Cohousing-L Mailing List: Zoning for cohousing

[Betsy Morris (Betsy]

Ty,

In my experience, wherever someone has persuaded a planning commission to
mention cohousing, there's usually no actual new or special code -(or
funding or easier permitting process).  it's your basic PUD or standard
low/moderate density multi-family housing, sometimes called "clustered
housing."  El Cerrito, CA did create a land use called "cottage court" or
bungalow court, along its main commercail street, making it possible to
have smaller back yards/rear and side yard setbacks from the property line,
and  a larger shared front yard.  To the best of my  knowledge no one's
made us of it yet.

Yarrow Ecovillage in BC, negotiated "ecovillage zoning" actually a specific
plan approved by the little rural town its in. Their property is allowed to
be mixed use ag/condo/retail uses.

Coho-L archives are good to search on this topic, and also the archives of
Communities magazine, at ic.org.  FIC  published a special  issue on
zoning, or maybe there was an article on same on Finding and Starting a
Community theme issue.

Now tiny home villages are another thing.  Cohousing there is not about a
land use,  Community First! is the one in Austin is a campground with
permanent and transitional mix of tents, car-camping, tiny homes, and RVs.
  I highly recommend *Tent City Urbanism*, by Andrew Heben, for an
explanation of the features that make a tiny home village like cohousing.
His village layouts and examples from Madison, Portland, Eugene, share the
idea of self-governance/self-management and sharing of common facilities
for dining and meetings that make it more like cohousing.  You can google
the book or Square One Villages for more details.  No special zoning or
land use yet, but i've been working on that here in the Bay Area if you'd
like to share notes.

good luck in Denton!


good luck!

-- 
Betsy Morris
Cohousing California
Planning for Sustainable Communities
Berkeley, CA
510-842-6224 (gv)
510-809-7252 (mobile)
www.calcoho.org
www.ebcoho.org
www.cohousingcoaches.com
www.betsymorris.com
www.communify.in