GENERAL MEETING 2

7.30pm
Wednesday 27 APRIL 2000

At: CERES Education Centre
8 Lee Street, Brunswick

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1. Present:
Maya, Dave, Grant, Viv, Emma, Elvira, Glenys, Cassandra, Paul , James, Harry, Max, Hamish, Mick, Paula, Liz, Noel

2. Apologies:
Peter Graham (Urban Ecology), Caty Kyne

3. Check Contact Details
Passed around, checked, added to.

4. Reports on Actions from Last Meeting

4.1 Process for Future (Mara & Hamish).
What are the Possibilities?
- Wide range of skills vs widely varied expectations - need a vision statement
- The particular site has created a focus, which has brought group together. Do we want to stay together & look for another site if this site fall through?
- If we can agree what we are aiming for then this should minimise future conflict.
- Do we want what happens in the group to be the model for what will happen in the actual co-housing?
- Legal requirements for handling the money. What will we become needs investigation.
- How to raise capital.
- What privileges will group members have?
- Cost of membership apart from time? Eg Borderlands $100 voting membership & $25 information or each member contribute $5 per meeting.
- Different roles of people do we want structured or free flowing?
- Do we need working groups with Coordinators?

Maya suggests; Read extract from "From Dream to Reality - the Development Process" chapter 13 in Cohousing - "Can’t emphasise it strongly enough. This is the distillation of 30 years experience". Also, many of the above questions are covered.

Maya & Vyv report on their recent trip to Tasmanian Cohousing sites.
- Cascade Cohousing on fringe of Hobart. Suburban scale which is different from our inner urban medium density.
Completely privately funded. 7 years since beginning. Small terrace housing down walkway. - Other Cohousing Site as yet ‘unnamed’.
Government funded. 9 years from first meeting until moved in. Housing Co-operative. $1 million grant from Dept. of Housing.. For lower income tenants.
- Land alone of Cold Storage property selling at $3 million . Ethical Investment who loan dollar for dollar.
- Both Tasmanian Cohousing sites visited has 12 houses & a common house. These groups have set an Australian precedent.

Important:
- Clarify things early
- Structure
- Pets
- Common house meals - vegetarian or meat/veg - could set tone.
- Financial contribution - committed will stay & admin work can be done
- Document clearly & ensure all understand to avoid tedious revisiting
- Communication / conflict resolution skills needed for all collective decision making
- Not public housing – tenants / owners need commitment
- Child minding, older people caring need at least 20 households
- Residents loved the Cohousing & were supportive of us
- Better when from wider spectrum of community
How did it happen elsewhere? Need at least one person "burning soul" who is prepared to hang in there & make it happen. High turnover is normal. Demographics of co-housing in Tasmania? Goal - diversity but more single mothers in the govt. one, more men in the other. Age Range? 0 to 65 years old Pets? Cascade had pets but emotional issue (set in wildlife corridor)

More Questions to answer

- Grievance Procedures?
- Broad community relationships?
- Couples / households splitting up
- How to fill vacancy when people leave - waiting list? Process for leaving.

4.2 Development Budget - Urban Ecology
Deferred as urban ecology not present

4.3 Zoning Issues & Housing Fund - Noel
Local Council
- Leigh Snelling (local councilor) very enthusiastic & happy to support. Leigh will organise meeting with Adrian Robb.
- Council has about 1.5 or 5 million dollars (?) allocated for public housing
- Council advised Noel there is NO current rezoning in progress for the site (rezoning could occur for ammenitive of area
- Once application to council went in could take a couple of months.

State Government
Bronwyn Pike reported to be supportive. State govt. reported to have funds for public housing
Glenys Romanes also enthusiastic
- Maya - public housing as we know it will not work
- Max - Ecumenical Housing has a report regarding the above 5 million dollars
- Glenys - Urban Village (LA21) includes the cold storage land

Noels’ Recommendations
Set up 3 working groups who -:
- Spread the word to find $
- research cohousing structure
- research finances (time limit)
- Co-ordinating Group - Grant
- Finance Working Group - Noel , Cassandra
- Spreading the Word Working Group - Emma, Paul
Need to decide what info to spread.
Maya has requested mailing lists from environmental groups
- Research Working Group - Paula, Grant, Vyv, Hamish

Brainstorm Briefs
Finance
- Identify funding avenues eg Govt., Private (Pratt Foundn)
- Legal requirements
- ‘issuing shares to private people
- membership
- City of Port Phillip = Gary Spivak - Municipal public housing
- Monash / Booroondara - progressive housing policy

Research / Structure Process
- Membership
- Hierarchies, group structure, policies on group meals, pets etc (?)
- Liz to collate vision statement to the group can email your vision stmt to
Liz will do summary of common themes

Spreading the Word
- Contact list
- Contact point maya@ceres.org.au
- internet site - greennet could help
- Phillip Suttons’ greenleap list
- Get list set up then spread word
- Discussion about article to go in local newspaper - decided to leave at present

Meeting Closed