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

[Pare Gerou (paregerou]

Thanks very much Philip and Cornerstone for sharing your Bylaws!  We really
appreciate it.

While I don't think many communities went this direction- any Articles of
Organization or Association out there would be helpful as well.

Sincerely,
Pare Gerou
www.GreekVillageCohousing.com
GreekVillageCohousing [at] gmail.com

On Fri, Nov 25, 2022 at 1:00 PM Philip Dowds <rpdowds [at] comcast.net> wrote:

> Fellow Cohousers —
>
> ------------------
> 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
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> 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
>
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