Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: membership

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On 29 Mar 2012, at 9:10 PM, Carol Agate wrote:

> We have quite a few people who live here because they are renting rooms in a 
> homeowner's unit. Some participate in the community and some don't, but only 
> a few have attended meetings. Has anyone tried this?           

We've had this since we moved in almost 12 years ago. Some participate and some 
we never see. We have an associate membership form they sign. Then they can 
participate in meetings and consensus decisions on community issues, not on 
money issues that obligate owners.

> How about distinguishing between homeowners and members? We would ask every 
> adult who lives here and wants to participate in the community to become a 
> member. Owners who aren't interested can decline to be members. Renters who 
> want to participate may become members. The quorum would then be based on the 
> membership. Owners, and only owners, would have a vote only when the law 
> requires it.

If you are a homeowner association, all the owners are members. If you have a 
separate membership organization, you will have two organizations in the same 
place and many headaches. The power struggles and confusions will be eternal. 
Better to have one governed organization with many programs.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org