What’s cohousing?

It is a kind of deliberate community where residents definitely participate in the design and operation of their own community. The physical design encourages both social contact and individual space.

What are common features of cohousing communities?

Participatory process – Residents as a group drive the planning and design of the community and make all major decisions.
Designs that facilitate community – From the placement of mail boxes and walkways to the orientation of the houses, site design is focused on supporting spontaneous and easy sociable contact.
Intensive common facilities – Common facilities generally and the normal Residence specifically make areas for residents to get together to enjoy, play and work.
Complete citizen management – All people talk about responsibility for the management and care of the community – building, maintaining and enriching it via participation in decisions and doing the work.
nonhierarchical structure – Leadership is distributed and responsibility is shared. There is no single leader or elected body that runs the community .
Separate income sources – There is no shared community effort to produce income.

How is Jubilee different from a commune?

Jubilee is not a commune. Homes are held and there is no shared income or ideology privately.

Exactly what will the homes look like?

People will continue to work with this architect, Adam Cohen at Structures Design/Build of Roanoke, VA., to create the design of the homes. We as a group will decide on the look and feel of the houses and the community as a whole. Homes will use Passivhaus construction techniques but this will not dictate their style or design. We expect homes to range between 800 and 1600 square foot. They will be clustered on 7-8 acres.

Just how many residences maybe there is?

30-33, including free standing probably, townhouse and duplex designs.

MAY I build/design my very own house?

If you registered as a member prior to the design stage you could have a significant say in the look of the homes. All of the homes will be built at exactly the same time by our architect/constructor. This will allow super efficient homes to be built at a cost which is more affordable.

When do you plan to move in?

Our focus on for relocating is past due 2015 or early 2016. The move-in time depends upon our having enough member households to advance to another development phase. Of June As, 2014 we’ve 10 full associates households who are starting to do the look and permitting planning that ought to take nine a few months. Once that is completed, we’ll need 25 households to start construction approximately. Construction is approximated to consider 12 months.

How will you propose to lower costs?

The expense of home ownership at Jubilee will be less than the expense of using a person custom-built home with 30-40 acres in Floyd Local. This will be performed by: a) users sharing the land and facilities, including the Prevalent House; b) users choosing to create smaller homes due to the considerable shared facilities; and c) economies of level in building the houses at approximately the same time using common designs and components. The cost of living at Jubilee will also be lower than in standard housing due to the voluntary sharing of an array of resources, like the labor of preserving the facilities; reduced cooling and heating costs credited to Passivhaus structure; and reduced transport costs because of the close closeness of so many activities and friends.

Maybe there is rentals?

You bet. Jubilee, as a grouped community, won’t build or manage local rental enclosure, but folks are encouraged to buy a device to book, or even to rent part with their unit.

How will Jubilee be physically maintained?

Members will be responsible for the maintenance of their individual homes. Repair of the common grounds, infrastructure and facilities will be the shared responsibility of the users . We’’ll decide how to organize doing the work collectively. We may choose to hire out some of the work, which would be paid for with member relationship fees.

Can I sell my residence?

Yes. Buying and selling devices at Jubilee will involve the same processes as buying and selling standard real estate.

Exactly what will be the agreements for utilities?

Jubilee will be linked to public sewer and water.

What’s Passivhaus construction?

The Passivhaus strategy represents today’s highest authorized building energy standard, with the promise of cutting down the full total energy consumption of complexes by 70 to ninety percent, while providing superior coziness indoor environmental quality. One of the Passivhaus envelope minimizes heat-loss through super insulation, air-tight building, advanced windows and doors and warmth recovery ventilation. It maximizes passive solar benefits and combines them with internal warmth benefits from people, home appliances, as well as a small backup system for maximum heat-load demand to create a balance between heat-losses and heat-gains.

Can I have a wood stove?

These will be unnecessary due to the Passivhaus design. The amount of added heating necessary will be so small that even a small wood stove would overheat one’s home.

How “green” will Jubilee be?

We are very concerned about caring for the land, and for the environment in general. The site design will cluster the houses so that approximately 30 acres of the 38-acre site will stay as mainly wooded space. Passivhaus design will certainly reduce home energy use. Living near to friends and neighbors, and within one mile of the guts of town, will certainly reduce vehicle fuel usage. The sharing of a vast array of items, from tools to air mattresses, among residents will lower our need for consumer items. At the same time, we recognize that building new housing, and keeping it affordable fairly, will come with an environmental impact.

Can I setup my very own business at Jubilee?

Generally, yes. If an ongoing business requires the utilization of community land or facilities, or gets the prospect of negative effect on the city (e. g., high sound levels), then the potential owner will need to work out an arrangement with the grouped community to do so. In cohousing, a pastime is got by us in assisting each other in getting our needs fulfilled, because you want to have good interactions. The opinion process is an excellent way to find solutions where the welfare of the city is thankful.

MAY I have a garage?

The community will be pedestrian friendly; all cars will be kept to the periphery, allowing space where children can run and play safely. The possibility of garages will be addressed in the design phase.

What will I own?

Your home and your equal portion of the Common House and land. Home ownership and any future sale will be conventional and primarily the responsibility of the homeowner, rather than the community as a whole .

How is the community to be governed?

All residents will participate in the management and governance and will make major decisions using consensus. You will see no community or hierarchy leader.

FAQ

Are available conferences?

Until move-in there will regular monthly be, whole-group conferences. Conferences are facilitated and planned. Work is made to keep these things be efficient and interesting. Each member is prompted to become part of the committee, either the Membership /Marketing/Community Committee (MMCC) or the Project Committee, which meet between plenary meetings to hammer out the details of work in their area of focus.

What is general opinion?

“Consensus decision making is a creative and dynamic way of reaching agreement between all known associates of an organization . Rather than simply voting for something and getting the most the group get their way, a group using consensus is committed to finding solutions that everyone actively supports, or at least can live with. ” Seed products for Change

MAY I have pets?

Some known associates of Jubilee! have, or experienced, cats or dogs, so that it is expected that people should come to consensus about how exactly they’ll be part of our life there. Your choice about Jubilee! ’s family pet plan will be created by associates . Signing up for early assures that you shall have a say, if this can be an important concern for you.

MAY I have private backyards /landscaping?

Each home will probably have a little privately managed area for members to plant or landscape. There will almost definitely be community landscapes . Again, how this operates will be a group decision.

How about a community garden?

We expect to have a group garden at Jubilee! If you have desired to grow your own food, but don’t know much about horticulture, this is a great way to collaborate with other people who learn. Also, community possessed equipment reduces the trouble of experiencing a garden.

Who can/can’t live at Jubilee!?

Anyone who’s willing to be always a participating call can. A couple of tasks of account, including attending conferences and taking part in committees. Prior to becoming a member of, a prospective affiliate will have considerable chance to interact with other users so that an up to date decision can be made concerning how ready the person is perfect for community life at Jubilee. We hope to have a diverse community, because we believe that life is richer if many different viewpoints and experiences are available.

Will there be childcare?

A close-knit and mutually supportive neighborhood makes it easy to organize casual childcare exchanges as well as formalized childcare programs if those are needed and desired. Cohousing areas with older or retired people as well as young family members can be a wonderful combination, because there is frequently someone to volunteer childcare.

What is a Common House?

Each home will contribute to the cost of the Common House and will share its use. This is the heart of a cohousing community. We expect that Jubilee! ’s Common House will have a large kitchen, large dining area suitable for shared meals, guest bedrooms, and laundry facilities for those members who do not include that in their private homes. Playroom for small children, game room for teenagers, and library are all possibilities. We will agree on the design as a community.

Will there be storage?

Many cohousing communities include space for some storage, often in the basement of the common house. This is a subject which we shall concentrate on in the design stage.

What’s the ‘relatively undeveloped open up space’ you talk about in your eyesight statement?

Jubilee will be situated on 38 acres of land that hasn’t been developed. It offers some open up space, but evergreen woods also, wood forest, a few springs, and several small streams. We will be careful to keep up as a lot of this natural space as you can, so that people may take long strolls and children can play in an all natural establishing. Needing anywhere near this much space so repair (1 mile) from shopping in downtown Floyd will be one of the pluses of living at Jubilee!

Maybe there is common shop/retail space?

There is discuss having a common shop for do-it-yourself-ers or woodworkers. We will reach consensus in what the members want in the design phase . That’s another good reason to get on board early in the process! We may also choose to include retail space or space where people who work at home can share such things as office equipment, depending on group preferences during our design phase.

How will you handle shared meals?

Most cohousing communities have shared meals at least once a week. Some are potlucks, some are prepared by an united team of volunteers at low cost to those who eat. We’ve good chefs at Jubilee! so we be prepared to reach consensus on having shared foods more often than once a complete week.

The things shared activities maybe there is?

Except common foods, meetings, work celebrations and other regular gatherings, it is simple in cohousing to become part of a combined group who decides to do something spontaneous together, such as visit a movie or watch one at home together, get a hike, or a bicycle ride. The look of the community will make it easy to connect with one or more people who enjoy the same things as you. The whole community will probably celebrate some events together in the Common House or elsewhere on the land. Working together to garden, landscape or maintain the Common House can be a fun way to grow relationships.