Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Communities with a low-cost/affordability focus?

[Jerry McIntire (jerry.mcintire]

Dane,

I think that there is affordable housing available even in California. Tiny
houses are one route to go, another is co-op houses. Being willing to move
out of the most popular places (the Bay area, San José, etc.) certainly
helps.

Jerry


On Thu, Aug 28, 2014 at 11:40 AM, Dane Laverty <danelaverty [at] gmail.com>
wrote:

>
> Jerry, that sounds beautiful. How is the project coming? I struggle with
> the idea of relocating. I'm pretty deeply rooted in California, but I
> recognize that if my goal is affordable community, California might not be
> the right place.
>
> Dane
>
>
> On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 9:03 PM, Jerry McIntire <jerry.mcintire [at] 
> gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >
> > Dane, we have a rural project which is not built yet. We do have land.
> > Homes will be affordable intrinsically and by subsidy for some units.
> >
> > Lots will vary in price ($35,000 - 50,000), this will be the big cost but
> > it will bring many common facilities: community kitchen and DR, guest
> > rooms, laundry, child playroom and playground, perhaps office space,
> > workshop, gardens, fruit and nut trees, chicken club, carports, greywater
> > system.
> >
> > A house with a shared well and composting toilet can be quite low cost
> here
> > (septic systems are costly). We have no zoning (just outside the city
> > limits), so there is no minimum size for occupancy. The state building
> code
> > applies (Wisconsin) but that isn't costly to meet.
> >
> > We are partnering with the Partnership for Affordable Cohousing (PFAC)
> and
> > a local housing agency (Coulee Cap) to build owner-occupied and rental
> > affordable units: perhaps six of our fifteen homes.
> >
> > Jobs? Pay is not high here but nearly everyone has a job, so they're
> > available. Organic Valley, the largest organic farmers cooperative, is
> > headquartered here as are three organic certifying businesses and Fifth
> > Season growers co-op, Maple Valley organic maple syrup co-op;  S&S Cycles
> > (motorcycle parts), and everything associated with the county seat:
> > Courthouse, hospital, etc.
> >
> > Bottom line: A new (one bedroom) home in a cohousing community for less
> > than $100,000 is possible, and that's affordable by most definitions.
> >
> > Jerry
> >
> > --
> > Jerry McIntire
> > Stone's Throw Ecovillage, in the heart of Wisconsin's beautiful Driftless
> > region
> > http://stonesthrowcommunity.wordpress.com/
> > 1-608-637-8018
> >
> >
> > On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 6:39 PM, Dane Laverty <danelaverty [at] gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > Yeah, I want to find a low-cost housing solution that relies on
> intrinsic
> > > cost reduction rather than other people's generosity.
> > >
> > > I like the idea of getting a tiny house (<400 sq. ft.) and living
> simply
> > > and cheaply. However, a lot of home ownership costs are due to
> > permitting,
> > > land, taxes, and infrastructure development. This means that reducing
> > > construction costs only has a small impact on the overall cost of home
> > > ownership.
> > >
> > > I hope these aren't intractable problems. In searching for "tiny house
> > > cohousing" I found the Napoleon Complex
> > > <
> > >
> >
> http://www.treehugger.com/green-architecture/napoleon-complex-community-tiny-house-movement.html
> > > >.
> > > This is a project that is using RV park zoning laws to create a
> low-cost
> > > cohousing community. I don't see any recent updates on the project, so
> > I'm
> > > not sure if it's still active.
> > >
> > > Dane
> > >
> > >
> > > On Wed, Aug 27, 2014 at 3:24 PM, Catya Belfer <catya [at] pobox.com> 
> > > wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > > From where I sit, the biggest question about affordable cohousing is
> > who
> > > > foots the bill.  Rented from a non-profit is great, but you need the
> > > > non-profit, or SOMEONE with deep pockets, to subsidize.
> > > >
> > > >      - cat
> > > >
> > > > Catya Belfer   -  www.catya.org
> > > > Technical Director   -   www.cohousing.org
> > > > Cohousing in MA - www.mosaic-commons.org
> > > > _________________________________________________________________
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> > > >
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-- 
Jerry McIntire
Stone's Throw Ecovillage, in the heart of Wisconsin's beautiful Driftless
region
http://stonesthrowcommunity.wordpress.com/
1-608-637-8018