Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Home-based business policies...

[Elizabeth Magill (pastorlizm]

My concern is a different one. 

I'd personally *like* to have as neighbors people who work as carpenters, 
plumbers, ministers-of-outdoor-churches-that-don't-have-buildings, painters, 
psychiatrists, crafters, photographers, musicians, dump truck drivers, 
pampered-chef-salespeople, kung-fo teachers, sex workers, clowns, etc.

I *would* want rules about 
-letting the rest of the community know when you have a lot of cars coming (for 
business or not), 
-only using the far-away, deep spaces for dump truck parking (and RVs), 
-noise (again, irrelevant to work vs. fun). 

I might want some rules about how often or what you pay, or how you sign up for 
using the common house for your business purpose (or I might not, especially if 
it is no more common than other use of the common house.)

At mosaic our usual reaction to a yard sale is "can we all do it at once to get 
more people?" and we have had a community yard sale many years and a "give your 
stuff away day" event every year. 
It is hard to for me to see why a yard sale or garage sale would be bad?

I'm pretty sure Mosaic decided simply that home businesses follow the town 
rules. 

In  terms of common house use, we argued the question of what happens if it is 
WORK vs HOBBY/FUN for more than year and I believe came to no conclusions....

-Liz
(The Rev.) Elizabeth M. Magill
www.worcesterfellowship.org
www.mosaic-commons.org
508-450-0431




On Jun 27, 2015, at 3:31 PM, R Philip Dowds <rpdowds [at] comcast.net> wrote:

> 
> One must wonder:  What, exactly, does “business” have to do with it?  If I am 
> trying to learn to play the accordian in my own dwelling unit, I’m not 
> earning a dime.  But I may still annoy my neighbors.
> 
> I don’t play or teach the accordian, but I’ll give a real life example:  I 
> frame pictures.  I do this in our communal arts and crafts room.  I’d say 
> about 80% of the pictures I frame are for my own enjoyment, for gifts to 
> family or friends, or donated to the community.  But for the other 20%, I am 
> getting paid:  People outside the community are paying me to frame pictures 
> for them.  So how could it turn out that framing pictures for fun is plenty 
> OK, but making some money framing pictures harms the community in some way?  
> If people drop in while I’m in the arts and crafts room, will they be able to 
> tell when I’m framing for fun, versus when I’m framing for money?
> 
> This topic of using the unit, or the commons, for business activity is very 
> complex.  I’m not convinced, however, that on-premises behaviors and impacts 
> are well evaluated or proscribed based on whether or not money is changing 
> hands.
> 
> Philip Dowds
> Cornerstone Cohousing
> Cambridge, MA
> 
> mobile: 617.460.4549
> email:   rpdowds [at] comcast.net <mailto:rpdowds [at] comcast.net>
> 
>> On Jun 27, 2015, at 3:05 PM, Kay Wilson <kwilsonfisk [at] comcast.net> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>> Our home businesses requirements follow below. (I will post
>> noise requirements separately)
>> 
>> However, be sure to consult your local zoning laws, which
>> likely include additional requirements, including parking
>> requirements. In our case, our county zoning requirements
>> appear to apply to music lessons, and require a special use
>> permit for this use.
>> 
>> Meadow Wood Declaration of Covenants:
>> 
>>      Section 10.1    Residential Use: Timesharing and
>> Business Use Prohibited. The Condominium is intended for and
>> restricted to use as single family residences only, on an
>> ownership, rental, or lease basis, and for social,
>> recreational, or other reasonable activities normally
>> incident to such use, except as provided in Article 11. The
>> Timesharing of Units, as defined in RCW 64.36, is
>> prohibited.
>> 
>>      10.1.1  Any business, trade, garage sale, moving
>> sale, rummage sale, or similar activity is prohibited,
>> except that an Owner or occupant residing in a Unit may
>> conduct business activities within the Unit so long as:
>> 
>>      (a)     The existence or operation of the business
>> activity is not apparent or detectable by sight, sound, or
>> smell from outside the Unit;
>>      (b)     The business activity conforms to all zoning
>> requirements for the Property;
>>      (c)     The activity does not, in the Board's
>> reasonable judgment, generate a level of vehicular or
>> pedestrian traffic or a number of vehicles being parked in
>> Meadow Wood that is noticeably greater than that which is
>> typical of Units in which no business activity is being
>> conducted;
>>      (d)     The business activity does not increase the
>> liability or casualty insurance obligation or premium of the
>> Association;
>>      (e)     The business activity does not cause an
>> increase in the consumption of utilities or trash collection
>> services paid for by the Association as a common expense;
>> and 
>>      (f)     The business activity, in the sole
>> discretion of the Board, is consistent with the residential
>> character of Meadow Wood and does not constitute a nuisance,
>> a hazardous or offensive use, or threaten the security or
>> safety of other residents of Meadow Wood.
>> 
>> Kay Wilson
>> Meadow Wood Cohousing
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> My forming community is working with potential members
>> who are interested in continuing to run their business out
>> of their home when they move in.  Since they provide music
>> lessons, we are interested in forming our policies on
>> home-based businesses and noise early in our process.
>> 
>> I would very much appreciate receiving any policies on
>> businesses and noise that you may care to share!
>> 
>> Thank you,
>> 
>> Allison Tom
>> allison.tom [at] telus.net
>> 
>> Little Mountain Cohousing, Vancouver, BC
>> ____________________________________________________________
>> _____
>> 
>> 
>> 
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