dbs's blog

This past summer has seen amazing progress, both in our community, as well as on the site itself. Construction began in earnest in June of 2007, and has continued straight through the summer. Our open fields are now piles of dirt, we have a driveway (two, in fact!), and even have our retention ponds sculpted in and landscaped. The retention ponds went in early to help with water run off as much of the vegetation on the building areas has been removed.

This week sees much of the septic infrastructure going in, with large concrete fixtures being set into the ground that will connect all our various water handling systems together. Conduits are being run from the street to provide electrical, phone, and data services, and landscaping continues as the ever-present ledge is being pounded, scraped, and dynamited to fit out site needs.

It's a tremendous amount of work, and even though we're sad to see our idyllic fields and forest disturbed, we know we did our best to minimize the impact, and we're safe in the knowledge that had this been a traditional subdivide-and-build, the impact would have been far far worse.

We also have our first buildings on site! Okay, not really buildings, they're just construction trailers. But one of them is for our use, so we can hold meetings, have marketing materials, and store any items we'd like to have around. Since we can't really spend much time on the site while construction is going on, we won't be spending a ton of time there, but it's nice having a little slice of space we can use without fear of it being bulldozed over.

The wonderful and talented Jen Wiley-Cardone was interviewed recently, the entire article is up!

PERMIT APPROVED
We are very excited to announce that, together with our partner Camelot Cohousing, we've been granted our permit to build in Berlin, MA. On January 10, the Berlin zoning board voted to approve our permit. Then we waited anxiously to see if any of our neighbors would appeal the decision; on February 6 the appeal period ended, and we are now officially approved
to build on Sawyer Hill in Berlin!

THE PATH FORWARD
Now that we are approved, we are kicking into high gear. Our current estimated timeline:

Now: completing the Design Development phase
April-June: final Construction Documents
June-July: bidding for construction
Summer 07: site construction begins
Fall 07: home and Common House construction begins
Fall 08: MOVE-IN!!

SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY
This month we celebrated Mosaic Commons' 7th Anniversary with our traditional pot-luck party and Yankee Swap! New View Cohousing in Acton kindly hosted the event in their Common House. Fun was had by young and not-so-young alike. Pictures of the event can be seen at our website: http://photos.mosaic-commons.org/7anniv

UPCOMING EVENTS
Site Walks: March 4, April 1 (1:00 PM)
Intro Meetings: March 18, April 16 (1:00 PM)
General Meetings: March 4, March 18, April 1, April 16 (3:30-6:30)
(NOTE: The March 4 General Meeting will start at 3:00PM instead of the
usual 3:30)

JOIN US!
It isn't too late to join Mosaic Commons, and now that we have received our comprehensive permit, the major risks have passed.

We still have the following unit types available:
1 bedroom flats (2)
2 bedroom townhouses (4)
3 bedroom townhouses (2)
4 bedroom townhouses (1)

But these are sure to go fast; we are targeting summer to have all available units pre-sold. If you'd like to learn more, come to an Intro Meeting on the third Sunday of the month or a site walk on the first Sunday of the month. If you've already been to an Intro Meeting but have been waiting to get involved, now's the time. Come to our General Meetings, held on the first and third Sundays every month in Marlboro.

SUPPORT US!
This winter and spring, we will be needing a lot of capital as we approach construction. You can help support us AND make a sound investment through our Friends and Family Loan Program.
The program offers terrific interest rates on loans of any size. Contact info@mosaic-commons.org or call Diana Carroll at (978) 263-3206 for more information.

CONTACT US!
For more information, visit our web site: www.mosaic-commons.org, send us email at info@mosaic-commons.org or give Steph Doss a call at (508) 453-0446.

This evening we've received confirmation that our project has cleared the final regulatory hurdle between us and our building permit. As of 7pm tonight, we officially have a permit to continue with construction and development of our property in Berlin, MA.

To say we're ecstatic would be an understatement. Several of us are getting together to celebrate with champagne, yummy foods, and good company. While we're relieved to be past this obstacle, we realize it's just another step forward in the entire project. Now we move into the next phase... a very busy design development process where we decide everything from what heating system we'll use to what our kitchen countertops will look like.

There's a lot of work ahead of us, but this step means we're no longer stalled, and we now can see our goal in sight. Stay tuned here for further updates!

It's been a while since we've updated things here, but we've been slowly working our way through the permitting and approvals process. This is a long, tedious process, and as such doesn't leave a lot of room for excitement.

An excellent article was just published in the Boston Globe about our travails...

Read the Boston Globe article.

Welcome to the first issue of Mosaic Commons' new newsletter, designed to let those interested in the community know what's going on with us. For more up-to-date information, check out our newly redesigned website at www.mosaic-commons.org, or attend one of our site walks, intro meetings or social events.

Comprehensive Permit Application Filed
On March 13, the Zoning Board of Appeals for Berlin held the first meeting to consider our comprehensive permit application. Over 40 people turned out. Sawyer Hill’s project managers and other professionals were on hand to present details about our community and answer questions from the ZBA and Berlin residents. Jen Wiley-Cordone also attended, and reports that the overall tone of the meeting was positive. The Boston Globe reported on the ZBA hearing
here.

The hope is that the ZBA hearings will close by July.

Septic Field Purchased
The closing of the purchase of the Zwicker parcel took place on February 22. Sawyer Hill is now the owner of this parcel and it has been added to the existing parcel. The total area owned is now 64.9 acres. Adding this parcel will significantly reduce septic construction costs and complications for the project compared with the septic options and costs previously available on the original Bigelow parcel.

Well Testing Completed
Water testing at the wells has been completed. Water quality samples have shown no dangerous chemicals like lead or arsenic.

Financing
The Cooperative Fund of New England has agreed to loan Sawyer Hill $350,000.

Project Schedule
Project schedule still anticipates complete approval of the 40B approvals process in the summer of 2006. If this works out to be true, some site construction work can be undertaken before the weather changes this winter. If not, construction will not start until spring or summer of 2007.

Holy Cross Visit
We were invited to speak to a sociology class at Holy Cross on "The Good Society". The students raised questions from logistics of creating a cohousing community to how involvement in the group has changed individuals personally. This opportunity allowed us to share the passion as well as the reality behind building the community.

A week or two ago I talked with Chris and Stew about stopping by the site some day when they were there. During the last site walk, I had walked with some other Mosaic-ers down to the newly purchased corner of the property, and tried to get an idea of where the actual borders were, and where the septic field would go. There were zillions of surveyor stakes and markers there, and we couldn't get a good idea of where things were going. I wanted to be able to say "There's where the field will go, this is where the plumbing and power will run..." etc.

Stew readily agreed, and said that yesterday (Monday, 2/27/06) would be a good time, as he'll be out there checking on some ongoing work.

We met onsite on February 28th around 1:30pm - it was AMAZINGLY cold out (my car thermometer said 16 when I left the house, had risen to 19 by the time I got to the site). Stew had brought his 70lb golden retriever 'Jake' with him, and we set out for a walk.

There were apparently several crews at work on the site. Here's what was going on:

1) The pump testing was beginning - this was a sort of stress test on the wells to find out how long they could operate at peak output - how did the wells refill after being pumped out, etc. It'll run for several days. Today was mostly setting up - one of he wells had the pump installed already, the other was being worked on. It involved a pair of large rigs on site - we asked why they needed such a large - what appeared to be a - drilling rig for just a test, and they noted that on the southern-most well, something had blocked the pipe about 50' down. This is not uncommon - it's usually just a
piece of rock coming loose and shifting, probably during the hydrofrac procedure. They were going to clear it out and set the pump down at the bottom.

2) There was another crew working down by the septic field - they were installing test wells - these are basic water testing holes, going down about 20' I think, that are just doing further analysis of the perc attributes of the soil. There'll be a bunch of these . Folks visiting the site will see white PVC pipes with caps on the top, sticking out a couple feet out of the ground. (these are smaller than the earlier pipes that were put in last year - these are only about 2" across, and are capped).

There were a couple new developments of note.

In order to get heavy equipment down to the septic site, they crews needed to clear a new feeder path, with permission from SVT of course. This path goes from just past the site of the northern well head, diagonally toward the new northwest corner . They didn't cut any trees larger than about an inch (Stew made a circle with his thumb and forefinger), and walking on the trail, it looks like they did a good job. But we have another road/path in the woods now. This road will go all the way to the northwest corner of the property, and then 'zigzag' down the hill to where the septic field will be.

The site of the septic field is probably the most isolated, private spot on the entire property. Not only are there absolutely no houses in sight (including ours, when they're built), but there are hills on 3 sides (including several hundred feet of our own property), and woods down into the lake on the south side. Couple this with, call it, a half acre of cleared, flat property in those woods, on side of a hill (terraced - some part will be flat, another section will be on a terrace above it.), and you have an -amazing- quiet spot back in the woods where no one will disturb you.

It's a gorgeous walk - I recommend folks head up there and enjoy it :)

Oh, one last bit - the question came up "Where is the pipeline going?" - because the pipeline also has to avoid the wellheads, it will NOT be following the existing road/paths through the woods. The pipeline will be following hte far western edge of the property down to where our houses will
be. This will likely mean a new pathway will be born along that strip, making a perfect western path countering the north/eastern path that is already in the woods. A great loop for walking on.

This past weekend we had our Private Unit Design workshop.

Weekend-long workshops are always exhausting. This one was no exception. On Saturday we settled on designs for all five of our unit types. We examined full baths and half baths. We debated ducting options and closet arrangements. We agreed to make the 2-bedroom units all townhouses rather than stacked flats. We made all sorts of choices on accessibility issues.

Today we examined building types (duplex and triplex designs). We discussed whether to jog or not to jog. We considered shared porches. We measured and we taped and we stickered and we penciled. And we made a wrenching attempt at unit selection.

The Private Unit Design component of cohousing design is one of the stickier, emotionally fraught parts of the process. As Martin and Sierra put it, it hits people literally where they live. It's an attempt to find the uneasy balance between providing for everyone's personal needs and sticking to a site design that is simple enough to build. No one wants to be told that they can't build their home the way that they want to build it, but to get through this process we all have to be prepared to do exactly that. It means a lot of compromise. A lot. And in a group where everyone has already compromised a lot to get to where we are. This weekend I watched people who I love dearly struggle to find ways to meet their neighbors' needs. It was a fierce and beautiful sight.

It is a motley bunch of oddballs we have fallen in with here. I am continually amazed at our ability to keep moving and get the hard decisions done. It may be a funny-looking crew but it is, ultimately, my community. And it is my home.

This is what consensus looks like.

Said yesterday during a pause in our weekend-long Private Unit Design workshop:

"There are no problems, only expenses"

We'll be manning a table this weekend at the Bolton Fair. Folks should feel free to stop by and say hi!