Trying to decide what niche/strategy is the best for me starting out.

From my research, the high desert, specifically Hesperia, is becoming a sleeper/trucker city for families looking to escape all the rents/traffic/congestion of LA/OC. 

I'm not even really sure what method/niche I want to pursue.

Just like any other niche, everyone flocks to the “easy” money until it’s not easy anymore.

You're going to have to either take on a fixer, find a niche market with specialized knowledge, or get lucky.

Several times we hired a professor/soil scientist who taught most of the soil scientist in the state.The township/SEO (Sewage Enforcement Officer) has historic records and can tell you if a specific lot is:A. passed septic testB. failed septic testC. never testedI used to be a licensed SEO and took all the state courses to do perk tests, so am very familiar with the process.In Bigger Pockets Podcast #82 we only slightly touched on land subdivision, development and vacant lots.

I am not even sure how there is a question here, as the answers are in the deed restrictions and are very specific.  

If you have questions about the civil engineering aspect, feel free to reach out or post specific questions and I'd be happy to offer my thoughts. 

For me below is a short list, but bear in mind that my specific STR investment model is 'vacation house for free'. 

Specifically on the self storage side of things, if I remember correctly there is an Ohio association for self storage operators, perhaps you can use that list to get intouch with operators that might know about industry meetups, and that might be a good place to start for dealflow as well.