Camas Meadows Housing Cooperative at Lost Valley

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Vision for Camas Meadows Housing Cooperative

Have you ever dreamed of living in close connection with your neighbors, with a shared ethic of sustainability and land stewardship, in a beautiful, rural environment?  Lost Valley Educational Center, a 20 year old intentional community, is in the process of building new multifamily housing and is offering you the opportunity to purchase a home and join us!  We are in the process of forming a housing cooperative, and have given that group the working title "Camas Meadows" to celebrate the meadow at the heart of our land.

Location:

The site is in the beautiful foothills of the Cascades, near old growth forest, two hours from the Oregon coast and two hours from snow-capped peaks and skiing and gorgeous lakes.  There are local organic farms, herb producers, a local sustainability group and farmers market in the Dexter area.  Just 18 miles away is Eugene, a progressive city which has been voted one the most green cities in the U.S. and is filled with cultural activities and is home to the University of Oregon.

Land:

Lost Valley has eighty-seven acres of mixed forest, meadows, various gardens and a rushing stream.   It is blessed with very tall Douglas firs, old oak trees, a beautiful wildflower meadow known for historic Native American uses.  It is one of the oldest permaculture sites in the U.S.   Much of the property is a nature preserve, with trails, but no development.  The housing and facilities are in clusters that are all located within 10 acres of the site, providing a cozy distance for walking or bicycling around, while maintaining a rural and natural character to the land. There are also opportunities to raise plants and animals.

Housing Options: 

New Green Multiplex Units:

 In order to preserve the majority of our land for wild areas, gardens, and permaculture landscaping, we will cluster the new housing on a limited number of sites.  The multiplex design minimizes the footprint of the building in relation to square footage of living space.  Clustering the housing around shared courtyards and gardens is also a wonderful way to build a sense of community and connection between people.  Spontaneous socializing with friendly neighbors is just steps away.  Each new neighborhood cluster will have some shared common spaces for conversation, music playing, shared meals, parties, and other social connection.  Great soundproofing and cozy private kitchens and bathrooms provide as much privacy as you desire.

 Cabin Retrofit:

We have a number of existing cozy and rustic cabins nestled in the forest along winding pedestrian paths.  We are looking for people to invest in these cabins, and improve them structurally, as well as adding indoor plumbing to them to make them great homes.

Existing Multiplex Units:

The current multiplex housing on site is available for rental, and may become part of the housing cooperative in the future. If you are interested in joining our community as a renter, click here for more information.

Housing Cooperative Model:

The model we are creating is one where individuals will own shares in a housing cooperative that will give them the ability to live in a particular living unit.  Individuals will put in equity to the co-op, which will grow at controlled rate, which they can then take out if they leave.  Certain improvements that individuals do on living units will be able to count towards increasing their equity share.   Lost Valley Educational Center will own the land, which it will lease to the housing cooperative.   If they wish, co-op members will be able to live at Lost Valley part-time, and sublease their unit to other residents, through the LVEC property manager, permitting these co-op members to travel, and live part time in other places if they desire.  There will also continue to be some rental units available at Lost Valley.  We believe this model is ideal for us because:

-It allows people to invest equity into living at LVEC, and then take that equity out when they leave

-It allows for a reasonable growth of equity over time while also not creating a speculative housing market

-It gives people a greater investment in and sense of ownership in their home at Lost Valley, while also making moving between units much simpler than if people owned individual units.

-Individuals have an incentive in investing in improvements and upkeep into the infrastructure.

-Helps to build a more long term stable community than only having rental options, while also supporting co-op members who would enjoy  the flexibility of living at Lost Valley part-time.

-LVEC owning the land, helps take some of the cost of land ownership out of the cost of the housing units, making them more affordable than purchasing property and building an equivalent unit. This model also helps ensure the protection of the ecology and natural beauty.

Decision Making:

The housing cooperative will have its own decision making group that cooperative members will be able to participate in, which will make decisions about many issues related to the housing coop, particularly those that affect the day to day lifestyle of the co-op members.  Lost Valley Educational Center, through its board of directors, will act as the initial project management team and developer, and will make the primary initial decisions about site design, building and financing, while taking input from the coop member clients. LVEC may partner with an outside green developer to help fund the building.  As the co-op members group grow in numbers and functionality, it may progressively take on more of the roles from LVEC.

Ecological and Community Covenants:

There will be covenants that provide a balance of individual autonomy while ensuring the ecological health of the land and supporting sustainability. Part of housing fees will go towards creating places for members to garden.  There are advanced gardeners and permaculture instructors at LVEC that can help advise members in creating gardens and edible landscapes. Another portion of the fee will go towards renewable energy and appropriate technology projects that will make living at Lost Valley more ecological sustainable, resilient and self-sufficient.  The community living covenants strike a balance of personal freedom and encouraging a healthy community culture.

Preservation of Natural Environment and Character

The full build-out will include 3-5 new green designed multi-plex units, and new shared community spaces.  Beyond these new spaces, the overall natural character, beauty, ecology, and food production potential of the land will be preserved.

Access to Sustainability and Community Education

Lost Valley is home to some of the premier permaculture and ecovillage courses in the U.S. Co-op members will have many opportunities to attend free and discounted presentations, lectures, and activities associated with the courses.  Living at LVEC can be a rewarding educational experience about how to create more sustainable communities.  The on-site educational center also brings in wonderful short-term residents from around the world, which brings social richness, opportunities for meeting new people, interesting conversation, and connection making a more dynamic social fabric of the community. 

Cost and Contact:

 One of our goals is to have an economically diverse community.  To this end, we aim to welcome and provide housing options for people of different income and asset levels.   

For more information or to express your interest in the project, call
John Botti at 541-937-3351 xt 118 or email us at clt at lostvalley.org

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