Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Looking for examples of at-home business policies

[David Clements and Evan Richardson (evdavwes]

Karen,
Our Declaration (www.westwoodcohousing.com) allows use of property as allowed 
by the city of Asheville, NC.  The city regulations are more restrictive than 
ours might be.  Basically "retail establishments" (those with more than 8 
customers per day coming and going) are not allowed in residential 
neighborhoods.
For example, we have had a bed and breakfast business, which is not legal in 
the city in houses of less than 2500 sf.  
Also, we have had a member doing massage, which in the city can only be done in 
a handicapped-accessible building (our development is not handicapped 
accessible, and has no parking for the public).  Also the city follows standard 
code requirements for medical offices, which our houses cannot meet without 
expensive renovations. 
Also, we have a member with a handyman business, which is not legal in the city 
unless the business vehicle (a van) is parked in a closed garage.  In our case, 
we have no garages, so  the van can not legally be parked on our property.
When I was on the Board, my feeling was that these businesses, though 
technically "illegal" under the city statutes, could consider to operate so 
long as there was no objection from any member.   If there had been an 
objection, I think the Board would have had to negotiate with the parties or 
deny the illegal home occupation.  Especially given that any one objecting 
could complain to the city for enforcement of the City statute.  .  
I think that the Board is currently not paying close attention to which 
businesses have the proper permits and which do not.  
Here is the Declaration (the main place where we set out our rights and 
obligations to each other:

b. That the Lots shall be occupied and used only as private dwellings in 
accordance with the provision of this Declaration, the Bylaws and the Rules and 
Regulations, and for no other purpose; provided, however, that Developer has 
the right at all times to use Lots owned or leased by it as a model or for 
demonstration purposes. In addition, the Lots may be used for home occupations 
permitted under the Property’s zoning use category, so long as the use is in 
compliance with the Rules and Regulations.

Here is the section from Rules and Regulations.  We have a "studio," and once 
had plans for additional "studios" where people could work:

Section 6. Work and Hobby Activities: Since Westwood encourages a mix of living 
and work spaces, provided the work is compatible with the environment residents 
seek here, consideration shall be given to what types of work are appropriate. 
The relevant factors include: noise, outside clutter, traffic, parking, odors, 
lights, dust, environmentally caustic material, hours of activity, fire 
hazards, wear and tear on building improvements, the effect upon market value 
of property, and any other kinds of impact on the community (both Westwood and 
the larger neighborhood). Since some types of work use only need to be separate 
from housing in the studio zone (as shown on the Development site plans), while 
others will not be appropriate anywhere in Westwood, no blanket rule covers all 
situations; each must be decided on a case-by-case basis.



David Clements

Message: 1
Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:06:38 -0800
From: Karen Sheldon <karen.sheldon [at] gmail.com>
Subject: [C-L]_ Looking for examples of at-home business policies
To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
Message-ID: <4F3B132E.3020807 [at] gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

If there are cohousing groups with business policies you'd care to 
share, we'd love to see them, as we are working to develop our own.

Thanks,

Karen
Bellingham Cohousing
Bellingham WA


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