Cohousing-L Mailing List: Governing & Architectural Review [was Architectural Review]

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Oct 11, 2005, at 1:11 AM, OCC11NG wrote:

> "governing board" sends shivers of revulsion throughout our membership.

I shared this feeling until I recently (too recently) discovered that 
"to govern" means "to steer". The origin of the word is in steering 
ships. A captain governs a vessel, means the captain steers it into 
harbor, etc.

Inherent in steering is the concept of finding out what works, avoiding 
danger, moving slowly (or quickly) but safely through troubled waters, 
keeping a watch over forward movement, etc.

A good governing board should be like a captain, not the Gestapo.

Good governance also requires a clear aim. A ship sort of comes with 
one -- Go here, safely, by this date. Don't run into anything, etc.

Architectural Review requires the same aim. What do you want your 
community to look like? What were the design principles used when you 
built? Do you want to preserve them? How does coherent design affect 
resale value? Etc.

Aims are hard. Most of us don't take the time to define them and a new 
community probably doesn't have the knowledge yet to define a thorough 
one. You don't know what you like or what you can't live with yet. The 
possibilities, good and horrid, have yet to be revealed.

Start by steering through the icebergs and the jet skis. Pictures help.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Building Community
http://www.buildingcommunitynews.org