Lowville, Ont
From: Tom Ponessa (tomptvo.org)
Date: Sat, 11 Mar 95 20:37 CST
Russell Mawby writes:

The first "cohousing" project in Ontario will likely be
specifically for seniors -they are in the planning approvals
stage right now, and assuming there's sufficent water on the
site they've optioned, will start construction this fall.

They have decided to try to set an age floor of 50 years
as they search for prospective residents.  I and others
have tried to encourage a more encompassing approach to this
issue - ie. that by describing themselves as a senior's
community they would be attracting "the right" people
regardless of their chronological age - but they are
sticking with the the 50 cut-off.

They are aware of discrimination legislation in the Condo
Act, and so are being careful about how they approach this,
but have had tons of success so far.  I have attached an
article I wrote about the Lowville project for "CoHousing
Ontario" that should desribe this community a bit better.

They are working with a developer who has fronted much of
the initial costs.  They intend to build a mixture of
detached bungalows and semi-detached houses.  Most of the
residents currently live in quite large homes - up to
3000 sf - and so wanted more space than townhouses could
offer.  All homes will be fully accessible.  P.S. they
intend to build their common house using straw-bale
construction!

They will be using an advanced technology communal septic
system partly to set an example for the area, which suffers
from contaminated and reduced water-tables.

I should add that part of their concern about ages, etc.,
is that the area they are building in is a very desireable
place to live, and they want to be sure that their efforts
towards building a community aren't blown apart by people
(speculators) who want to capitalize on the bucolic location
of this project.

If anyone would like more information on this project,
please send me a note at <russell_mawby [at] tvo.org>, and I'll
try to keep you updated on their progress.

I should add that part of the reason I like this project,
regardless of my disagreement with some of the decisions
they've made, is that it has gone a long way to "normalize"
cohousing in this area - this is not a bunch of utopists
looking for an "alternative" lifestyles, but a group of
mainstream old folks who couldn't find community, so they
built it themselves.  They have had a huge impact on the way
the Regional government looks at development, and this, in
the end, is what it's all about (IMO).



The Lowville Project
by Russell Mawby

     The Lowville Project began 3 years ago when a group of
residents of the (former) village of Lowville began to
realize that they would likely have to leave the area as
they got older.  Most of these people had lived in the area
all of their lives, many on the farms that had been in the
family for generations.  They were not happy about the
prospect of moving to one of the many seniors villages in
urban Burlington, a city of 100,000 on Lake Ontario to the
south.
     Lowville is in the middle of the Regional Municipality
of Halton, about 60 km west of Toronto, almost at the foot
of the Niagara Escarpment.  The area suffers from an
abundance of beautiful countryside, resulting in a dignified
but relentless sprawl of large lot estate-homes.  It was
this low-density
upscale conversion of farmland to mansions that scattered
Lowville's population in the 1970's, leaving behind a lonely
general store to mark the site of a quiet rural village. The
problem for the Lowville group was that the population
density was now too low to justify the support services they
increasingly desired as they grew older, thus the potential
move to Burlington.
     At first they thought that building a community centre
could serve as a base for services, but quickly realized
that this was impractical.  They also approached a number of
developers to commission a seniors project, but were unhappy
with the "cookie-cutter" style of the proposals, which, they
felt, would not be
all that different than anything found in Burlington.
     It was only after hearing and learning about cohousing
that they realized that the solution would be to,
figuratively if not literally, rebuild the lost village of
Lowville themselves.  They have been meeting as a cohousing
group for the past 1-
public presentations to attract attention and interest in
their project.  The group has recently made agreements with
a local developer and architect, and is proceeding with
design development and the preliminary stages of
making this dream a reality.
     Halton Region Community Services  was an early
supporter of the project, and offered invaluable
encouragement and advice.  At the start of this year, the
group made formal contact with the Halton Region Planning
Department, which led to a significant move forward by
encouraging discussions with local land owners about
acquiring suitable land.  The planners helped the group
understand where and why they could build, and to understand
the processes required to secure approval.  In return, the
Lowville group helped the planners to re-examine some of
their practices that might have impeded the development of
healthy communities.
    For example, Halton is facing problems with water supply
and treatment in all areas outside of Burlington.  As a
result, the region limits housing density in rural
settlement areas to 1 house per 4 acres.  This had always
been interpreted as a single-family, detached dwelling
surrounded by 4 acres of land, to allow separate septic
systems, and in most cases, separate wells.  The Lowville
group encouraged the region to accept that on a parcel
of 100 acres, for example, 25 homes could be clustered onto
4 or 5 acres, leaving the remainder as open space, with
shared septic systems and wells - something most new
developments have a tough time accepting.
     The shape of the project has changed over the years and
hundreds of hours of meetings, and the end is only barely in
sight, but what ever the result, the Lowville Project will
be a unique, caring community that comes from the hearts and
souls of the only people who could have made it happen - the
residents themselves.


This article is adapted from the Fall 1994 issue of
CoHousing Ontario.  For more information, contact the
Collaborative Housing Society at (416) 255-7446.
The first
"cohousing" project in Ontario will likely be
specifically for seniors -they are in the planning approvals
stage right now, and assuming there's sufficent water on the
site they've optioned, will start construction this fall.

They have decided to try to set an age floor of 50 years
as they search for prospective residents.  I and others
have tried to encourage a more encompassing approach to this
issue - ie. that by describing themselves as a senior's
community they would be attracting "the right" people
regardless of their chronological age - but they are
sticking with the the 50 cut-off.

They are aware of discrimination legislation in the Condo
Act, and so are being careful about how they approach this,
but have had tons of success so far.  I have attached an
article I wrote about the Lowville project for "CoHousing
Ontario" that should desribe this community a bit better.

They are working with a developer who has fronted much of
the initial costs.  They intend to build a mixture of
detached bungalows and semi-detached houses.  Most of the
residents currently live in quite large homes - up to
3000 sf - and so wanted more space than townhouses could
offer.  All homes will be fully accessible.  P.S. they
intend to build their common house using straw-bale
construction!

They will be using an advanced technology communal septic
system partly to set an example for the area, which suffers
from contaminated and reduced water-tables.

I should add that part of their concern about ages, etc.,
is that the area they are building in is a very desireable
place to live, and they want to be sure that their efforts
towards building a community aren't blown apart by people
(speculators) who want to capitalize on the bucolic location
of this project.

If anyone would like more information on this project,
please send me a note at <russell_mawby [at] tvo.org>, and I'll
try to keep you updated on their progress.

I should add that part of the reason I like this project,
regardless of my disagreement with some of the decisions
they've made, is that it has gone a long way to "normalize"
cohousing in this area - this is not a bunch of utopists
looking for an "alternative" lifestyles, but a group of
mainstream old folks who couldn't find community, so they
built it themselves.  They have had a huge impact on the way
the Regional government looks at development, and this, in
the end, is what it's all about (IMO).



The Lowville Project
by Russell Mawby

     The Lowville Project began 3 years ago when a group of
residents of the (former) village of Lowville began to
realize that they would likely have to leave the area as
they got older.  Most of these people had lived in the area
all of their lives, many on the farms that had been in the
family for generations.  They were not happy about the
prospect of moving to one of the many seniors villages in
urban Burlington, a city of 100,000 on Lake Ontario to the
south.
     Lowville is in the middle of the Regional Municipality
of Halton, about 60 km west of Toronto, almost at the foot
of the Niagara Escarpment.  The area suffers from an
abundance of beautiful countryside, resulting in a dignified
but relentless sprawl of large lot estate-homes.  It was
this low-density
upscale conversion of farmland to mansions that scattered
Lowville's population in the 1970's, leaving behind a lonely
general store to mark the site of a quiet rural village. The
problem for the Lowville group was that the population
density was now too low to justify the support services they
increasingly desired as they grew older, thus the potential
move to Burlington.
     At first they thought that building a community centre
could serve as a base for services, but quickly realized
that this was impractical.  They also approached a number of
developers to commission a seniors project, but were unhappy
with the "cookie-cutter" style of the proposals, which, they
felt, would not be
all that different than anything found in Burlington.
     It was only after hearing and learning about cohousing
that they realized that the solution would be to,
figuratively if not literally, rebuild the lost village of
Lowville themselves.  They have been meeting as a cohousing
group for the past 1-
public presentations to attract attention and interest in
their project.  The group has recently made agreements with
a local developer and architect, and is proceeding with
design development and the preliminary stages of
making this dream a reality.
     Halton Region Community Services  was an early
supporter of the project, and offered invaluable
encouragement and advice.  At the start of this year, the
group made formal contact with the Halton Region Planning
Department, which led to a significant move forward by
encouraging discussions with local land owners about
acquiring suitable land.  The planners helped the group
understand where and why they could build, and to understand
the processes required to secure approval.  In return, the
Lowville group helped the planners to re-examine some of
their practices that might have impeded the development of
healthy communities.
    For example, Halton is facing problems with water supply
and treatment in all areas outside of Burlington.  As a
result, the region limits housing density in rural
settlement areas to 1 house per 4 acres.  This had always
been interpreted as a single-family, detached dwelling
surrounded by 4 acres of land, to allow separate septic
systems, and in most cases, separate wells.  The Lowville
group encouraged the region to accept that on a parcel
of 100 acres, for example, 25 homes could be clustered onto
4 or 5 acres, leaving the remainder as open space, with
shared septic systems and wells - something most new
developments have a tough time accepting.
     The shape of the project has changed over the years and
hundreds of hours of meetings, and the end is only barely in
sight, but what ever the result, the Lowville Project will
be a unique, caring community that comes from the hearts and
souls of the only people who could have made it happen - the
residents themselves.


This article is adapted from the Fall 1994 issue of
CoHousing Ontario.  For more information, contact the
Collaborative Housing Society at (416) 255-7446.

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