responsibility for some of the items noted on the pre-sale inspection can be transferred to the buyer through Transfer Maintenance Agreement.

Prospective Buyers: should contact the Forest Service early on to make sure they understand the unique facets of recreation cabin ownership before they commit to buying a cabin. After purchase, new cabin owners will meet with the Forest Service for an orientation before being granted a Special-Use Permit.

Who can own a cabin? The Forest Service can issue a Special-Use Permit to a qualified holder; an individual, or husband and wife. The permit allows for a single-family ownership. The cabin must be used for recreational Purposes, not for a residence. Permit-holders must own and occupy a residence besides the recreation cabin.

The Special-Use Permit authorizes the permit holder to maintain and occupy a cabin on a designated lot on National Forest land, according to the terms and conditions of the permit. The permit is issued to a qualified holder defined a an individual, or a husband and wife.

Annual fees are calculated as 5% of the appraised market value of the lot (not the cabin). Fee payment is due on January 1st of each year, in full. Fees currently range from $550 to $850, approximately. The next appraisal will take place in 2009 and will be repeated on a 10 year cycle.

The Cabin User Fee Fairness Act (CUFFA): The last appraisals on the ZigZag District took place in 1998. The previous appraisals were done in 1988, so there was a tremendous increase in the appraised value of the lots. Permit fees, based on the lot value, also shot up. The increased permit fees were delayed by the CUFFA, which established a process to develop and implement consistent procedures for determining cabin user fees.

A transition period was established to allow permit-holders to vote on three options for implementing the new fees: 1) accepting the new fee; 2) requiring a new appraisal to be done, still using 1998 values; or 3) require a peer review of the 1998 appraisal. The transition period ends on May 30 2008. If a majority of permit holders has not selected one of the options, the Forest Service will begin a three-year phase-in of the new fees. The phase-in will be interrupted by the implementation of the new fee based on the market values as appraised in the up-coming 2009 appraisal.

Permit Renewal: All 554 recreation cabin permits expire on December 31, 2008. The Forest Service is notifying cabin owners of steps they must take to have their permit re-issued. The intent of the Forest Service is to re-issue permits for cabins when the permit holder is complying with the terms and conditions of the permit, and where the presence of the cabin and tract do not cause unacceptable environmental impact. Prospective cabin owners will be notified of permit related items for the cabin and lot they are considering.

Septic Inspections: A cabin's septic system must be adequate and in good condition in order to qualify for re-issued Special-Use Permit. All cabin owners must provide a copy of an acceptable inspection dated after December 2002 to the Forest Service to qualify for re-issued permit, or before the sale of the cabin.

Renting of recreation cabins may be done after securing written authorization from the Forest Service. Renting is limited to 26 days per year or 6 weekends. The cabins cannot be used as rental property.

Cabin additions, expansions or repairs must be approved by the forest Service in writing in advance of the project implementation. This includes, but is not limited to changes in cabin or outbuilding dimension, doors, windows, porches and decks, roofs, siding, type of material, paint colors and any other changes. Cabin owners must always request authorization, as required by the permit, before making any of these alterations. Policies change periodically!

Currently, the maximum allowable size of recreation cabin is 1220 square feet, as measured on the exterior of the building. One outbuilding of 130 square feet is allowed. The Forest Service will not be able to allow expansion of all decks and cabins to these maximums due to historical and other resource concerns.

The Forest Service must pre-approve each project that affects the exterior of a cabin. Generally, materials that are consistent with rustic cabins in a forested environment can be approved. Metal roofs will be approved in some instances, but not usually for tracts or individual cabins that are eligible for inclusion on the NRHP.

During 2008, approval for projects may be limited to projects associated with permit re-issuance or related to health and safety.

The timeline for approval runs from two weeks to two months, generally, depending upon the current program workload and the level of needed analysis to approve the project. Guidelines and project request forms for projects that affect the exterior of the cabin can be found on the Summer Home websites or by contacting the District Office.

Cabins in tracts that are eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), or that are individually eligible the NRHP involve special consideration when planning exterior alterations in order to maintain the historical character of the tract or cabin. The Mile Bridge, Still Creek and ZigZag Ski Club tracts are eligible for inclusion on the NRHP, and so are some cabins that are located outside these tracts. The project approval timeline may extend up to eight weeks for cabins and tracts that are eligible for NRHP.

Ground-disturbing projects, such as septic installation or cabin expansions, must be reviewed by a Forest Service resource team and approved in advance of implementation. The timeframe for approval of ground-disturbing projects is 6 to 8 weeks.

Paint colors approval for cabin exteriors: Cabin owners should mail in paint chips or samples, or drop them off at the District office. Approval is usually given within two weeks. Warm browns, soft greens, gray-greens and other colors that blend well with the forested environment are acceptable. No harsh whites, reds, blues or bright greens will be approved.

Driveway gates of pre-approved design are allowed, and are often shared by several cabin owners.

Hot tubs may be allowed in situations where the proposed placement and drainage system meet heritage and environmental resource requirements

Outdoor security lights may not be attached to trees, must not be automatic, must be minimal, and must not be left on when the cabin is not occupied.

Water systems serve many of the cabins. Fees are paid directly to the water company.

Hazard Trees: Cabin owners are responsible for inspecting their lot and adjacent areas for potential hazards. The Forest Service must pre-approve the removal of the tree/s. The District front desk has a request form for hazard tree removal and it is also available at our website. The trees are generally required to be left down on the ground on the lot to improve habitat and watershed health, unless they are close to the cabin.

Cutting or removal of other vegetation is not permitted without permission from the Forest Service. The cutting of vegetation to allow for a view of the river is not allowed. Extensive clearing for fire safety is not allowed. Driveways and parking areas must be minimal. In some cases, cabin owners are required to replant impacted areas as identified by the Forest Service.

Use of the recreation cabin lot is authorized by the Special-Use Permit. The typical lot is one-quarter acre. This is non-exclusive use, others may wander through these lots to access the river for example. The Forest Service will provide cabin owners with a map that shows the lot boundaries, although the exact boundaries are difficult to pin down on the ground. In most cases the lots do not extend all the way to the adjacent creeks or rivers. The area between the lot boundary and the creek or river is general forest land, and is not covered by the permit. Improvements, including the maintenance of benches and picnic tables are not permitted off the lot.

Required maintenance standards: Cabin owners must maintain their cabins according to the standards outlined in the permit. Cabins must be maintained in good repair and health and safety standards must be met, such as keeping cabin roofs clear of debris. Forest debris (branches, etc) must be piled and burned or disposed of in an approved manner annually. Invasive plants must be controlled or eliminated.

Contact and Resource Information

Preferred way to contact us: Fran Lanagan E-mail- Flanagan@FS.us (response time will be same day to five days) Phone message to Fran Lanagan at 503-622-3191, ext 605 (response time will be same day to five days), but could be delayed further due to phone tag. Avoid phone tag by sending an e-mail instead.

Zigzag District Office (for general information and to request project request forms, hazard tree request forms, etc): 503-622-3191, ext 0.

Resources for Cabin Owners and Prospective Cabin Owners:

www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/summerhomes - Browse categories

www.fs.fed.us/r6/mthood/summerhomes - The Mount Hood National Forest/Zigzag District Ranger Site

www.mhfha.com - Mt Hood Forest Homeowners Association

www.nationalforesthomeowners.org - National Forest Homeowners Association