Cohousing-L Mailing List: Query re: Civano/Tucson Solar Village

[Strawnet (Strawnet]

There is an interesting possibility developing in Tucson that might be of
interest to people on this list.  The potential exists for one or more
cohousing communities to develop in a large sustainable community that is in
the planning stages here.  Also there is the potential for that group (or
those groups) to have some influence on the development process for the
entire project, by demonstrating the interest and commitment to a more
sustainable lifestyle, soon enough to impress potential master developers
(who will be bidding on the land in a State Land Department auction) that
there is a real market for highly evolved sustainbly designed village type
development. 

I am on the advisory committee for the Civano/Tucson Solar Village - an 820
acre development on the far south eastern side of Tucson.  This planned
sustainable community has its origins in Exxon Oil Overcharge Funds and has
been in the planning stages for years.  A million dollars was committed to
the planning and infrastructure development for this project.  The site has
been rezoned, and a good deal of planning has been completed.  We, the
advisory committee, various civic groups, experts in energy, water,
recycling, community design, transportation, economics, etc. are in the
process of finalizing the performance targets and nailing down the guidelines
for the project.  These will ensure and encourage the master developer,
smaller developers and builders, groups such as cohousers and Habitat,
community land trust people, owner builders, business people, and those who
just buy a house there, to do the right things.  

There will be a land auction - for the whole parcel - to a master developer
late this year.   Getting the right master developer, someone with more than
just a profit motive, is very critical.  This project has the potential to be
a world class demonstration of sustainable development.  It could also end up
being much less than that.  Some of the big issues are affordable housing
(how to get it done and not unduly burden the developers/builders), high
performance targets that won't scare off developers/builders, how we
guarantee the master developer will follow the true values of the project,
since the state is obligated to take the highest bid for the land at the
auction, etc.

One of the things that has been discussed is the possibility of having some
pre-interested groups (we already have one that is potentially interested in
a 100 acre parcel) that will give the master developer and builders a level
of comfort about their ability to sell lots and houses.  We have all the
usual trade-offs and conflicts that one would expect.

So, my question to people on this list is would you or people you know, be
interested in being involved with a co-housing project as part of a larger
sustainable community development?  It is possible to take some of the land
and create a community land trust as well.  This and many other options
remain open at this stage.  If there were lots of interest in such a thing,
it (you) might have a very interesting influence on the project, targets, who
ends up deciding to bid at the auction, etc.

Of course, another thing I'd be interested in hearing about is anyone who
might be a good master developer for this project.  We have been meeting with
the developer of Bamberton, in Canada, who is very interested in developing
this project, and appears to bring all the right values to the project and
process, as well as some other local people with larger investors from
elsewhere.

Not having a good sense of the level of response that might come from this
posting, and in the interest of maintaining the viability of my personal
e-mail account I guess
I'd rather see responses made to the list than to my personal e-mail address,
although that would probably be ok too.  It might be more useful to have this
info out where we can all look at it, assuming anyone is interested.

I am going to dig up my info on a sustainable development list, that I was
sent a while back, and check that out also.  And BTW (how could I post
something without a reference to straw bale construction) it looks very
likely that we'd be able to build load-bearing straw bale houses in this
development - within the building codes.  I think the sb code will be adopted
here this summer - we meet with the code committee next week!  Keep you
fingers crossed, pray, visualize, whatever you do to create the reality you
want.
Thanks

David Eisenberg
strawnet [at] aol.com
Development Center for Appropriate Technology
PO Box 41144
Tucson, Arizona 85717