Solterra Happenings
From: DWeil20688 (DWeil20688aol.com)
Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2000 18:26:59 -0600 (MDT)
The following message was written by Judith Krassner, a member of Solterra.
Don Weil

Hi, Everyone,

    Nestled in the western edge of Durham, NC, there's a unique solar
cohousing community called Solterra!  We're still building, and here's
what's happening: 
      In most neighborhoods, residents are frequently annoyed by the sounds
of nearby new construction.  That's not true at our community!  The noise
of the hammers and saws, even the concrete mixers, means new resident
members, and that our community is growing towards completion!  We have
17 families in residence now, there are four more homes under
construction, and several in the planning stage.  At build out, we'll
have 38 resident families.  Since our homes are individually designed and
free standing, we do have an Architectural Review Board to oversee the
external appearance of the houses.  Nonetheless, houses are very 
different, but compatible. An additional aspect is that we're passive
solar, so the development was designed to protect our neighbors'
sunspace.  One family is planning an active solar home.
    Our committees are hard at work on various projects.  The organic
garden is in its second year.  Members may choose a plot, or not, and
garden it as they choose.  An abundant crop of strawberries and veggies
made its way to individual tables this year; some of the produce will
eventually go to the common house kitchen as well.  When the kitchen is
built, that is!  For now, we have weekly potlucks in each others' homes,
or in our "meadows," if the hosts decide.   We're also experimenting with
methods to hold dinners, not potlucks, to see what system will work when
we have the common house, which is in the design stage now.  We also need
to accommodate various eating styles, from meat-based to macrobiotic,
hopefully at each dinner.  What have others done?  Is this an issue for
other communities?
    We're working on our pathways; we want them to be smooth enough for
bikes and wheelchairs, since these paths connect to each home, and to the
commons area.
We have a safety committee, a common house and common lands committee,
playspaces committee, our garden committee and a book club. So we're in
a good, forward moving space. The committees usually meet once a month,
as does our Homeowner's Association. 
    And here at Solterra, there's only one developer's lot still available. 
It is waiting for a new family to join us, and begin the building
process.  All utilities are in up to the lot line, and the house
footprint has been situated by the architect who developed the entire
community. We maintain files of household information to help newcomers
with their project.  The lot is suitable for a home of 1450 to 1500
square feet of heated space, living room, dining room, kitchen, two baths
and three bedrooms.  Like all our homes, it is pathway accessible, and
has a long view down the path towards our "meadows" and the kids'
playhouse.

Judith Krassner, Member of Solterra
You can reach me at:
GJKrass [at] Juno.com, or see our Web page: www.Solterra.net

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