Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Southern Marin cohousing

[The Bigony Family (bigony]

To subscribers of Cohousing-L 
from Donna Lomp Bigony of Deerwood Village

I¹m writing to ask for help of anyone who has a friend or friends in the 
town of Hopkinton, MA.

Our group is currently pursuing 3 different parcels of land in Hopkinton 
that we may end up building on.  The planning board has written a 
cohousing zoning to enable us to do that. (There is no zoning in 
Massachusetts written for cohousing and only one other in the country. 
This zoning bylaw is a major victory for our group and for cohousing in 
general!)

Here¹s the catch. The bylaw, although written and recommended by the 
planning board needs to be passed by a 2/3 vote at town meeting in May.  
We need Hopkinton residents to support it! Do you know anyone who might? 
Please give them a call (or give us their phone numbers and we¹ll call 
them).

Tell them about the two informational meetings being held at the High 
School on Sat. April 25 from 2:00-4:00 and Tues. April 28 from 7:00-9:00 
PM.  Encourage them to attend one and then attend town meeting and vote 
yes for cohousing.

The cohousing zoning benefits Hopkinton in the following ways: It offers 
more affordable housing for single people and elderly, creating more 
diversity in housing and people moving in (all new development in 
Hopkinton consists of $300,000 and $400,000 colonials with young 
families moving in). 

It offers 1 and 2 bedroom units as well as 3 and 4 bedrooms (smaller 
units are scarce and no longer being built in the town. Empty-nesters 
are being forced out of town when they move out of their larger homes. 
Young families moving into town and using the school system create a tax 
burden that singles and elderly do not). 

The zoning requires that minimum 40% of land will be dedicated as 
conservation land (current developments cut down 90 to 100% of the 
trees). The cohousing zoning requires lower density than other zonings 
(less homes per acre than a conventional neighborhood).

Please call anyone in Hopkinton you know who might be supportive. Give 
them our number if they have questions: Glenn and Donna Bigony (508) 
359-5910.

Thank you!

Peace, love, and joy, Donna