Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: use of common areas by external groups

[Lynn Nadeau / Maraiah (welcome]

New group asked about advice on this. It's a vast area of many details, not 
easy to briefly summarize. You will do well to give it careful thought and 
discussion. You want to protect the value of your property (appropriate 
handling of appliances, decisions about allowing street shoes on the flooring, 
what furniture stays indoors), ensure proper clean up, take into consideration 
allergies (fragrances? animals other than service ones?), assure safety 
(leaving exit aisles at concert-type events, rules about leaving alcohol in the 
common house), cover costs of wear and tear, and utilities like heat for 
events, define sponsor responsibilities, decide on appropriate fees, and 
process for reserving space (calendar, sign up forms, times reserved for 
community use such as regular meetings or meals) and tracking payments. 

We define events as either Personal Socials (the sort of thing you might 
otherwise host at your home, like a birthday party, cast party, retirement 
party) and Sponsored Events (most events) which are connected to an 
organization or project the sponsoring member is part of-- Audubon, Quakers, 
English Country Dancing, a choir, an art group, fundraisers for nonprofits. 
Sponsor must be on site start to finish, and is responsible for house rules, 
clean up, items left behind, trash and recycling put in proper places. We don't 
rent out the space other than member-sponsored events, but there are quite a 
few of those. 

Maraiah Lynn Nadeau
RoseWind Cohousing, long-built in
Port Townsend WA