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Here's what you'll learn from Community Led Housing: A Cohousing Development Approach

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Table of Contents

Click the + to see the topics within each chapter

Chapter 1 - Introduction

  • What Is Cohousing?

  • Our Journeys 

  • What Is CDC?

  • Why Have We Written This Book?

  • Self-Responsibility and Self-Development

  • Collaboration

  • Consensus Decision-Making

  • Community Led Housing Development Is a Business

  • What You Can Learn from This Book

Chapter 2 - What It Takes to Develop a Community Led Housing Project

  • The Main Ingredients

  • Typical Steps for Development

  • Get Started 

  • Set Up the Development Corporation

  • Determine the Community Organizational Structure and Build Membership

  • Undertake the Design and Development

  • Construct the Project

  • Completion 

  • Success Rates

  • Impediments to Success

  • Why Success Is Important 

Chapter 3 - Finding and Hiring Professionals

  • The Importance of Member Involvement

  • The Organizational Structure for the Professional Team

  • Professional Roles and Capabilities

  • How to Find the Right Professionals

Chapter 4 - Organizational Structure

  • Why Organizational Structure Matters

  • CDC-Recommended Organizational Structure

  • Meeting Types 

  • Typical Roles and Responsibilities of Members

  • Communication Systems

  • Information Management

  • Meeting Management

  • Organizational Structure and Change

Chapter 5 - Decision-Making

  • Deciding How to Decide

  • Why Use a Consensus Approach?

  • Phases of Consensus Decision-Making

  • Normal Decision Process

  • Voting Alternative Process

  • Delegating Decision-Making Authority

  • Other Tools to Support Collaborative Decisions 

  • What Matters Most

Chapter 6 - Building Community Membership

  • Membership

  • Power and Social Capital in Building Community 

  • Outreach

Chapter 7 - Design and Development

  • Priorities for Design

  • Affordability

  • Designing for Community Rather than Individuals

  • Customization and Optional Upgrades

  • Working with Design Professionals

  • Preliminary Programming 

  • The Design Workshops

  • Land Use Designation and the Regulatory Process

  • Working with Municipal Staff and Officials

  • Working with Neighbours

  • Developer Information Meetings and Public Hearings 

Chapter 8 - Legal Structure and Agreements

  • Government Legislation

  • Selecting a Lawyer

  • Legal Structure Overview

  • Legal Structure for Development

  • Legal Structure for Home Ownership 

  • Legal Agreements and Considerations

  • Setting Up the Development Company

  • General Administration and Record-Keeping

  • Disclosure Statement

  • Purchase Agreements

  • Non-Market Housing Agreements

  • Transfers Prior to Completion

  • Transition at Completion

9. Financial Structure

  • Financing the Development

  • Financial Phases

  • Estimating Project Costs

  • Home Pricing

  • Non-Market Housing Financial Implications

  • Home Selection Process

  • Pricing and Paying for Optional Upgrades

  • Homeowner Financing

  • Furnishing the Common House

  • Financial Management

  • Managing Cash Flow

  • Dealing with Unsold Homes 

10. Establishing Feasibility, Finding and Securing a Site

  • Initiation

  • Site Selection Criteria

  • Elements of a Preliminary Feasibility Study

  • Review Project Objective 

  • Finding and Securing a Site

  • Site Feasibility

11. Construction

  • Overview of Construction Delivery Methods

  • Construction Contracts

  • CDC’s Recommended Approach

  • Finding and Selecting the Construction Contractor

  • Preparing for Construction

12. Completion

  • Managing Shortfalls or Excess Contingency

  • Insurance for Completed Building

  • Municipal Property Taxes

  • Occupancy Permit

  • Paying Off the Construction Loan

  • Closing Documents

  • Homeowner Financing

  • Completion Coordination and Warranty Period Protocol

  • Homeowner Warranty and Maintenance Manual

  • Monthly Maintenance Fees

  • Company Requirements after Move-In

13. How to Prepare for Living in Community

  • Adjusting Expectations 

  • Community Agreements: An Overview

  • Governance: Transition from Development Phase to Strata

  • Living in Community Tasks and Participation

  • Organizational Structure after Move-In

  • The Destination

Appendices

  • A Overview of Completed Projects Managed by CDC

  • B Legal Structures and How Cohousing Fits

  • C Examples for the Use of Coloured Cards

  • D Examples of Optional Upgrades

  • E Municipal Policies Supportive of Cohousing

  • F Example of a Development Proforma

  • G Example of a Maintenance Manual’s Table of Contents

  • H Comparisons of Some Different Organizational Structures

  • I Examples of Plenary Worthy Scenarios

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Architectural sketch of Driftwood Village Cohousing