Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Community forming in Southeastern Utah [FWD]

[Fred H Olson WB0YQM (fholson]

KWALKER [at] EUCLID.UCSD.EDU is the author of this message but due
to a listserv problem it was posted by the COHOUSING-L sysop (Fred).
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Community Forming in Southeastern Utah
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Sound interesting?  Then Read on...

Circle Op Springs is a forming community in the Canyon Country of
Southeastern Utah, near the town of Moab.  We own a 124 acre site at
the base of the La Sal mountains.  It is at an elevation of 5900
feet, has a perennial creek and springs, and is adjacent to a few
private parcels and a lot of public land.  The countryside is
characterized  by pinyon-juniper forest, small cliffs, cottonwoods in
the creek bed, and quiet.  There is enough water and arable land for
commercial agriculture.  The climate is characterized by pronounced
seasons, low rainfall (8"-12"/year), and abundant sunshine.

Our vision for the community is focused on developing sustainable
lifestyles, especially in terms of food and energy production,
architecture, and in our relationship with ourselves and the land.
Social sustainability will be created through balancing group and
private life, making decisions by consensus, and joint participation
in our day to day activities.  The individual site we have chosen
defines us in many ways, and through it we hope to deepen our ties
with the world of wild things, as well as repair damage done to this
land by past abuses.

Underpinning all of this is our commitment to honest communication in
the process of developing our relationships with each other and the
group as a whole.  We envision community activities to include
gardening, sharing meals, seasonal celebrations, and construction. We
do not have a strong intent around generating income collectively,
but are interested in exploring this area (i.e. some residents may
form business partnerships).

The land is owned by a limited liability company (LLC), whose
shareholders are the community members.  Individual shareholders have
1/2 acre (approx.) homesite lots on which they may build a house and
generally do as they please.  There are 12 shares in total with five
presently available for purchase.  Living arrangements will likely be
a combination of single household homes, some duplexes, clustered
housing and cooperative house sharing.  We ultimately envision a
community of 30-40 people.

We plan to have a community building with gardens, kitchen, eating,
laundry, children's room, socializing, and other facilities.  The
common land outside the home lots will be available for agriculture,
businesses, and other projects, but the group as a whole will approve
the final siting of such and impose restrictions if necessary to
maintain the quality of life for everyone. The cost of a share in the
community is about $17,000.  Financing is available at 9% interest.
The payment terms are flexible, with one possibility being zero
dollars down and $215/month for 10 years.

Our current foci are to find more members, complete site planning for
buildings and other constructions, improve the road to the land, and
develop the water resources.

For more information, send email to kwalker [at] math.ucsd.edu, or write
us at

C.O.S.
P.O. Box 1171
Moab, UT 84532

--
Fred H. Olson   fholson [at] uci.com   (612)588-9532  Amateur radio: WB0YQM
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