Cohousing-L Mailing List: Changing C.C and R's. (Was How do You do it?)

[Joani Blank (joani]

I'm not a lawyer or any kind of real estate professional, but it seems to
me that with this--or any other similar provision of the CC and Rs, (except
perhaps the requirement of written notice of certain kinds of events)-- the
Board (which in cohousing is usually everyone in the community) should be
able to simply waive the requirement for "written prior approval," and can
authorize a committee or, for that matter, an individual, to do anything it
wants to with whatever level of group approval it wants. In the case of
landscaping for instance, you may want not want to allow a resident to
plant oleander or some other poisonous plant in the "private" front or back
yard, or pour a concrete slab where there is now dirt, so you might require
people messing with their private space to get approval from a landscape
committee. Or have the landscape committee come up with a policy for the
whole group about what is and isn't okay, after the Board has authorized
them to do so. 

Do not, if at all possible try and change the CC and R's. Bylaws are a
little easier to change and House Rules should be very easy to change. But
you may not need to change any of these. 

I expect yours is not the only group to end up with boiler plate C C and
Rs. Yours may say, for instance, that Board decisions are made by majority
or 2/3 vote. But you probably make decisions by consensus and don't  have
votes. Tsk, tsk, you might be contravening your CC and Rs.  I say, respect,
but don't be scared of your C C and Rs. If there is an attorney out there
who thinks I'm giving out bad or risky advice, let him or her speak now.

Joani Blank (who admits to never carefully reading the CC and Rs at either
community she has lived in.)
Old Oakland Cohousing  at Swan's Market (that's our whole official name)