Cohousing-L Mailing List: Neighbors' opposition to Terra Firma retrofit cohousing

[Fred H. Olson (fholson]

Rachel Thibeault <rthibeau [at] uottawa.ca>
is the author of the message below it was posted
by the Fred the list manager:  fholson@cohousing org

Note and comment:

Rachel will be reading replies via the archives, you may want to send a
copy of your replies direct.  The Terra Firma topic has come up before, I
found messages in Oct & Nov 1998 and one in June 1999.  They can be read
via the Cohousing-L archives:

http://csf.Colorado.EDU/cohousing/      

Seven messages pecifically:

http://csf.Colorado.EDU/cohousing/oct98/0090.html
http://csf.Colorado.EDU/cohousing/oct98/0091.html
http://csf.Colorado.EDU/cohousing/oct98/0095.html

http://csf.Colorado.EDU/cohousing/nov98/0173.html
http://csf.Colorado.EDU/cohousing/nov98/0174.html
http://csf.Colorado.EDU/cohousing/nov98/0176.html

http://csf.Colorado.EDU/cohousing/jun99/msg00125.html 

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--------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------

Bonjour Fred,

My name is Rachel Thibeault and I am a professor at the university of
Ottawa. I've got a Ph.D. in community psychology and I have always been very
interested in cohousing from a sociological perspective. During my studies,
I've also lived in Denmark where I've got to experience the whole concept.
As a result, I sincerely believe cohousing is an ideal solution to the
isolation and fragmentation we too often observe in modern society.

Until now, my interest in cohousing has been mostly theoretical, but a
recent twist in my life has changed thatA. I live in an old neighbourhood
where a group called Terra Firma is trying to estbalish retrofit cohousing.
The other neighbours' reaction has been overwhelmingly negative as a handful
of individuals, vehemently opposed to the project, have mobilized the
community against it. Our area now feels like a war zone and numerous
meetings with City Hall have led nowhere.

In this situation, I seem to be the only neutral individual: I do not belong
to the group opposing the project, nor to Terra Firma. I was thus asked to
prepare a talk for January 11th, to tell City councillors and community
members where I stand on the issue. Obviously, I would like to support
cohousing and I want to do it fairly: answering  honestly the objections
brought forth by the angry neighbours is crucial to me. 

Since I am no expert in the field, I am coming to you to ask if you could
give me pointers on how to resolve our contentious issues. There are two
main ones:

1- SIZE:

At this point, six families  - out of the 12 families that constitute Terra
Firma - have purchased six units of rowhousing. They have renovated
beautifully and their now-common backyard is adjacent to that of 8
non-members. Terra Firma's pratice is to have the 6 off-site families use
the common backyard, and there is a plan to build a commonhouse on site that
would accommodate the 12 families. Personnally, I have no problem with this.
Terra Firma is ecologically minded and the members are very careful not to
disrupt the neighbourhood. However, the Concerned Citizens - as the group
opposing the project calls itself - claim that it is too noisy and that the
City should limit access to the 6 on-site families. 

So my questions are:

How did similar situations get resolved elsewhere? 

Do you know of any city regulating the process and, if so, how? 

Should Terra Firma wait to have more members on-site through gradual local
expansion prior to undertaking the construction of a commonhouse? 

I would truly appreciate advice or references on this.


Of lesser importance is the property value issue:

2- PROPERTY VALUE:

Our Concerned Citizens state that properties next to cohousing projects see
their value dwindle over time. People choosing not to be members lose out in
the end. I know that cohousing properties increase in value, but do you have
any data about the neighbourhood? I've read somewhere that, on the contrary,
all properties increase in value with the advent of cohousing. Am I wrong?


So, there it is. I suspect that my presentation will have an impact on how
cohousing will be integrated, or not, within the City of Ottawa. And Ottawa
being Canada's capital, it could set a trend for the rest of the country. I
sure want to do it right!

Again, I would be very appreciative of any kind of help you could provide. I
also realize that this is the holiday season and that my deadline is quite
short, but our local bureaucrats would not allow for more preparation time.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Happy Holiday Season,

Très sincèrement merci,

Rachel