Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: [C-L] How to develop a group for 50+ without family

[Stuart Joseph (stuart]

Brian Bartholomew wrote:
> Marganne <marganne [at] macnexus.org> writes:
>
>   
> In my polity, attached similar dwellings are NOT more economical than
> detached homes.  Once houses get close enough that they are labeled a
> "subdivision", there's a lot of extra stuff the city commission
> obligates you to build, and a huge variety of economizing approaches
> the city commission bans you from using, such as self-building.
>   
Once you decide to take some land and parcel it out for homes, you have 
a "sub division," in my area, building attached homes would fall into 
another category.

Here in Rockingham VT, anyone can do their own building, and I think 
that there are a lot of places that allow it all over the country. Of 
course, you still have to meet the zoning regulations and city and state 
codes.
> My personal estimate of the numbers in my own local situation is that
> in the absence of zoning, I could have built a house situation for a
> $60K buy-in.  But in the real world with all the zoning, permitting,
> and guilds, the price increases to $225K.
We don't have to worry about Guilds, but you do make a good point about 
all of the additional costs that are involved in building a house or a 
co-housing project.
>   That's almost four times
> more resources used.  The biggest improvement you can make in
> affordability is to relocate out of the grasp of polities that will
> quadruple your costs.
>   
And move to an area where everything is less. The remoter the area, or 
the more depressed it is, will have a bearing on what you will have to 
pay to build your house. Of course, you might not want to live there, 
either.
> The costs of a weathertight box to live in that contains a shower,
> stove, sink, and bed are negligible.  For instance, I hear FEMA
> trailers are being auctioned for $700.
Where did you hear that?
>   If you were to cluster 20 of
> them on 20 acres, that gives you somewhere to live while the bunch of
> you built something nicer -- but good luck finding a polity that
> allows you to live this affordably.
>   
Vermont does not allow a distinction between a single family home and a 
trailer, they are considered the same.
>                                                         Brian
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--
Stuart Joseph, 802-463-1954
Project Director
Caer Coburn, a traditional village based upon cohousing  and intentional 
communities in
Rockingham, Vermont, USA
http://www.caercoburn.org
Mail to:
36 Front St.
Bellows Falls, VT 05101 USA