Frequently Asked Questions

Notice that this document is a draft, a lot of the questions and answers need to be revised. Some of them come from a document from 1992 called Eco City Conference FAQ.
If you want to help please add questions even if you don’t know the answer or feel free to edit some of the questions and answers already here.

Questions About living at the Eco-Village

Do you have any conflicts?

As with any other human endeavor we have them.

How do you deal with them?

Do people have to eat together?

No, meal sharing is strictly voluntary.

Could I participate in your community meals?

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How do you determine who uses which part of the
garden? Or is it cared for by everyone? ===

Is this a low income housing project?

No. People of different income levels will be members of the L.A. Eco Village including low, moderate and middle income persons in proportions approximately similar to their representation in the general population.

Why shouldn't people who want to live this way just go to the country with this idea?

In America today, 74% of people live in cities. That figure continues to grow very rapidly. The trend is the same throughout the world. For centuries, cities have exploited the ecology for the sake of the economy. If our species is to survive, we must teach and train ourselves how to live ecological lifestyles in our cities and how to restore our cities for human habitation in balance with nature. Rural land is being developed also at an unprecedented pace. Urban sprawl is at the heart of some of our worst urban ecological devastation; developments have jumped city boundaries requiring more auto dependence
which produces more air, water and land pollution as well as human alienation from community. Early urban eco village developments, such as the L.A. Eco Village will demonstrate that our cities can become centers of ecological restoration actually reversing the negative environmental impact of traditional development and eliminating uncontrolled growth.

Questions About Membership

How do people get into the LA Eco-Village?

We have a process intended to get you acquainted with the local culture and people who already live here. You would learn about the La Eco-Village and its history, one member of the community would be your liaison and you would attend meetings and other Eco-Village events. Becoming a member is not hard but we want to get to know you and be comfortable with your intentions and desire to participate in the project. If you want to know more visit the Becoming a Member page.

What about my partner?

Membership at the LA Eco-Village is individual. Your partner can apply for membership at the same time. If you plan to live in the same household, please let us know.

What about my children?

We welcome children, and want to be flexible in welcoming them and their families into LA Eco-Village. If you have children who will live with you at the LA Eco-Village, their character and any special needs will be taken into account when we consider your membership. If your children are old enough and want to go through the membership process, they can, but generally it’s easier to just bring them in as members in the course of the parent’s or parents’ process.

What about my dog or cat?

Pets discussions here have sometimes been contentious. It’s important that you review and be willing to abide by the community’s pet policies. Although it is possible to have exclusively indoor cats at the eco-village we would only accept them on a case by case basis. We don’t currently accept new dogs living on the premises.

Can I live at the LA Eco-Village while my membership is being accepted?

Generally, no. We strongly encourage you to have a stable residency outside of the eco-village while you are in process, preferably in Los Angeles.

How will an eco village guarantee it will not illegally discriminate?

The sponsoring organizations are public benefit corporations which are mandated by law to non discrimination policies. People involved in the movements for cooperatives, eco villages, land trusts and mutual housing associations are traditionally in the forefront of being inclusive with respect to ethnic backgrounds, income level, age, sexual
preference. The first principle of cooperatives is open membership to all of those who can use the services of the cooperative and are willing to assume the responsibility of membership.

Will residents be owners or renters?

There will be both owners and renters. Two-thirds of the units will be targeted for ownership. There will be lease-option methods whereby renters can become owners. In all
cases, renters will be required to be fully functioning members of the community, in a sense have social equity.

Will residents own their own land and buildings?

The land will be owned by a community land trust. A CLT is a non-profit legal form of
ownership in which land is permanently held by the non-profit organization in order to permanently remove it from the speculative real estate market and ensure that it is developed and stewarded in an ecologically and socially just manner. Board members for the CLT are elected from residents and public spirited citizens knowledgeable about
and committed to the CLT concept. The built structures will be in
private cooperative ownership. The co-ops will pay land rent to the CLT.

How is a co-op different than a condo?

In cooperatives, a non-profit corporation owns all of the individual housing and common
spaces. Co-op members own a share of stock in the co-op corporation which entitles them to occupancy in a unit of the housing. Members elect a board of directors which is legally responsible for the housing. Members pay a monthly pro rata share of all of the costs of their housing unit, including principle, interest, taxes, insurance, maintenance, reserve fund, education, etc. They receive full homeowner tax benefits. Departing members may sell their shares back to the co-op or to a new member approved by the co-op. New buyers must go through credit checks just as in a conventional purchase. Some co-ops have resale controls so that the housing remains affordable to future users whose incomes are similar to the initial owners. Resale controls will be utilized in the L.A. Eco Village. In condos, each unit of housing is privately owned and deeded. The common facilities are owned cooperatively through a homeowners association, elected by the members.
Generally, there are no controls on resales.

Some Definitions

What is permaculture?

Permaculture is a system of design developed by Australian ecologist Bill Mollison. It is the conscious design and maintenance of productive ecosystems which have the ability, stability and resilience of natural ecosystems. Its methods help us eliminate dangerous herbicides, pesticides and other toxins currently contaminating our air, land and water. Its methods also allow us to reclaim many materials currently still classified as trash or wastes, such as grass and tree clippings. In permaculture, all wastes are utilized within the systems. The design is always ecologically compatible with the region where it is installed. Permaculture associations and training opportunities now exist throughout the world. In Southern California, the Southern California Permaculture Institute
is located in Laguna Beach.

What is the difference between an eco village and a commune?

A commune refers to a type of community in which residents share income, a practice popular among some religious and spiritual communities. In an eco village, individuals and families maintain their private incomes just as in the conventional society. The key defining characteristic in an eco village is sustainability, referring to such qualities as good neighborliness, non-polluting work and transportation, recycling systems, etc.

What is a community land trust?

A CLT is a non-profit organization with an elected board of directors which holds title to land in order to remove it from the speculative real estate market and ensure that it is stewarded in accordance with principles of sustainability. The land is made available to individual families, cooperatives and other organizations through long term (lifetime) leases which may be transferred to the leaseholders’ heirs. Leaseholders may own the
buildings on the land owned by the land trust. There are several hundred successful community land trusts throughout the country.

What is a mutual housing association?

A mutual housing association is democratically structured non-profit membership organization which develops cooperative and/or member controlled housing. MHA members are
those already in housing developed by the MHA as well as those planning for future development. The housing might take a variety of physical forms. The Los Angeles Mutual Housing Association is the non-profit housing development organization for the Los Angeles Eco Village and associated small businesses.

What is cohousing?

Co Housing communities are resident-developed pedestrian oriented neighborly communities where individual households are clustered around a common house with shared facilities, such as a dining room, an area for childcare, workshops, laundry, gardening and parking. Each home is self-sufficient with a complete kitchen, but dinners are often available in the common house on a voluntary basis. The legal, financial and physical structures vary considerably. Co Housing is a new archetype in housing designed to meet the needs of changing family structures and create more sustainable neighborhoods.

Monetary

How is all this financed?

eco villages, cooperatives, cohousing,community land trusts, mutual housing associations In all of the same ways that conventional developments are financed plus there are many lenders specializing in loans to various types of collaborative and
ecological community development, such as the National Cooperative Bank. In all cases, cooperative homeowners come up with a down payment just as in conventional single family homeownership, and make a monthly payments that cover their pro rata share of the mortgage, interest, taxes, reserves, maintenance, etc. Community land trusts are often started on a joint venture basis with local governments which can provide land at
reduced prices to developments which have an educational charitable purpose which is in the public interest. Members of a non-profit mutual housing association and community land trust may hold special fund raising events and obtain grants from various foundations and
corporations which want to support demonstrations of urban sustainable
communities.

What level of self sufficiency is there in an eco village?

A commonly used figure is about 40%. That is, people who live in eco villages can expect to meet about 40% of all of their basic needs within or near the village: food, energy, livelihood, clothing, recreation, leisure and social activities, education, etc. Of course, some will use the village for meeting many more of their needs while others will meet more of their needs outside of the village.

Others

Will there be restrictions on the number of autos and vehicles residents can own?

In the L.A. Eco Village, no fossil fueled vehicles will be permitted. Instead, electric vehicles, alternative fuel and hybrid fuel vehicles will be permitted. Residents in the surrounding neighborhoods as well as the Eco Village core will have the opportunity
to join a community owned vehicle pool which can provide more flexibility in vehicle choice than people generally have now. Also, a community owned electric van service will circulate regularly in the neighborhood taking people back and forth to nearby shopping and mass transit stations.

Will an eco village lower property values?

No, eco villages are expected to raise property values, because an eco village adds to
neighborhood stability; it adds green spaces, and it adds desirable
community services within walking or short non-polluting commute distances.

Won't the commercial uses planned in an eco village bring unwelcome loitering, traffic, pollution and noise?

Part of the security system in an eco village and its surrounding neighborhoods is that people go out of their way to know one another. When people are in neighborly
relations with one another, unwelcome loitering is rare. The commercial activities associated with the Village will be community owned for community use. Here, community is defined as those within the eco village proper and its adjacent neighborhoods. Car trips will be reduced by having a community café and market, childcare and a community center.
Pedestrian life will pick up, because many people accustomed to driving to such services will choose to walk. Fossil fueled auto traffic, noise and pollution will be further reduced by those who ride bikes or use the community owned electric van. The planned system of electric vehicles will actually reduce noise and pollution in the neighborhood since many residents in the areas will choose to use the van rather than drive
their own fossil fueled vehicles for many local trips.

How will the eco village enhance the surrounding single family neighborhoods?

The Eco Village when complete will have a park-like setting adding an aesthetic quality to the neighborhood. The pedestrian-friendly Village will provide opportunities for local
neighbors to have garden plots, childcare, neighborhood based business spaces, access to non-polluting transportation, on-going educational and training opportunities in sustainable technologies that can save local homeowners on utility and water bills and provide for cooperative purchases of equipment. A local exchange trading system (LETS) can
provide local homeowners with a variety of neighborhood based services which cuts down on local traffic and pollution. The affordable housing component of the Eco Village can provide housing opportunities for low to moderate income relatives and friends of homeowners. Homeowners will have socially responsible investment opportunities within their own neighborhoods and can help plan the Eco Village.

What is meant by non-toxic, local, regional and recycled building materials?

These materials are much the same as most materials currently widely available. In deciding on which materials to use, ecologically sensitive builders consider information such as where the
materials come from. It is important to minimize energy costs associated with the prodouction and transportation of materials because much of our fossil fuel dependent energies create greenhouse gases.

What effect does the extraction of materials have on the area from which they come? For
example, old growth redwoods, some of which are over 2,000 years old, are considered an important natural resource to the planet and are not replaceable. Clear cutting of forests for wood products is not an ecologically sensitive method of providing wood, when many timber companies have shown that selective cutting can be both economically and
ecologically viable.

Many of the plastics, paints, lacquers, finishes and other materials in
common use today are highly toxic, dangerious to those who work with
them and unhealthful for many who live with them. In many cases, no
proper testing has been done, especially regarding the cumulative
effects of outgassing of certain products. Many new products that do not
contain toxic substances have come onto the market in recent years, and
we would encourage their use, whenever practical. Many recycled
materials can be used for home building. Often such materials are sent
to our overcrowded landfills or exported to other countries for reuse,
again at a high energy cost. Many of the problems associated with
environmental degradation are directly connected to the negative impacts
of living in a ‘throw-away’ society. By seeking new uses for appropriate
discarded materials, we can alleviate some of those problems.

What happens if the Eco Village fails in a few years?

An eco village is not a single legal entity; therefore, in order for it to
fail, many of its systems must fail, an unlikely occurrence when development is phased according to sustainable practices - economically, socially and physically. If there are failures in the eco village, they most likely will take the form of simply not fulfilling the full vision of its initial planners, rather than any particular financial failure,
which is generally what is meant with the use of the word ‘failure’. A
mutual housing association, the non-profit housing development entity
includes among its members a waiting list of qualified home buyers or
renters prepared to move in when there are vacancies.

In the L.A. eco-village, the legal form of home ownership will be
cooperative. The default rate on cooperatively owned housing units is
less than 1%, significantly less than for condos, single family
ownership or rental apartments. The land will be owned by a non-profit
tax exempt community land trust. In the event that it failed, the assets
of the corporation are required by state and federal law to be dedicated
to another tax exempt entity acting in the public interest. If one of
the community enterprises failed such as the electric van service, after
creditors were paid, the assets of the cooperative or mutual benefit
corporation would be distributed to their owner members in proportion to
their shares of ownership.