Community and the Law, #168 Contents

Issue #168 ● Fall 2015

Community and the Law: Theme Articles

My Intentional Community and the Law By Peter Moore

Breitenbush has a long history of dealing with legalities and illegalities, from installing a volcano as their “boiler” and blocking old-growth logging to successfully petitioning for a zoning variance.

It Takes All Kinds to Raise a Village By Melanie Rios

After an engaged local citizenry creates cultural shifts, a city endorses rather than prosecutes code-bending strategies that promote resilient community.

Intentional Communities: Informing the Next Generation of Land Use Law? By Robert Boyer and Rhonda Lambert French

Planned Unit Developments and other approaches offer inroads that can help us transcend restrictive, socially fragmenting zoning ordinances.

My Struggle to Legalize Sustainable Living By Graham Ellis

After nearly three decades of activity, a pioneering eco-community collapses under the weight of legal attacks by a small group of neighbors.

Zoning Nightmare: Hartford’s Scarborough Street House By Dave Rozza, Hannah Simms, Josh Blanchfield, Julia Rosenblatt, Kevin Lamkins, Laura Rozza, Maureen Welch, and Simon Raahauge DeSantis

An unconventional family fights to stay in their collective house in the face of antiquated local ordinances which suppress community living.

Zoning Squabble: Family Is What Family Does By The Hartford Courant Editorial Board

The world has changed since the Ozzie and Harriet era. Zoning cannot live in the past if it is to be effective.

Neighbor Nightmare in Northern California By Chris Roth

When the calling to cultivate community is combined with good intentions, what can go wrong? The answer is: a lot.

May the Circles Be Unbroken: Life in Wetherweed By Michael Bridge

The more we share, the less we need, the less we use, and the more we have to give back to the Earth to heal her wounds.

Land Use Regulations, Urban Planners, and Intentional Communities By Robert Boyer

A century since the United States’ first citywide zoning ordinance, community founders can find support in unexpected places when navigating land use laws.

An Update from the Lemonade Stand By Kees Kolff

Port Townsend EcoVillage continues to have plenty of opportunities to make lemonade out of lemons as it deals with local authorities.

The Law as Bad Parent: Oppressive Governmental Regulation of Citizens and Small Groups By Colin Doyle

In the realms of zoning, site plans, building codes, and permits, modern society has created a disempowering system based on distrust.

The Changing Landscape of the Law: Experiences in Cohousing By JT Hinds

Asheville’s Westwood CoHousing provides case studies in applying new approaches to old categories when relating to the law.

Immigrating to a Cohousing Project By Katharina Jones

As a stranger you can find welcome in the United States amazingly fast—unless you have to deal with the US Customs and Immigration Service.

Raven Rocks and Fracking By Susan Jennings

A “community of purpose” provides leadership in reasserting local people’s rights to resist environmental exploitation.

My Squat Law Journey By Steven DeCaprio

After years of advocacy, social justice work, and on-the-ground experience, a squatter passes the bar exam.

Nobody Likes Bosses By Molly Shea

Even an anti-authoritarian household needs agreements—but who and how to enforce them is another question.

Accountability: Conflating Task Monitors with the Police By Laird Schaub

What do you do when someone doesn’t deliver on a promise or is perceived to be breaking your group’s internal agreements?

Seeing Red Flags: When a Community’s Biggest Threat Comes from Within By Peter McGugan

Egoic, authoritarian agendas can oppress communities from within, just as they can from without. Here are some warning signs.

Voices

Publisher’s Note Sky’s the Limit By Laird Schaub

A new generation of FIC leaders is taking the reins.

Notes from the Editor It’s the Law By Chris Roth

Communal living is no escape from dealing with legal issues and challenges coming from both within and outside the group.

Review Findhorn Reflections By Bill Metcalf

An ecovillager gets personal.

Creating Cooperative Culture Establishing a Community: Perspectives from the FEC By Matthew Cullen

These key lessons from others’ experience can make starting a new community easier.