i left my heart on catalina

January 18, 2012 8:55 AM

Is it possible to buy or build a house on Catalina island outside of Avalon?

I realize supplies etc. would have to be brought by boat or, I assume, horseback or foot from Avalon, but are there any areas on the island where a private party could build a small, isolated house? Power and water and septic are challenges, but addressable; I'm wondering about the legality of this and availability of parcels.

posted by luriete to home & garden (4 answers total)

Just Google "Catalina real estate." There are plenty of properties for sale. But they're expensive and rare, of course. Undeveloped parcels available for new development are almost unheard of, though, because of the nature of how the island conservancy works. More likely, you buy a house that already exists and re-develop it. But, damn, this is expensive! There's a reason most of the houses have been passed down among families since the 1920s.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 9:08 AM on January 18

Most of the island (90%) is owned by the Catalina Island Conservancy, and is not available for development. The big exception is Avalon, and then there are a number of other inholdings for Boy Scout camps, research facilities, and a couple other things. But really, development is pretty much limited to Avalon, and you'll have to jump through some pretty major hoops even to be able to remodel anything in town. The island is pretty much empty because that's the way the Conservancy wants it, not because people haven't tried to develop there.
posted by LionIndex at 9:49 AM on January 18

background, i am asking because i grew up going to summer camp on the island and loved it, and have visited many times, and have thought about retiring there ... but avalon is not where i want to me.

thanks for the advice. i'll look a bit more. my first google searches just got places in avalon, i just need to look harder.
posted by luriete at 10:16 AM on January 18

my first google searches just got places in avalon, i just need to look harder.

For what? There's nothing to find.

Google maps shows property lines once you zoom in close enough in the map view (as opposed to satellite). Zoom the map into Catalina around Avalon - there's lots of little parcels of land in there. Start scanning the rest of the island, and there are hardly any property divisions, because the vast majority of the island is a single piece of property, which pretty much functions as a nature preserve. Unless the Conservancy makes some odd decision to free up more land for development, there's not going to be an option other than Avalon.

Also, even if you were to get a spot outside of Avalon, there's a hard ceiling on the number of vehicles allowed on the island, so that's another difficulty.
posted by LionIndex at 10:27 AM on January 18