Our community is a part of downtown Cotati, California (population 6,700). We are a typical cohousing community in that we are not organized around any particular religious, economic, political, or lifestyle focus, other than our intention to create a neighborhood that by its physical design and social structure facilitates community.
Our community houses 30 families (including singles, couples with and without children, and single parents) in townhouse-style attached homes. Our common house includes a kitchen, dining room, guest rooms, children’s room, and a workshop.
We’re a little different from many cohousing communities in that we were required by the city of Cotati to include 6700 square feet of retail space as part of our development. We decided to keep ownership of this retail space as a community. We now live next door to a handful of small businesses, which are locally owned.
Community dinners and workdays are a part of our lives. Our key policy decisions are made by consensus, and we meet once monthly for two-hour business and community-development meetings.
Our group formed out of the old Acacia Cohousing Group in Santa Rosa, California, a group which started meeting in November of 1994. The current group came together in the late summer/early fall of 1998, and in January 2000 we found a 2.3 acre parcel of land in downtown Cotati. With the help of the Cohousing Company (Nevada City, California), and our developer, Wonderland Hill (Boulder, Colorado), construction was completed and residents began moving into their new homes in 2003.
Cohousing Community
Open when homes come up for sale or rent.
Please contact us through our email (listed on our website) to arrange a visit or tour. We cannot accommodate “Drop-in” visitors, so please visit only after you’ve made arrangements with us.
The whole membership decides collectively.
Everyone must agree before moving forward.
Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.
Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.
Regular fees: Yes
Labor: Yes (3 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
Each household qualifies for their mortgage independent from the rest of the community.
Members are required to help cook at least once a month, participate in work days, and serve on at least one committee.
Homeowner’s Association dues vary by size of home (sizes range from 2 bedrooms/1 bathroom to four bedrooms/3 bathrooms).
Common House, Garden(s), Library, Workshop, Hot tub or hot springs, Large Scale Kitchen, Swingsets & play areas, Internet
Within city limits with access to urban amenities and infrastructure.
Private homes with shared common facilities, designed for neighborly
interaction while maintaining independence.
Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace
A residential project: people live here as their primary home.
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).
{{ item.label }}
{{ item.value ? item.value : currencyFormat( item.amount ) }}
Subtotal
{{ currencyFormat( pricing_summary.total_amount ) }}
We’re introducing new Plus features — including community reviews, Profile Match, and unlimited Needs & Offers posts — while keeping most of FIC free for everyone. Membership costs less than two coffees a month.
