A: Ecovillages are communities of people who strive to live a sustainable lifestyle in harmony with each other, other living beings, and the Earth. Their purpose is to combine a supportive social-cultural environment with a low-impact lifestyle.
Q: What is cohousing?A: Cohousing communities combine the advantages of private homes with the benefits of more sustainable living, including shared common facilities and ongoing connections with neighbors. These neighborhoods, created and managed by residents, offer an innovative solution to today's environmental and social challenges.
Q: What is Three Groves Ecovillage?A: We are both an ecovillage and a cohousing community. We are a group of local residents who have partnered with a developer to create a community on the south edge of West Grove, PA. We are ½ mile from downtown West Grove, walkable to the library, Post Office, restaurants, and more. We are actively seeking diverse new members. We hope to build about 34 units, ranging from 1 to 4 bedrooms so that we can attract all types of families. Our members range in age from 5 to 81.
Q: What should I do next if I am interested in exploring membership in Three Groves Ecovillage?A: Make sure we have contact information for you. Come to meetings and get to know our group. Check our calendar for the next meeting or event where you can find us. Explore cohousing groups on the Web and as soon as you can, visit some completed communities. We can also suggest several books on cohousing that would be very informative, and we have a video that you can borrow which interviews people living in cohousing around the country. If you are ready for the next step after that, ask for a copy of our LLC Operating Agreement.
Q: How does Three Groves make decisions?A: During our early phases, we are using consensus for some decisions, and delegating other decisions that need to be made rapidly during development. We will likely use a similar convention as we mature into a community, with authority delegated to teams for specific areas (like landscaping or maintenance of the Common House), and consensus for the major decisions. We do have a fallback of voting, but have never had to use it. In truth, we want to get more training on consensus. We have great value for it, but not as much knowledge or experience using it as we would like.
Questions Specific to the West Grove site
A: Our goal is to build "net-zero-energy" homes that use on-site solar thermal and solar electric energy generation for all lighting/heating/cooling needs. Homes will be hyperinsulated and employ hyper-efficient ground-coupled "geothermal" heat pumps for heating and cooling. We will also fulfill other sustainability criteria to become LEEDS-platinum certified. We hope to handle our sewage using a constructed wetland (leading-edge technology that discharges water cleaner than the surrounding aquifer), not septic systems or composting toilets.
Q: What kind of houses will be built?A: We will have modest-sized, attached homes so we can live more lightly on the land, and because some of our needs (like guest rooms) will be met by the Common House. We will have plans with 1, 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms. All units will have the typical rooms and amenities you would expect in any other home. We plan to embrace the concept of "Simple but Quality" to help keep construction costs down, and have a community solar array. The kitchens will probably be at the front of the houses, looking out on the common walkway. Homes will be clustered, with the atmosphere of a small hamlet tucked into the hillside.
Q: What will all this cost me?A: We will be competitive with the local non-green market. The important thing to remember though, is that you get much more than just your own home, and you have to be careful when comparing a typical tract house to ours. You would own a share of the Club House, the solar array, and the grounds. We will be Net Zero Energy, meaning we will use solar panels to generate as much energy as we consume, feeding it the grid during peak cost periods and drawing it out at night during periods of lower cost. We anticipate getting checks back from the power company. In fact, banks are beginning to realize the benefits to green homes, and some are offering “green mortgages” that are based on the idea that the monthly cost of living in a green home is lower than in a conventional home. That means that a homeowner can afford to spend more on a mortgage payment each month because things like power and water bills are lower.
The developer has done a Time Value of Money calculation to demonstrate that the cost of the homes up front is an investment in savings in the future. That said, we know you are looking for the bottom line. Here are the current estimates. These numbers will shift a little bit based on the realities of the market, and obviously, we hope to bring them down.
Estimated Base Purchase Prices as of February 2010:
1 Bedroom : $199,0002 Bedroom: $332,000
3 Bedroom: $372,000
4 Bedroom: $409,000
In addition, based on very rough estimates from other HOAs in the area and solar panel costs, we anticipate approximate monthly fees:
$65 for operation and maintenance of solar panels and the constructed wetland. This is in lieu of electric bills and sewer bills.$150 for a Homeowners Association Fee to cover insurance, snow removal, grounds maintenance, clubhouse maintenance, etc.
Status and Next Steps
Q: What is Three Groves doing right now?A: Our major efforts are:
Outreach: We will be having tables at a number of fairs and planning a number of smaller efforts to help find those special people who want to live in a community like ours. (Check our calendar!) It is important for us to build membership and strength in order to be able to break ground. Because this is a resident-driven effort, not developer-driven, we need future residents to help with seed money, planning, design and more.
Creating the Covenants: We are starting the process of creating the rules under which we will live together. These are known as Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&R). In some local communities, these are very restrictive, regulating everything from paint color to pets to plastic lawn ornaments. We don’t want to take things to the extreme, but rather, we want to use them to uphold our values of caring about each other and the environment. We hope to keep rules to the essential minimum.
Working on Entitlements: Our last major effort is to work with the township on zoning and entitlements for what we can build on the land. That is going well.
Q: When will you break ground?A: We hope to break ground in 2011, with phased construction through 2011 and 2012.
Q: I am a professional, and would like to work to build Three Groves. Do you need a builder, plumber, electrician…?A: We are eagerly collecting the names and qualifications of all professionals who are interested in working on the Three Groves project. Send your contact information to us and we will add it to our files to use when we are ready to request proposals. We’d obviously like to support the local green economy as much as possible. At this time, we have a realtor, an architect, and lawyers.
Ownership and Community Life
Q: How will home ownership be legally structured in Three Groves?A: Most communities like ours are either structured as condominiums (meaning the legal concept, not a physical design) or planned unit developments. In what is called the "lot development model," members jointly own the common property and facilities and are the sole owners of a lot and home. Sometimes they own just the land directly under their homes (the footprint) or that plus a small back or front "private" yard. We haven’t decided on our home ownership structure yet, but are leaning towards Condominiums with rights granted to use some of the common land as a private back yard.
Q: What if I want to or have to move out of the community and sell my unit?A: Any household leaving the community can legally sell their property to anyone they choose. Some communities maintain a waiting list of people interested in being informed if a unit becomes available, and it is to the benefit of the seller and to the rest of the community if everyone lends a hand in finding new owners. When it comes to resales, experience has shown that homes in cohousing have held their value or have appreciated faster than the market as a whole.
Q: Can I rent my home? Can I get a rental home in Three Groves?A: Certainly. We are hopeful that several homeowners will want to rent their homes out since it gives the community better economic diversity. In many ecovillages, renting residents have all the same rights and responsibilities as owners except in matters relating to expenditure of large amounts of money. Typically, renters are welcome to attend meetings and participate fully in discussions of community matters, but cannot block consensus.
Q: What is the Common House or Club House for?A: Besides preparing and sharing common meals, we envision areas to gather for spontaneous musical events or planned parties, guest rooms, a play area for children, space for discussion groups, a game room, possibly a workshop and a greenhouse, and so forth. Maybe there will even be a hot tub or a community swimming pool.
Q: How are people selected to be members of Three Groves Ecovillage?A: People select themselves. We presently require attendance at several regular meetings, and ask for some involvement before a household can apply for membership. A membership requires an equity investment, which will eventually be credited toward the final price of your house. These equity investments are a way of making your downpayment on your unit and getting operating capital during the early phases of development.
Q: What if I become a member of Three Groves, and then decide it’s not for me before the houses are built? Can I get out?A: Yes. All but the first $1500 of Capital Contributions you make are refundable. The group will decide whether it has the money on hand to refund your money at the time you withdraw, or whether your contributions will be transformed into a loan at current prime. In that case, the loan would extend no longer than until successful completion of the project.
Q: What is “aging in place”?A: At least some of the homes will use universal design, which will mean that as we age, we will be able to stay in our homes as long as possible. Also, people in completed cohousing communities tell us that older residents enjoy enthusiastic support and care from the younger residents. Many of us hope to never have to move to a retirement community or nursing home.
Q: Please tell me about common meals.A: Communities like ours usually prepare between two and four meals per week in their Common House. The meals are prepared by a team of 2-4 persons for however many diners sign up in advance for the meal. Eating common meals is always voluntary. In a few communities cooking is also voluntary, but in some cases it is not. There is a good deal of variation in the way the cooking and cleanup responsibilities are structured. Typically, each adult is involved in meal preparation and/or cleanup once every 4 or 5 weeks. There is also variation in how the common meals are paid for, but one only pays for the meals one eats. Many communities encourage their cooks to provide a vegetarian option at most meals, and special food requirements are respected, although not every one of them will necessarily be accommodated at every meal.
We feel that common meals are one of the “glues” that hold cohousing communities together. A common meal may be the only time in a busy week when we get to have a real conversation with our neighbors.
Q: What sort of rules will you have?A: By law, we are required to have a legal entity that is responsible for maintenance of the common areas. This entity would be either a Homeowners’ or Condominium Association. In addition, we expect to be writing a pet/livestock policy, policy on use of the common areas, parking, and perhaps even some rules to support our value of the environment. If you are concerned about rules, please help us write them. We don’t want them to be burdensome, but we do anticipate needing a few rules just so we’re all straight on what we can or cannot do.
