Area couple hopes

cohousing will catch

on as successful trend
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

A local couple is hoping to plant the seeds of “cohousing,” an emerging idea of community that centers around developing housing clusters with some shared common spaces.

Lynnwood Brown and Elise McLaughlin were part of one of the first cohousing developments in the United States, and now the concept popular in Northern Europe is spreading across the country. The couple recently moved back to Boone, where Brown was formerly a builder, after living in a cohousing development in Sante Fe, N.M.

A popular book on the subject was published in 1988, and the couple found others interested in the idea and they developed 28 houses on four-and-a-half acres of land, overcoming local planning ordinances and financial lending institutions that didn’t know how to define the project.

“There were only two others in the country,” Brown said. “It’s a lot easier now because there are a lot more examples.”

The residents of the community participate in the design and planning of the common areas, though each owns a house and property inside the community parcel. The common areas can include playgrounds, gardens, meeting spaces or even a community house or kitchen. Brown said one of the keys to making the cohousing community work is the social structure, with neighborly interaction a prime attraction of the lifestyle.

“I say it’s a little yeast to make the bread rise,” Brown said. “There’s a little rhythm to the community. It’s not essential that everyone have a shared philosophy or religion, just a commitment to get along together and be neighborly.”

Brown, who has served as a consultant for some of the 250 cohousing communities in the country, said the concept works best when there are between 25 and 40 houses and up to 100 people. Too many houses causes the loss of connectedness, and too few houses doesn’t lend enough community energy for shared projects.

“It’s large enough that everyone doesn’t have to be friends and governance is simple,” he said, noting small monthly fees can be paid in the same manner as with a typical property association. “There’s a process to make decisions together, but it’s not a second-home or gated community and it’s part of the larger community.”

Brown said the idea could fit well in the mountains, even given the challenges of topography, because not a lot of land is needed. He said cohousing embraces most of the principles recommended in a recent “Smart Growth” report conducted by the Town of Boone, and Brown said the idea is adaptable to mixed-used or planned urban development projects.

The project can be built with a developer and investors under a typical for-profit plan, though Brown said the best cohousing projects have “open books” where all the participants understand the finances. The projects also reduce some of the problems common to many dense neighborhoods, since parking is limited to the property’s perimeter and the density helps create a sense of community while still offering outdoor space that’s particularly beneficial for children.

“There’s still private space and family space, but for kids it’s all about the gang and hanging out,” Brown said. He added that the lifestyle is so desirable that the privately owned houses often sell through word-of-mouth alone and often appreciate in value faster than surrounding homes.

Communities can be of mixed types of households, though Brown said senior cohousing is an emerging movement. Brown said the community is always in flux as people move in and out, so there is often a mix of the elderly, singles, and families with children. Brown’s former cohousing community held group dinners twice a week, with households taking turns staffing the kitchen. Community members often joined in for group projects, maintenance or beautification.

Brown said the design of the community was important in its success, with between 20 and 60 houses being the typical number for a cohousing effort. There are currently 10 such communities in North Carolina.

Brown and McLaughlin are holding an informational session on cohousing at the Watauga County Public Library in Boone on Saturday at 3 p.m. More information on the concept is available at www.cohousing.org.