Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Bylaws, Policies, and Agreements

[Lynn Nadeau / Maraiah (welcome]

RoseWind Cohousing, Port Townsend WA, long built: 

We only use the word "policy" in its dictionary meaning, rather than as a legal 
term. Same for "agreement". Legally, we have our Bylaws, and our Master 
Declaration (aka CC&Rs), as well as any decisions made by due process. Some of 
those decisions may be revisions or amendments of the Bylaws or CC&Rs. 
Decisions which are not, constitute what in our documents are referred to as 
Regulations, and these are also binding. These include what are in fact 
policies: Pet Policy, policy regarding use of television in the common house. 
Other policies are, as the person from Sunward described, within the purview of 
committees, such as policies about the use of the common house, assignment of 
space in the greenhouse, and such. 

Our Steering Committee is chartered to act "at the direction of the 
Membership": they don't make policy, though they can and do bring 
recommendations to the community, especially on matters of governance. 

Maraiah Lynn Nadeau
RoseWind Cohousingwww.rosewind.org

Where it's sunny, everything getting seasonally emerald green as the dry summer 
ends, garden full of vegetables.