Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Permits, Big Brother & Hi

[Fred H Olson WB0YQM (fholson]

Message author: Munn Heydorn, Winfield, Illinois INTERACCESS.COM!MUNN
Posted by the COHOUSING-L sysop.

Hello all;
I have been "lurking" (at another "address") for some time now and have 
found the talk on cohousing quite interesting.  I work as a commercial real 
estate lender for a bank in Chicago's suburbs.  It is particularly 
interesting to me that the existing cohousing, with the exception of one 
noted in Minnesota, seem to be on the coasts.  We midwesterners are a 
conservative lot.

The conversation on permits, neighbors and getting hung up (or, out to dry) 
in the zoning and permitting process has been particularly interesting since 
I've been involved in that indirectly for some time through work and, 
lately, through some housing related non-profits.  Good commercial real 
estate developers (An oxymoron?) really do their homework in terms of 
finding out who has power in town, meeting with those persons with the 
power, meeting with the neighbors and, generally holding hands and selling 
their project.  In something relatively new like cohousing, it would be 
particularly important that the neighbors and town powers be educated and 
sold.  It does help to meet the folks that are trying to do the deal and 
wish to live there and, hopefully, show what personable and reasonable folks 
they are in fact.  I suppose it is somewhat intellectually dishonest but, 
some developers have been known for going in asking for the moon, sun, stars 
*and* very high density and then "settling" for what they wanted in the 
first place.  Hard to believe!

On a side note, one reason I have been bouncing around the net is a goal of 
putting on a seminar for non-profits in my area - particularly housing 
related - on on-line services, including the Internet.  I have noted a 
number of lists related to non-profits,social services, disabilities and the 
like but a paucity of offerings regarding affordable housing.  If anyone has 
thoughts or gopher pointers or other clues on affordable housing info, I 
certainly would appreciate them.  Please respond to me directly 
<munn [at] interaccess.com> rather than through the list on this topic.  Thanks 
for your patience.

Thanks for the opportunity to talk to you,
Munn Heydorn, Winfield, Illinois
--
Fred H. Olson   fholson [at] uci.com     Sysop of COHOUSING-L mailing list
1221 Russell Av N; Minneapolis, MN 55411        voice: (612) 588-9532
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