Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: The Future of Cohousing

[Muriel Kranowski (murielk]

At 02:42 PM 2/6/2011, Racheli wrote:
> Are the non-residents actually show up to meetings in which decisions are 
> made?
> If they are not, it doesn't seem that they can affect decisions a whole 
> lot, since consensus
> is done by people who are present, no?
> <snip>
> Racheli (Sonora Cohousing, Tucson.)

It isn't necessarily the case, from a legal standpoint, that voting members 
need to be present in person to participate in consensus - ie, to block, 
since that's the underlying concern. If the community's bylaws don't 
specifically require physical presence and prohibit proxy voting or any 
other voting from a distance, then presumably someone could register a 
block by phone or email or registered letter or via a person acting as a 
proxy.  Also, your state's relevant laws related to your legal community 
set-up (condominium, HOA, etc) may not allow you to require physical 
presence to participate in formal decisions.

If you're in this situation, faced with or afraid of a block by a voting 
member who lives somewhere else (at a distance) and doesn't attend the 
meetings, you might want to consult a lawyer as to your options re physical 
presence being necessary to block.

   Muriel
   Shadowlake Village Coho in Virginia