Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: co-housing, build your own

[Dan Everett (dme]

> From cohousing-l [at] freedom.mtn.org Thu Mar 26 11:40:38 1998
> 
> Hi,
> I would like to hear from folks who live in or are planning communities
> where each households build their own homes.

        We did it that way at Kenney Ridge.

        Recruitment is easier -- arguably, _too_ easy. Members can just
        fork over the cash for a lot, get their plans approved by the
        Architectural Review Committee, and build. Only later on do we
        discover that members had widely varying ideas as to what extent
        we want to be an intentional community vs. a slightly alternative
        subdivision. What do you mean, we are supposed to attend MEETINGS??

        And of you are probably going to get a wide range of house values in
        such a community. Some folks are going to want to slap up 4000 square
        foot mini-mainsions while others try to figure out the minimum
        cost of a basic strawbale house. Income diversity is basically a 
        good thing in communities, but if you have specific environmental
        goals for your structures you should write them into the lot covenants
        while you have the chance. People in this culture are used to having
        the right to do as they please with "their property."

        On the up side you can have some good community interaction as folks
        exchange house design tips and help each other raise their structures.

        The one thing I would change about the Kenney Ridge process is, I
        would make sure that the lot owners went through a number of meetings
        so that they become used to the give and take of community decsion
        making. Our brothers and sisters who design their sites in typical
        cohousing fashion have already weeded out those who can't handle
        the group process, I think.

Best wishes
Dan

Kenney Ridge Community
Athens GA 
        
>