Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Owner-business use of common space

[Robert Heinich (robert]

Here at Eno Commons, we have a member who renting a room in the Common House.  
The room has a door with a lock.  So why the room is exclusive, the use of that 
room does not prevent use of the other areas of the Common House.  We use this 
income stream to pay for improvements to the Common House upstairs.  The member 
create a proposal detailing some of the parameters, the community approved it 
and day-to-day details is handled by the Common House committee.  I believe 
everyone is happy with the arrangement.

We did have friction when another member held workshops which required the 
exclusive use of the entire Common House on the weekends.  The reason for the 
friction was the time of exclusive use of the Common House would be when others 
would likely use it and the community derived no income/benefit from this 
restriction.  A Common House Usage proposal should be on our Jan 2007 business 
meeting agenda.

Your prospective member should outline what his expectations are and what 
benefits the community could expect from this use.  If your group feel the 
benefits are worth the restrictions, you can work on a deal.  I also recommend 
an expiration date on the agreement.

I hope this helps.

-Robert Heinich
 Eno Commons Cohousing
 Durham, NC
 where folks are practicing for our annual No Talent Show


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "S Fassnacht" <fassnach [at] ssc.wisc.edu>
To: <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2006 9:54 AM
Subject: [C-L]_ Owner-business use of common space


> One of our prospective new members currently has a business that they  
> would bring with them to the community were they to move in.  This  
> business would require use of a large percentage of our outdoor  
> common space for up to 3 hours a day during business hours.  The  
> business would also require installing a 4-foot fence to enclose that  
> space.
> 
> We are wondering if other communities have had experience with home  
> businesses that use common elements, and if so, how it all worked out.
> 
> Thanks,
> Stephanie
> Village Cohousing, Madison WI
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