Cohousing-L Mailing List: Associate/Satellite Members

[patty m gourley (cohousing]

Dear List,
At Tierra Nueva CoHousing on the Central California coast, we are being
faced with an opportunity/problem.  Two of our households left the
project to buy a house  which adjoins our orchard property.  The
ex-members are hoping to create some sort of associate or Satellite
membership that will give them official member status in order to  share
access to our common facilities.   They attend all of the business
meetings and socials and participate in the committee work as well.  They
are part of the community in spirit, but not legally or financially.  

Do any of you have a similar circumstance?  Any advice on how to set it
up officially or did you find it necessary ?  If you do have associate
members, did you decide on a percentage of the common costs as a buy-in
or membership fee?  Our ex-members think they should only pay a portion
of the common costs, like the common house costs, but not the roads and
parking lot costs.  They may want to propose that they pay 1/4 or 1/3 of
the common costs, as their membership fee.   Some of the regular
membership thinks it's not enough, some think it's too much.  We are
groping around for a solution, and would like to hear any suggestions you
may have to help us reach clarity.

We suspect that this will provide us with an opportunity to set a
precedence for other associate memberships which may arise in the future,
so we want to get it right, or at least close.  Are there any hidden
problems with such a relationship, assuming an agreement is reached about
the fees?   

Thanks,
Mara