That’s a question I get a lot lately, right after “Are you going to allow pets?” (Yes, my cats insist on it.) There are still a lot of tasks to accomplish before we ever put shovel to earth, and I think it would help if I outline some of the big ones, and the rough time line for them.
September 2009 – September 2010
We’ll be working on zoning approval as one of our primary tasks. Most zoning does not allow the arrangement of homes that we envision. Overall we feel that we have received positive feedback from the Planning Commission and others, but we still need to follow the rules as to what can be built on the land. We have contracted a lawyer experienced in zoning regulation in this area to assist us.
Our second major task during this time frame is to build our membership. We’ll be doing more presentations and more outreach in general to find those special people who want to live in a community where you actually know your neighbor, and where we demonstrate that living lightly on the planet can be comfortable and beautiful, too. Just in case you are contemplating joining, now is the time to come meet us. Early members get early selection of lots, get to help design the Common House (Clubhouse) and the homes, and can participate in the myriad decisions needed to create this community.
Our third task is to educate the community at large about who we are and what we want to do, and to start getting involved in the local community. It’s important to us that our neighbors are comfortable with the development we plan in their backyards. Cohousers/Ecovillagers tend to be more active than average in the local community, and we hope to start partnering with local organizations to educate local children about the environment, or to hold other events that are beneficial to the community. At the Cohousing Symposium this month, we learned of a coho group who moved into a less-desirable portion of a town, stopped illegal dumping of trash, improved neighborhood safety, and then moved on to eliminating a corrupt school board. We won’t have such Herculean tasks in front of us, but we still think there is a lot we can do for the West Grove/London Grove area.
October 2010 – March 2011
We will be continuing the efforts to build membership and reach out to the community, but the effort to adjust the zoning should now switch to getting planning approval and permitting. We will also be finalizing financing for construction.
April 2011 – September 2012
If all has gone well, we will break ground in April 2011. We will construct in phases, with the first phase built by summer 2011. We will build homes first, and the Common House will be in the last phase.
Someone saw my license plate many months ago, and thought it was a vanity tag for “Ecovillage – July 2011”. I promise that it was just the letter and number combination that the state issued…but maybe there’s something magical to it.
September 2009 – September 2010
We’ll be working on zoning approval as one of our primary tasks. Most zoning does not allow the arrangement of homes that we envision. Overall we feel that we have received positive feedback from the Planning Commission and others, but we still need to follow the rules as to what can be built on the land. We have contracted a lawyer experienced in zoning regulation in this area to assist us.
Our second major task during this time frame is to build our membership. We’ll be doing more presentations and more outreach in general to find those special people who want to live in a community where you actually know your neighbor, and where we demonstrate that living lightly on the planet can be comfortable and beautiful, too. Just in case you are contemplating joining, now is the time to come meet us. Early members get early selection of lots, get to help design the Common House (Clubhouse) and the homes, and can participate in the myriad decisions needed to create this community.
Our third task is to educate the community at large about who we are and what we want to do, and to start getting involved in the local community. It’s important to us that our neighbors are comfortable with the development we plan in their backyards. Cohousers/Ecovillagers tend to be more active than average in the local community, and we hope to start partnering with local organizations to educate local children about the environment, or to hold other events that are beneficial to the community. At the Cohousing Symposium this month, we learned of a coho group who moved into a less-desirable portion of a town, stopped illegal dumping of trash, improved neighborhood safety, and then moved on to eliminating a corrupt school board. We won’t have such Herculean tasks in front of us, but we still think there is a lot we can do for the West Grove/London Grove area.
October 2010 – March 2011
We will be continuing the efforts to build membership and reach out to the community, but the effort to adjust the zoning should now switch to getting planning approval and permitting. We will also be finalizing financing for construction.
April 2011 – September 2012
If all has gone well, we will break ground in April 2011. We will construct in phases, with the first phase built by summer 2011. We will build homes first, and the Common House will be in the last phase.
Someone saw my license plate many months ago, and thought it was a vanity tag for “Ecovillage – July 2011”. I promise that it was just the letter and number combination that the state issued…but maybe there’s something magical to it.
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