Local co-housing group looks to share lives

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_www.cohousing.org._ (http://www.cohousing.org./)

Cohousing communities are old-fashioned neighborhoods created with a little

ingenuity. They bring together the value of private homes with the benefits

of more sustainable living. That means common facilities and good connections

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(http://www.cohousing.org./what_is_cohousing)

 

Local co-housing group looks to share lives

 

(http://www.heraldextra.com/index2.php?option=com_content & task=view & id=270150 & po\

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(http://www.heraldextra.com/index2.php?option=com_content & task=emailform & id=2701\

50 & itemid=17) Caleb Warnock - DAILY HERALD

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For some it may be a yearning for a simpler life, for others a way to banish

isolation. Five families gathered for an informal potluck supper at an

upscale Riverwoods home in Provo on Friday evening to discuss becoming a kind

of

family.

Called the Utah Valley Commons, the group plans to build a sort of commune

for 2008 -- individually owned homes with common gardens and even eating

areas.

Called co-housing, the idea is not new, and on Friday the group examined

pictures and descriptions of existing co-housing projects in California,

Colorado and Washington. There is one 12-year-old co-housing project in Salt

Lake

City called the Wasatch Commons.

The idea is that families -- not just parents with children but people of

all ages -- would have private, eco-friendly homes fronting common garden and

yard space, eating one or two meals a week as a group in a community building,

sharing tools, keeping an eye on each other's children, having dances and

perhaps even playing ball.

Typically 30 to 35 homes are clustered condo-style on land that puts a

premium on green space. Parking is purposefully kept away from homes, and

houses

share a common walkway.

" We want to live in community and not leave such an elephant footprint on

the land, " said 71-year-old Barbara Luke of Provo.

After the meeting, Luke said she wants to join the co-housing project

because " I'm getting to the point in my life where without really close family

I

will end up as a lone individual. I want to have neighbors that know me and I

know them and I can count on them and they can count on me when they need

looking after. I want to feel useful in a community where some of my skills,

especially with children, are useful. I want to live on much less than the

current culture deems adequate, and being something of an eccentric, I want to

live

where that will be accepted instead of questioned. "

During Friday's potluck, genial discussion among the group ranged from

rising food and gas prices to how to deal with rambunctious children to where

to

get local organic eggs. Matthew and Erin Whiting of Provo shared new snap peas

from their garden, and Luke brought a basket of muffins made from rhubarb

purchased at the Provo Farmers' Market. Several of the group sat on the floor.

The meeting was hosted at the home of Charles and Janis Nuckolls. At one

point their daughter cried for a moment while playing outside and the

discussion

turned to co-housing with children.

On a national e-mail group dedicated to discussing co-housing, " an issue

that has come up is noise and I laughed because I think there are a lot of

people who don't know how it is to have kids around, " said Matthew Whiting with

his 10-month-old son in his arms.

In Utah Valley, co-housing will certainly not be quiet, he said. Bucking a

national trend, children are likely to be in abundance.

Luke suggested that in the beginning living in a co-housing situation will

require " careful diplomacy " to avoid stepping on each others' toes as everyone

learns to live so closely.

" It will last a week and then we will get down to the business of being

human, " Charles Nuckolls said. " My kids are not perfect. I don't want people to

do my parenting for me but if they see something wrong I would hope they would

point it out. "

The details of the project are still in the early stages. Erin Whiting said

that having common space to share with neighbors is what attracts her to the

idea, but she would still want her own fenced backyard.

" I grew up on a farm and it sort of has a farm feel, " she said of

co-housing. " It is slower and it is a nice feeling with a lot of green space. "

The layout of the project is designed to bring people together, she said.

Attempting to live in a different way will have its own challenges too --

even deciding what the project should look like could be challenging -- but in

the end, the benefits of being a close-knit community far outweigh any

conflicts that may arise, Matthew Whiting said.

For now, the group is simply looking for more like-minded people to join

their effort. Joining with a vote in " business meetings " to determine the

project's future requires a $100 one-time fee and then $20 a month, which the

club

said they are using for advertising their efforts. They have taken a booth at

the Farmers' Market in Provo and hope to have a public meeting in the Provo

area in July.

Once at least six to eight serious families have been gathered, the group

hopes to work with a builder to find property and begin putting financing

together for their project. There are several national builders that specialize

in

co-housing projects and the group is studying those builders now.

For information on the Utah Valley co-housing project, visit

_www.utahvalleycommons.com_ (http://www.utahvalleycommons.com) or call

356-8562