Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Seeking co-housing opportunities in Marin County

[Raines Cohen (raines-coho-L]

Matt Kramer <mkramer [at] mattkramer.com> wrote on 1/24/02 10:09 AM:

>My wife and I are starting to think about getting involved in a co-housing
>project. We would like to live in Marin County (north of
>San Francisco) but the only contact we've found on the web
>(marincoho [at] aol.com) does not appear to be active. Any ideas?

I've learned a bit about it recently as a few people who were involved in 
the former Marin efforts have visited East Bay Cohousing (EBCOHO).

Southern Marin Cohousing was unable to build on the site it acquired 
several years ago on the hill above Marin city, despite zoning that 
technically allowed a project of its density. As you undoubtedly know, 
Marin has some of the strongest anti-development and NIMBY forces in the 
Bay Area, which is already known for such tendencies. More than a million 
dollars was required in PRE-development costs that would need to be spent 
PRIOR to approval of the project... which was a risky proposition at best.

Fortunately, the involved parties were (I believe) able to recover most 
or all of their initial costs by selling to a land bank/nature 
conservancy.

Given land costs and the difficulties involved in getting single-family 
developments, let alone multi-unit projects, approved in Marin, I could 
imagine a group succeeding there only if it had incredible political 
connections, bottomless pockets, and something enormously valuable to 
contribute to the community.

Raines

Raines Cohen <coho-L [at] raines.com> <http://www.swansway.com/>
Enjoying a last sunny day before a week of cold rain

  Vice President, Swan's Market Cohousing [Old Oakland, CA]
Where we may resort to fortune cookies as a method of selecting next 
year's officers.

  Member, East Bay Cohousing [no site yet] <http://www.ebcoho.org/>
Eagerly awaiting word of a CoHousing Co. meeting with a landlord about a 
potential site.

  Boardmember, The Cohousing Network <http://www.cohousing.org/>
Now featuring a Communities Tour slideshow!

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