Re:rules and regulations
From: Evdavwes (Evdavwesaol.com)
Date: Mon, 29 Aug 2005 19:52:51 -0700 (PDT)
I live at Westwood Cohousing in Asheville, NC.  We recently worked  together 
as a community to consider a series of policies regarding the  
appearance/maintenance of our front porches and other areas of our community  
visible to all 
(parking lot, back yards, side yards, etc).  There seems to  be a sense that 
coming up with some "guidelines or standards" that will help to  facilitate 
"accountability" is a good thing.  It has been expressed  that trying to 
resolve 
conflict without agreed upon standards puts the onus  on the person who has 
the concern rather than the individual who may  be creating a problem for 
others.   However there are  varying opinions about how broad and/or specific 
the 
guidelines or  standards should be.  Many people have put a great deal of time 
and  energy into trying to help our community in this area of accountability.   
It is a difficult thing to come to agreement due to many differences among  
us.  Many strong feelings come up around this one.  Plus, finding  language 
that is clear and flexible is not easy.  Are there any  co-housing communities 
out there that have language suggestions to offer?   Are there any co-housing 
communities that struggle with the tension around how  things look and the 
different standards held by members?  How have other  communities resolved 
issues 
related to the physical appearance of common areas  and areas visible to all?
 
Thanks for your responses!  Evan Richardson

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