Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Does your community get all adults in a consensus decision?

[pattymara (pattymara]

At Tierra Nueva, cen. CA coast, we are experimenting with the definition
of a quorum, or,  how many households need to be present in order for a
proposal to be considered.   During our development and construction we
had many out of town members, so we used the number nine to establish
quorum.  After move-in we continued to use nine even though we were all
on site.  So finally after about a year and a half, I brought up the
notion of redefining quorum.  

An extended discussion followed...and the bylaws reviewed.  Lo and
behold, the bylaws defined quorum as 50% of the membership plus one,
present at the start of the business meeting.

More discussion.  Is it really consensus when only half (plus one) of the
households are participating in the decision process?  And, if one
chooses not to attend the meetings, one is either trusting the group
process to make the right decision, or standing aside. 

After long deliberation we choose to try it for 3 months, with several
folks anxious that we would never get the required 15 households present
at a meeting and that all decision making would grind to a halt.  

Turns out it was smooth and effortless.  Most meetings did have the
required number at the start of the business agenda (after nearly an hour
of check in, announcements and committee reports).  

After the 3 month trial, one member, who does not regularly attend
meetings voiced his concern that the required 15 should be present at the
entire meeting, not just at the beginning.  So we did another 3 month
trial of that concept.  This time there were many meetings where folks
would have to leave (mostly parents with kids/bedtimes) and the quorum
would dissolve.  It was a pain in the bum, and business did grind to a
halt.  On very important decisions members were called up and asked to
come to the meeting for ten minutes to pass the proposal.  It was very
silly.

So now we have reverted to our original bylaws (50% plus 1 at the start
of the business) and the folks who are advocating for a different
scenario (and there are some diehards who believe 15 should be present
throughout the entire meeting) are going to have to craft a proposal to
change the bylaws.

We seem to go through cycles of high and low attendance at meetings (on
the first and third Thursday of the month).  Summers are notorious for
low attendance at both meetings and meals.  

If I had my druthers and ruled the world I would proclaim that whoever
shows up at meetings can make decisions.  I think it would stimulate
attendance.  

coheartedly,
Patty Mara Gourley
Tierra Nueva Cohousing
central CA coast
















mmm

 

On Fri, 1 Jun 2001 12:47:28 -0700 "Rob Sandelin" <floriferous [at] msn.com>
writes:
> In the thread about community sizes there was a tangent about how 
> many
> adults participate in a consensus process. In my observations, only 
> a tiny
> handful of cohousing groups  outreach to those not  participating in 
> a
> consensus process, but perhaps it is wider spread than I think.
> 
> Here is what I want to know. If for example, there is a consensus 
> decision,
> and 6 people do not attend the meeting where the decision is made, 
> do you
> outreach to those 6 people and get their agreement, or just assume 
> they
> support the decision? If you do outreach, how do you do it?
> 
> Rob Sandelin
> Community Works! http://www.ic.org/nica/cw1.htm
> 
> 
> 
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