Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Enforcement of co-housing rules/policies within your community

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Nov 4, 2015, at 9:02 AM, Eris Weaver <eris [at] erisweaver.info> wrote:
> 
> Jean Wilcox wrote:
>> Manzanita Village in Prescott AZ is considering a policy which outlines
>> consequences for people who repeatedly ignore policies which have been
>> adopted by consensus.
> 
> Mary Vallier-Kaplan
>> Looking forward to hearing from others including consultants.
> 
> Short answer: cohousers, in general, SUCK at enforcement/accountability.

I agree with Eris and hope she and others post tips from her workshop.

I would also say that people in general suck at enforcement and accountability 
— cohousers are just people who are new at it. When we say we want a new 
culture, we usually want to start from scratch. We assume that many things will 
not be necessary or will not happen in our new culture. We started with almost 
no rules at all. The bylaws were fairly canned and many assumed were only for 
the bank. Everyone paid condo fees, but we never charged late fees. Until a new 
management company and a new treasurer automatically started sending late 
notices. They had no idea that we hadn’t been doing it. 

So partly culture building a process of learning which rules do what and why, 
and which are outmoded, counter-productive, or pointless. Culture is about 
organization, about a system in which people function harmoniously.

One thing that makes enforcement/accountability impossible is making it 
personal. Framing the problem as “this household” or “this person” becomes 
hand-to-hand or heart-to-heart combat. Analyzing problems as systemic, not 
personal takes less energy and is more effective. We could have gone on forever 
grousing or counseling or arguing with the one or two households that were 
often late payers, but passively sending late fee letters was less 
confrontational and more direct. “This is a money issue."

In system dynamics the task is to find the point of intervention that takes the 
least effort to correct the system without disturbing other 
processes/features/actions. 

Something about the system is enabling, requiring, or producing in some way the 
behavior. Expectations are out of whack. Something is sending mixed signals. 
This doesn’t mean “It’s your fault, not mine” but it means the system needs 
correcting, not the person. I think people are much more willing to take action 
on a system.

This is the same issue as people using common space as if it were their own 
yard. One thing I’ve learned in cohousing is that conventional condos are 
designed as they are for reasons. They may not be good solutions but they are 
in response to problems. Defining personal and public space clearly is what 
prevents one from becoming the other.

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