[Kzyxtalk] MendoVito - cohousing model

[King Collins]

Dear list folks,

MendoVito, the proposed housing project in Hopland, is at least is raising the right issues. Local, ecological housing, democratic community, renewable energy, water? 

This reminds me of  "cohousing" in which a couple dozen or more future home owners meet together, decide what they want including common areas and shared equipment, a common garden space, a large enclosed green area where children can play without cars, etc.  In the cohousing model, potential home-owners meet together and eventually hire a suitable developer and together they design and build the development. Cohousing is a wonderful way to live if you like people and like to share. There are several in the Bay Area. At least one in Santa Rosa and Eureka. 

A major criticism of cohousing is that each owner must be able to get a substantial mortgage, say 300,000 or so. Maybe less, but easily more. I've never heard of one that was supported government money, like HUD, for example.

Anyway I'd like to hear from Sandy and Louisa Turner (Redwood Valley) and others who have made a several serious effort to start community housing projects. I'm sending copies to Sandy.

But Mendovito is much bigger and seems to be developer driven rather than home owner driven. 

--king collins



On Nov 21, 2014, at 9:15 PM, nsi at mcn.org wrote:

>  
> April: For goodness sakes!  I read Lauri York's post, opened up the
> website, found a telephone number and called it. (You can do the
> same.)  A guy named Claude (the founder) picked up the phone and
> addressed the questions most pertinent to me. I summed all that up in
> my post. 
> It was like a twelve minute conversation. When he told me that Dan
> Hamburg had driven him around and introduced him to the current land
> owner, I believed him.  I know Dan's heart and this endeavor is a
> perfect fit. 
> I didn't call to do a story. I don't intend to do any back checking.
> (And I never said this was a Native American project.  Please re-read
> my post. I'm sorry you didn't get what I was getting at). 
> 
> 'Citizen Sponsored Land Use Initiative' is the keyword here. Whomever
> follows through on bringing this settlement to fruition needs the
> signatures of 20% of the registered voters in Mendocino County. (And
> I love that strategy: the Mendocino County Department of Plannng and
> Building  sucks. It's also corrupt.)  The proponents will be doing
> public meetings all over the county, just like the Measure S folks
> did. If anything, they will have to tweak the financial strategies so
> that men and women living on local wages, young people raised here,
> young people already in the locavore movement, have a way to buy
> in.  Otherwise, this project will not win as a Ballot Measure.  If
> this starts feeling like gentrification and Google moving in, it will
> fall flat.  But that's not what the short conversation I had felt
> like. It really felt visionary and inclusive and neighborly in all
> its aspects.  . . . I would hope Dan Hamburg chimes in. 
> So. No "Intimacy" or checked out "factual information" re. the
> people, organization, vitals, history blah, blah.  --beth
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "April Dice" 
> To:"discussion at lists.mcn.org" 
> Cc:
> Sent:Fri, 21 Nov 2014 18:56:16 -0800
> Subject:Re: [MCN-Discussion]- MendoVito
> 
> Hi, Beth. 
> It sounds as though you have researched and know MendoVito
> intimately. Can you tell us more factual info about the people,
> organization, vitals, history and recommendations, plans, etc.? Who
> is behind this? Who benefits? Is it a non-profit? Is there govt money
> coming to build it? 
> 
> I appreciate your lyrical post and the romanticism, tying in our
> history and experience of Mendo. Not quite certain how that history
> ties into this project. I have heard for the first time that this is
> a Native American project, tied in some way to the Pomo. Is it they
> who invited these folks in? 
> 
> The story behind the name sounds compelling and yummy. I want to
> know more. Are there that many Pomo young people who need housing?
> 
> I heard on kzyx that the housing that will cost $500,000 will
> subsidize the lower income housing. Who are these wealthy people who
> will be buying in and where do you see them coming from?
> 
> Will this be on a reservation? 
> 
> Thanks. 
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