Lush green backyard with a white house and playground equipment.

Muir Commons

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Town/Small City

Founding year

  • 1989

What we do

Muir Commons was the first cohousing community newly constructed in the United States and was modeled after communities in Denmark. After several years of planning, ground breaking took place on November 1990 with the residents moving in during the summer of 1991. Most of the homes were constructed as affordable housing.

Our Mission

Muir Commons co-housing is an inclusive, multi-generational, self-managed, participatory, consensus-based community, intentionally sharing time, space and resources. We are a caring, safe place for children and adults. We share skills, knowledge, tools, help, rides, meals, stories, celebrations, traditions, and concern for each other, our community and the planet.

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Activities
  • Property management

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1989
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1991
  • Started living together
  • 59 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
64

How to join

Purchase or rent a house.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Send an email to to***@*********ns.org with dates and times that you want to visit at least a week in advance.

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

Decision-making process

  • Consent-Based (Sociocracy)

Decisions proceed unless someone has a reasoned objection.

Governance structure

  • Sociocratic/Circle-Based

Organized in circles or domains with distributed authority.

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: $360
Labor: Yes (2 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed

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

Common House, Garden(s), Workshop, Hot tub or hot springs, Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 1-3 times per month

Dietary type

  • Vegetarian Only

Dietary restriction

  • People can cook and eat what they want in their own residence

Community activities and engagement

  • Neighborhood, Community Housing, or Homeowner's Association
  • Religions
  • Christian
  • Buddhist
  • Jewish

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Family-focused (many children and parents)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a single individual, couple, or Family Trust

Setting

  • Town/Small City

Smaller municipalities with local services but rural character.

Community type

  • Cohousing

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

Self-produced energy

  • 33 - 66%

Energy sources used

  • Photovoltaic Solar

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Land area size
    3 acres

Guest Book

Written reviews are available for plus members. Click here to upgrade.

Location

  • California, United States

Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Communities with Openings
2 months ago

Community House in SE Portland Seeks Membership!

Ellis Street Community House is seeking kind, present, and engaged new housemates with experience in community living. We are currently 3 adults, one baby, and two cats living in a 6 bedroom, 3 bath house on ÂĽ acre of land near Powell Butte nature park and the Springwater Corridor bike trail. We expect to be joined by a shy and sweet 2 year old in the next few months. For us, living in community is a collaborative process, one that helps improve our quality of life. We’re able to eat great food, keep the place clean, maintain a garden, and hold a space large enough to host guests and events by working together. We have an extensive community library and art/craft material collection, as well as a great tea selection, stocked pantry, and functional kitchens ready for feast-making, canning, and fermentation dreams. We make kombucha, ginger beer, sauerkraut, bone broth, natto, and apple/pear butter on a rotating basis. With two fridges and two deep freezers we can save blueberries and blackberries we harvested from close by and get meat directly from farmers. We hold potlucks and other events like bonfires and game nights about once a month, and make a house dinner together weekly. We maintain a home free from artificial fragrances and voice-activated technology. The larger downstairs room is available for $740 per month. The smaller downstairs room will be available for $600 per month starting on September 1rst. The main kitchen is on the second floor. We also have private outdoor space for someone sleeping in their home on wheels available for $200-500 per month depending on the size of the vehicle. This would include membership in the community and use of the common spaces. Guest space is available for friends and relatives of residents – upstairs there is an office/guest room for longer visits, and the couches/pads in the common areas are available for shorter stays. The home has heating and cooling through an efficient heat pump, and we ju

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

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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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