Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Abingdon, VA — commercial vs. common house classification strategy

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Jul 17, 2026, at 10:11 AM, Brenda Uekert via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
> cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> Our local building official flagged that a "clubhouse" gets tagged as
> commercial/Assembly occupancy under Virginia's building code — which brings
> a real cost premium (sprinklers, panic hardware, commercial-grade
> construction, higher permit fees). So now we're wondering how to replace
> the "clubhouse" with a "common house" that we use for meetings and crafts
> and get residential status.

It depends entirely on how your state officials classify the building—the 
person who approves the plans and the person who inspe. Just calling it 
something else won’t make it something else. If you will be incorporated as a 
condominium, what do condos in your state call common spaces? Go with a 
definition in your state. 

One of the things Takoma Village did was not install the commercial sanitizer 
until after the space was approved as non-commercial. It might not have made 
any difference but we were cautious. We also did not install something in the 
sink drainage that is required for professional kitchens. It was feared that it 
would be a red flag.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Riderwood Village, Silver Spring MD
Founding member and 25 year resident in Takoma Village, Washington DC