Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Common House Use

[Robert Heinich (robert]

Kathleen,

A policy should reflect the wishes of its members.  If we allow alcohol at 
Common House meals and your policy does not, I do not believe that makes your 
policy bad.  With that said, here is what we do.

Money: We are renting an office in the Common House to one of our members,  
This does not preclude the use of the other areas in the Common House when the 
member is in his office.  This provide a revenue stream for us to complete the 
Common House upstairs and allows the Common House to be unlocked during the day 
which encourage folks to spontaneously to drop in.

Members can also schedule private parties and are requested to make donations 
in the range of $10-50 in order to defray the cost of ongoing maintenance and 
to raise funds for capital improvements to the Common House.

So long as these events do not conflict with Community-sponsored events, EC 
members may be scheduled directly on the Community Calendar.  Generally, the 
sponsor will send an email to the community before scheduling and on the day of 
the event.


Privacy:  Is there a difference between exclusive use of a space and privacy?  
So long it does not impact community events, most can live with it.


We were not always in this happy place and when we had folks conduct private 
workshops on the weekend, many were not pleased.

If you want, I can send you a copy of our policy.

-Robert Heinich
 Eno Commons Cohousing
 Durham, NC
 where we are having Open House this Sunday on our newly completed Common House 
upstairs and guest room.




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kathleen Heft Nolan" <kathleennolan [at] bellcoho.com>
To: "Cohousing-L" <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org>
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 9:18 PM
Subject: [C-L]_ Common House Use


> We are reviewing our common house use agreements and have encountered strong
> feelings on all sides, especially with regard to two areas: money and
> privacy. 
> 
> Money: should members be able to make money in the common house, whether
> they are supporting themselves, commercial business, hosting a workshop with
> a fee, or fundraising for non-profit organizations.
> 
> Privacy: should members be able to reserve all or a portion of the
> commonhouse and ask others to provide privacy so that they can host
> gatherings that are confidential in nature or cannot be disturbed.
> 
> We invite you to share your experiences with these and other common house
> use issues, including sample agreements/policies.
> 
> Will share ours to those interested, when updated.
> 
> Thanks, Kathleen Heft Nolan
> Bellingham Cohousing, Washington
> 
> 
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