Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Members and rentals (was Short-term Rentals)

[R Philip Dowds (rpdowds]

Clearly stated and interesting, but ... this isn't quite what I was expecting.  
Can I buy a unit, but choose NOT to be a member?  That is, not pay the dues, 
not contribute to the work, and let you make the decisions?   Such questions 
may sound specious, but (1) it is not unknown for a coho unit to be occupied by 
somebody who's not really with the program, and (2) few of us have yet figured 
out how to make the desire for equal participation into an enforced 
requirement.  At Cornerstone, we have a Bylaws phrase about "members in good 
standing", but we're not sure what it means.

Of greater significance:  We seem to have trouble discerning the bright line 
between boring condo stuff, and community stuff.  How much maintenance, at what 
quality and how often; how much insurance (and for what, like earthquakes?); 
self-performed bookkeeping (or hire an outsider?); do our own plowing and yard 
maintenance (or hire an outsider?) ... for us, these are all matters of great 
communal interest, and sometimes, of personal financial interest and time 
prioritization.

Philip Dowds
Cornerstone Cohousing
Cambridge, MA

Sent from my iPad

> On Nov 5, 2013, at 1:59 PM, Diana Carroll <dianaecarroll [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> We (Mosaic Commons) have taken what I think is a unique approach to this
> situation which it might be helpful to share.
> 
> We have two separate operating organizations:
> 
> 1. Our home owners association (Condominium Trust, technically) which is
> pretty much like any other condo association: membership is determined by
> ownership of a unit...no more and no less.  This body is responsible for
> stuff involved with our physical and legal needs: plowing, maintaining
> buildings, insurance, bookkeeping, and other typical, boring condo stuff.
> This constitutes the majority of a budget, but a tiny minority of what we
> actually DO.
> 
> 2. Our cohousing group.  This body is responsible for everything that makes
> us a "community" rather than a "condominium": meetings; work days; social
> events; shared resources like lawn mowers, laundry machines, and common
> house furnishings; conflict resolution; policies about common house usage,
> pets, smoking, quiet hours, etc;
> 
> The second group membership has been much discussed and we FINALLY (after,
> no joke, months or maybe even years of discussion) decided on a membership
> policy:
> http://mosaic-commons.org/membership
> Basically, anyone who lives here and participates in the community is a
> member -- ownership status not relevant.
> This body also has "associates", which are people who don't actually live
> here, but participate in the community nonetheless.  Our associate policy
> is still under discussion, but our current version is here:
> http://mosaic-commons.org/associates
> 
> The idea is that everyone is engaged on equally footing on the stuff
> relevant to them: home owners on issues relating to their properties;
> community members on issues relating to the community.
> 
> Time will tell how this works out, but I'm pretty happy with it so far.
> But then, I'm in BOTH groups as a resident/owner...our non-resident
> owners, or non-owner residents, might feel differently.
> 
> Diana