Re: Short-term rentals
From: R Philip Dowds (rpdowdscomcast.net)
Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2013 09:39:43 -0800 (PST)
This may be a longer answer than you want, but ...

At Cornerstone, we've just reformed our consensus process as part of 
re-inventing our self-governance system.  All of which has brought about some 
interesting consequences and considerations:

   -- Out of 32 units, 26 are owner-occupied.
   -- Out of these 26 -- and now here comes my personal judgment -- 18 
households are dependably active on a variety of fronts; 4 households are 
selectively active; and 4 are rarely engaged.  This is an improvement over a 
couple of years ago, when, in my view, many people felt alienated from 
community operations and decision-making.  Others at Cornerstone, of course, 
may see things differently.
   -- Four of these 26 involve a housemate situation: an adult beyond the 
nuclear family, in some cases apparently paying rent (although we do not track 
this).

Of the six non-owner-occupied units ...
   -- Two are vacant and on the market;
   -- Two are classic absentee landlord situations ... although these absentees 
normally work with us to find compatible renters;
   -- One is occupied by close relatives of the official owner; and
   -- One is owned by a consortium of individuals renting to a person who is a 
well-regarded member of the community.

This last brings up the owner versus member thing: something we did not really 
sort out in the last round of rule-changing.  On the whole, at Cornerstone an 
owner is a member of the community, and no ownership = no membership.  At any 
point in time we have about ten adults living on property who are "tenants" and 
accordingly not "members".  Some of them have been resident here longer than I 
and my wife (six years).  In a college town like Cambridge, turnover of some 
tenants may be on the nine month cycle.  Is this "short term"?
     Do these people participate in our business meetings or community meals 
program?  Do they contribute labor to the chore system?  Can they host private 
parties in the common house?  Typically, this is worked on a case-by-case, 
person-by-person basis.  A few tenants have been as active as many owner / 
members; more typically, they are as invisible as our least participatory 
owners.  This is because our community is of mixed feelings about tenancy, and 
has little in the way of adopted agreements about how to include or exclude 
tenants.

So I would say that at Cornerstone we do not successfully engage tenants 
because we don't try.  Which is part of my concern.

Philip Dowds
Cambridge, MA

Sent from my iPad

> On Nov 4, 2013, at 7:31 AM, Mary Vallier-Kaplan <marycvk [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> We agree with you that renters, housemates, etc. as are units of different
> shapes and sizes a way to help embrace all in a cohousing community.  It
> would be helpful if you could share with us some of Cornerstone's
> successful  ways of engaging non-owners more successfully in a cohousing
> community.
> 
> Thank you.
> Mary V-K

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