Cohousing-L Mailing List: Alternative Community Sharing Models: Congregate Housing, Co-ops tomorrow (S. Berkeley)

[Raines Cohen (rc3-coho-L]

At our last East Bay Cohousing (EBCOHO) orientation/introduction, a
hot topic we didn't get to explore enough of was how to share property
and build community, starting in your own home.

The traditional cohousing models and structures operate at a
neighborhood level, but don't always scale down to make it easy,
affordable, or possible to restructure existing homes to share while
retaining privacy and clear ownership. So we're hosting an event
tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon that goes a little deeper.

Join EBCOHO member Judy Pope and guests for a conversation,
facilitated by your Cohousing Coaches Betsy Morris and Raines Cohen,
exploring Judy's vision for conversion of her North Oakland home using
a "congregate housing" model that will let her downsize without
leaving home, while creating a lovely space for new community in the
same structure.

Judy started a conversation about it on our message boards last June:
"I live on a quiet, family-oriented North Oakland street, with a large
sunny back yard. Let’s create a community with green, green living
space – share the garden (vegetables? chickens?), maybe washer, dryer,
even a car? Easy walking distance to BART, buses, great food
shopping."

While the "classic" new-build greenfield from-scratch cohousing model
uses a condominium legal structure, in developed, crowded "infill"
areas like the Berkeley-Oakland-Emeryville region, starting with
existing homes, there are a lot of restrictions on what you have to do
to use that form: conversion fees, using up your valuable land to
create new parking spaces, upgrades that may not be necessary or
desirable. There may be benefits in ability to get mortgages, but in
today's changed banking environment, do these still hold true?

We've invited some guests to join us who can help illuminate some
pieces of the puzzle, so it should be an informative and fun
afternoon. We'll map out some of the differences between the models,
financially, legally, and socially, and compare some of the
challenges. Be part of the conversation, learn about this opportunity,
and see how you could start building community wherever you are.

Judy will be providing light refreshments at the meeting, and for
those who care to walk a couple blocks over to her place afterwards
(around 3:30), a tour of her home so you can see the reality.

$10 per household (or bring a friend); free for current paid EBCOHO
supporting members. If you're serious about building community,
upgrade your membership and get a Cohousing book, a cohousing coaching
session, discounts on events and tours, and much more.

Announcing a new Meetup for East Bay Cohousing - Sharing Tools for Sharing

What: Alternative Community Sharing Models: Congregate Housing, Co-ops
(S. Berkeley)

When: Saturday, September 11, 2010 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Door fee: $10.00 per household or bring a friend (free for supporting members)

Where: The Long Haul
3124 Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94705
510-540-0751

RSVP to this Meetup:
http://www.ebcoho.org/calendar/14722427/
________________________________
Reminder: We'd love to have you and your family and friends join us in
this Sunday morning's Solano Stroll Parade! What a fun way to kick off
the day and get a preview of the attractions, sauntering down Solano
Avenue and showing that you care about community. RSVP today, and
we'll throw in breakfast.

Upcoming East Bay Cohousing events:

9/11 Sat PM: Congregate Housing and other models for community living (Berkeley)
9/12 Sun AM: First-ever Solano Stroll EBCOHO PARADE FLOAT (Berkeley/Albany)
9/13 Mon eve: Plug-in Hybrids & Cohousing w/Sherry Boschert (Pleasant Hill)
9/18 Sat AM: EBCOHO Orientation & intro to cohousing (Berkeley)
9/19 Sun PM: Picnic at potential instant-cohousing site (Pacifica)
9/22 Wed eve: Aging in Harmony: Conflict Resolution skills for Aging
In Community (Berkeley)
9/27 Mon PM: Focus Group for first senior cohousing in Bay Area (TBD)
9/29 Wed eve: Tales from the Trenches: community founders speak out (Berkeley)
10/1 Fri PM: Cohousing & Coworking presence at Art Murmur (Oakland)
10/3 Sun PM: Pleasant Hill Cohousing monthly tour/open house
10/3 Sun eve: Cooperative Housing Film Festival (Berkeley)
10/30 Sat: Sacramento/Davis cohousing bus tour (Oakland)

Learn more about all these and RSVP via the EBCOHO calendar
http://www.ebcoho.org/calendar/