Cohousing-L Mailing List: Cost up to zoning board approval

[Heather (HS9981]

 Hello, everyone.  I am really looking forward to the East Coast Coho
Conference next week.  I hope that those of us on this list get a chance to
put some faces with names.  Until then I have a couple of questions from
my group (Capital District Cohousing - Albany, NY).
  We are STILL in the land search phase and have been investigating a
piece of property owned by a former member of our group.  She left the group
a while back mainly because we were focusing the land search too far out in the
 country for her comfort.  Her parcel is a nice short commute into Albany and
the owner will probably rejoin the group if we go with it.  The first question
is has any other group been in the situation of a member owning the parcel
and, if so, how did it work out?  How did you handle the finances?  DId the
owner allow the group to pay for the land after mortgages were secured?
What about an option?

   The second question has to do with the zoning approvals.  As the zoning
law reads it appears we would need a variance to build cohousing on this
property.  It is in a rural buffer zone.  It is unclear whether they will
allow attached homes.  We wonder how much it would cost to find out.  The
zoning office won't say much except that we should go through the process.
We aren't sure what that involves in terms of costs beyond securing an
option, doing the proper soil tests and having a site plan drawn up.
What has it cost other groups to get to that point?  We are afraid of spending
the time and money if we won't be able to build cohousing on that parcel.

   Thanks for taking the time and I'll see some of you at Pioneer Valley
one week from today!


Heather Sullivan-Catlin
Capital District Cohousing Group
Albany, NY