Draft 3

Merri Cohousing

Site Selection Discussion Paper

  1. The purpose of this discussion paper is to facilitate the development of a site selection process by Merri Cohousing. Clear site selection guidelines will allow all members to have a say; they will give us confidence that the best site is chosen and that the advantages and disadvantages of alternative sites have been appropriately evaluated.

    2. "Current site of interest". Merri Cohousing focuses on one site at one time.

  2. Many Merri Cohousing activities are independent of a specific site, or might easily be transferred from one site to another. However, to make the most of limited energy and resources and to promote a sense of cooperation within the group it is important that Merri Cohousing is focussed on only one site at one time.
  3. The current site of interest is the Roberts street site adjacent to CERES.
  4. The decision to change the focus of Merri Cohousing from one site to another is to be made by the group as a whole, by following the processes outlined in this paper.

    5. Information gathering concerning alternative sites.

  5. Having only one "current site of interest" at one time does not prevent individuals from gathering information about other sites and preparing a report.
  6. Reports of alternative sites are lodged with the secretary of Merri Cohousing.
  7. Reports should include the following information: location and size (eg plan of land), plan of buildings, condition of any buildings (eg suitability for conversion to cohousing), name of real estate agent/owner, likely selling price, owners time frame for selling, zoning classification, contamination issues, proximity to amenities.
  8. Alternative sites are not considered by the committee of management or by working groups until after the "changeover date".

    9. Site selection timelines and the "changeover date"

  9. The major constraint on commencing and completing a cohousing development is a financial one.
  10. To a large extent, the ability of Merri Cohousing to attract investment determines the size and location of the site that we will be able to afford.
  11. The information received so far is that the group will need to be able to produce approximately 10% of the total development budget up front in order to qualify for a loan eg $2 million for a $20 million project or $0.3 million for $3 million project. This initial amount may be raised from Merri Cohousing members or investors from outside the group.
  12. Investors are likely to have time limits outside of which their money will not be available to Merri Cohousing. In addition, experience has shown that individual members of cohousing groups lose enthusiasm (resulting in the group disbanding) if it takes too long to make substantial progress toward starting a development.
  13. For these reasons it is important that Merri Cohousing establish clear timelines in relation to any "current site of interest". Specifically it is proposed that a mechanism to determine a "change over date" be used by Merri Cohousing.
  14. If a contract to purchase the "current site of interest" has not been entered into by the "change over date" then Merri Cohousing abandons the "current site of interest" which has been the focus of the group, and begins processes to select the next "current site of interest".
  15. It would be useful to document the reasons for abandoning a site of interest.

    16. Mechanism to determine a "change over date"

  16. "Change over date" for "current site of interest" is placed on the agenda of a general meeting of Merri Cohousing.
  17. A notice is sent to all members, at least 28 days before the general meeting, outlining that a motion to determine the "change over date" will be made and the meaning of this motion.
  18. Everyone at the meeting is entitled to make a presentation as to what an appropriate "change over date" would be. Discussion then follows with the aim of establishing the "change over date" by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached, then all full members write down on a piece of paper their preferred "change over date". The median date is the "change over date" which is adopted by the group (Arrange the dates in order from soonest to latest, the middle date is the median. If there is an even number of dates, half way between the two middle dates is the median)
  19. At the time of setting the " change over date" a list of actions to be taken before the "change over date" which are likely to secure the "current site of interest" should be made.
  20. The "change over date" can be altered by repeating steps 16-18. Any member can ask for the "change over date" to be reviewed by a general meeting if they feel that circumstances have been altered sufficiently to warrant a change.
  21. If a member feels that it would be appropriate to return to a previous "current site of interest" then steps 16-18 should be repeated with the exception that 10 days notice is sufficient before the general meeting.

    22. Establishing Merri Cohousing members site preferences

  22. It is essential that Merri Cohousing establishes a policy on location requirements in order to evaluate and choose between alternative sites.
  23. In order to establish the preferences of the group, with regard to location, all current full members ( not information members) of Merri Cohousing will be surveyed.(survey is attached)
  24. Future members will also be given the survey to allow them to compare their preferred location with the consensus position of Merri Cohousing.
  25. It is the responsibility of the education working group to ensure that all new full members are surveyed.
  26. The policy of the group can be reviewed by resurveying all full members at a time determined by the committee of management.

    27. How the next "current site of interest" will be chosen

  27. A weighted criterion score sheet is constructed based on the survey results. The criterion sheet is used to score all alternative sites being considered. In this way the preferences of all Merri Cohousing members are taken into account (However the highest scoring site will not automatically be the next "current site of interest")
  28. After the "change over date" for the previous site has elapsed a period of review follows, in which the committee of management and working groups consider all reports of alternative sites that have been lodged with the secretary. New sites are also considered.
  29. The duration of the period of review is established by the committee of management by consensus or by using a similar process to that outlined in points 15-17 above.
  30. At the end of the period of review a general meeting is used to select the next "current site of interest"

Many of the ideas in this paper were introduced at meetings of Merri Cohousing, however the suggested processes require further discussion and development.

The issues raised in this paper have the potential to be divisive, for this reason it is important that all members judge the processes to be fair and that we are addressing the right issues at the right time.

Please contribute by emailing your response to Hamish or by contacting a member of the process working group.