Children playing with a colorful parachute in a grassy yard.

Tierra Nueva Cohousing

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Suburban

Founding year

  • 1989

What we do

We are a multi-generational community set in a beautifully landscaped avocado orchard on California’s Central Coast. We are midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles, just 20 minutes south of San Luis Obispo (home of California Polytechnic University). Just 2 miles from the Pacific Ocean, including the majestic Oceano Dunes, we’re surrounded by Central Coast’s wine country. While we live in a private, quiet, safe setting, our neighbor, Pismo Beach, is a bustling travel destination with fun-filled activities and stunning views of the ocean. Even the monarch butterflies love coming here every year.
Our 27 homes are passive solar designed, our Common House incorporates solar energy, and members are welcomed to participate in the community garden. (As a bonus, we are next door to a pesticide free farm overflowing with a variety of produce.) Members enjoy a yoga studio, workshop, trampoline, solar composter, playground, and a large Common House with guest rooms, big screen TV room, library, craft room, dining and kitchen areas.
Though it takes energy and time to maintain this beautiful land and keep up with the business needs of cohousing, we value play as much as work! We have common meals each week (including potlucks) and a variety of social gatherings throughout the year. Our time together tending the community is rewarding. After all, we’re nurturing connection and securing the future of our investment.
We welcome your visit to our beautiful home!

Our Mission

connection sustainability

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Sustainability practices
  • Renewable energy systems

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1989
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1999
  • Started living together
  • 50 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
57

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Please contact us at: co*****@****ho.com

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Full Consensus

Everyone must agree before moving forward.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Regular fees: Yes
Labor: Yes

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Library, Workshop, Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • About once a week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

Age demographics

  • Family-focused (many children and parents)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a single individual, couple, or Family Trust

Setting

  • Suburban

Residential areas outside city centers but within metropolitan regions.

Community type

  • Cohousing

    Private homes with shared common facilities, designed for neighborly
    interaction while maintaining independence.

Community type

  • Built or remodeled using passive solar design

Sustainability approach

  • Renewable energy systems

Community type

  • Built or remodeled using passive solar design

Some or all of the buildings are...

  • Built or remodeled using passive solar design

Self-produced energy

  • Up to 33%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Land area size
    5 acres

Guest Book

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Location

  • California, United States

Needs and Offers

Offer
Offer
  • Marketplace
6 years ago

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves Books for Sale

Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves, Charles Durrett and Kathryn McCamant introduce Cohousing with stories and pictures of both Danish and American communities. Beautiful photographs and line drawings illustrate the warmly written account of how these communities came to be. Specific information on legal and financial aspects of working with developers, group process, and design issues make this book informative as well as inspiring. This is the book which brought Cohousing to North America. This book is the much prized second edition which has become a rarer and somewhat of a collectors item. Its community case studies were not included in the more recent publication. It preceded Creating Cohousing which is widely available. I acquired 25 cases from a local distributor who closed down. If you would like three or more copies for yourself, to share with your friends or to market your group, please let me know. I would love for them to be made useful and find great homes. Books are paperback (hard copy was not an option at the time from the publisher) all brand new, in Oakland (CA) so could be picked in Oakland or mailed to you. I would very much like to recuperate what I paid which is $10 per book. So, If you would like three or more shipped, I will add the postage, packing and handling fees. I have sold several cases (18 books per case) for $150 per case ($8 per book). I have a little wiggle room on the pricing. Please let me know if you are interested. Use the Send Message button on this page.
Offer

Information

Communities

A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

Organizations

An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

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