City Permits
Co-housing is a new concept for the City of Victoria. Therefore, we have spent a great deal of time educating city planners and politicians as to the benefits of cohousing. Also, we have been careful to assure our neighbours that ‘cohousers’ are normal people who simply choose to live in a designed community setting.
It is important to know that approval by City Council is necessary for us to proceed. A date for a public hearing determining whether we get a rezoning and development permit has not been set yet. We expect a date will be set in mid 2012. Given the support of city staff, and forward thinking behind Victoria’s new community plan, we anticipate that the city’s decision will be in our favour.
Schedule
Given our development permit application has been approved, our architect will prepare detailed construction drawings and apply for a building permit. The required architectural plans and engineering reports will take several months to prepare. At the same time, we will be in the process of arranging construction financing and members will be asked to select a unit and make a deposit towards the purchase price.
Because ongoing decisions made by members affects our timeline and building costs, it is difficult to predict our date of commencement, or an exact pricing for the homes. We could be breaking ground in the fall of 2012 and moving into our new homes by the following spring. Members will be kept up to date by e-mail.
Legal
The Village has an official vision, mission and principles of our community. Members make decisions according to these statements. We have developed by-laws, in accordance with the Strata Act of BC. Upon purchase of a unit, member/owners are issued a certificate of title to their home. Owners may mortgage their unit if they choose.
We are excited to be part of an innovative community within a city that is one of the most liveable on the planet.