Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing-L Digest, Vol 226, Issue 28

[Philip Dowds (rpdowds]

Fellow Cohousers —

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Thanks, RPD
617.460.4549
Sociocratic decision-making predicates decision-making on aligning decisions 
with the group’s clearly stated and adopted vision and mission.  The problem is 
that many or most cohousing communities have not agreed to a shared vision or 
mission that is **CONSISTENT and SPECIFIC enough** to be useful to 
decision-making by consensus.  Thus reasoned argument within the context of 
shared group aspirations often devolves from “This is good / bad for the 
community because …”, to “I like it” or “I don’t like it”.  This may be 
inevitable for most groups bound together by a need to sustain a residential 
commons, rather than by vision, mission, goals, purposes, whatever.

Cornerstone Cohousing (Cambridge, MA) has not agreed to follow Sociocracy ... 
but we have spent some time trying to improve our decision-making process.  In 
2013, we made major effort to reform our consensus decision-making.  We arrived 
at a bylaws reform we believe is an appropriate implementation of consent 
ideology and consensus process.  Basic idea is that we adhere to a good faith 
effort to practice consensus in a systematic way — but if solidarity (no 
unresolved objections) cannot be obtained, then sometimes a super-majority vote 
outcome is better for the community than the status quo as insisted upon by 
just one or two households.  For detail about our consent process, go here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qqhf8l80fgzzmuc/AABB71PowYedBsc-AfNcNOCYa?dl=0

Our consent process is codified in our bylaws (easy to amend over time), not in 
our master deed (nearly impossible to amend).  Note that at Cornerstone, we 
call Full Circle a “GENERAL MEETING” or “GM”.

Also, we call Circles “Committees” — and each committee is pretty much on its 
own for adopting and adhering to its own decision-making practices.  Thus in 
this folder is a document for one Committee (Interior) that explains how this 
Committee follows a simplified version of consensus.

Thanks, RPD 
617.460.4549

On November 24, 2022 at 6:16:23 AM, cohousing-l-request [at] cohousing.org 
(cohousing-l-request [at] cohousing.org) wrote:

Message: 1  
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2022 08:08:37 -0700  
From: Pare Gerou <paregerou [at] gmail.com>  
To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org, Fred H Olson <fholson [at] cohousing.org>  
Subject: [C-L]_ Organizational Charter Language and Cohousing Decision  
Making methodology  
Message-ID:  
<CAP+GJ3g+e4WoB0Zd7n7cYOZrcwQ_u7YWbtbrJF3V3kbo4X4eAQ [at] mail.gmail.com>  
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"  

Morning!  

I am hoping someone out there has some CC&R language they can share.  

In the United States, there has always been a problem between HOA CC&R  
regulations about voting and the reality of consensus and sociocracy in  
community.  

I am hoping, after all this time, that some communities have solved this  
problem. I am looking for a community that has decision making methodology  
legally enshrined in their organizational documents that matches what they  
actually do.  

*If your community has sociocracy and/or consensus enshrined in your legal  
documents (CC&Rs, Charter of Organization, etc), can you share the  
paragraphs about decision making? I am looking for samples of  
"best practices" legal documents and their decision making language. *  

Perhaps Cherry Hill managed this? Or Windsong? Or Nevada City? I really  
hope at least one of you out there managed to have your Charters/CC&Rs and  
HOA documents match what happens in reality.  

Thanks for considering this request. We appreciate all the help and  
support!  

Pare Gerou  
www.GreekVillageCohousing.com  
GreekVillageCohousing [at] gmail.com  
434.962.7801  

Pare  


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Message: 2  
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2022 12:16:40 -0500  
From: Sharon Villines <sharon [at] sharonvillines.com>  
To: Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>  
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Organizational Charter Language and Cohousing  
Decision Making methodology  
Message-ID: <C92BA6B5-9149-4EC3-99F0-34AD812659DF [at] sharonvillines.com>  
Content-Type: text/plain;       charset=utf-8  

On Nov 23, 2022, at 10:08 AM, Pare Gerou <paregerou [at] gmail.com> wrote:  
>  
> In the United States, there has always been a problem between HOA CC&R  
> regulations about voting and the reality of consensus and sociocracy in  
> community.  

There are two sets of bylaws here written in 2015 so they probably need 
updating.  

https://www.sociocracy.info/?s=bylaws  

There are also bylaws in the both editions of We the People. There may be 
bylaws on the SoFA website.  

The key thing to remember is that all condo regulations will require majority 
vote which people often think precludes consensus decision-making. But 
consensus is majority vote?it is a 100% majority vote. Other common levels of 
majority vote are more than 50%, 66% or two thirds, and 75% or three-quarters.  

So requiring consent means you require 100% affirmative majority vote.  

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