Logo of Mountain View Cohousing Community with tree and house icon.

Mountain View Cohousing Community

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Home-sharing
  • Urban

Founding year

  • 2008

What we do

We are in a residential neighborhood 6 blocks from Castro Street (the main street of Mountain View) and downtown amenities (restaurants and sidewalk cafes, bookstores and other shops, the performing arts center and library); near CalTrain, the Light Rail, bus depot, and the weekly farmers’ market; adjacent to Landels Elementary School; and close to the Stevens Creek Trail (biking and walking).
Our 19 condominiums are quite large, ranging in size from 1360 to 2090 sq ft. In addition, we have 6,000 sq ft of shared indoor space. The common house (4000+ sq ft) has facilities for entertainment, exercise, group dining, and crafts. Parking is underground, with some charging stations for electric cars. We also have a workshop, bicycle and other storage spaces, a large outdoor patio, and shared green space. A historic farmhouse on the property has been restored, and has space for meetings and guests.
Our buildings are “green” and energy efficient, with universal design and elevator access to all floors. The units are very well insulated to minimize sound transmission and to minimize the need for heating or cooling, regardless of outside temperature. Our community has an organic garden, 20-tree fruit orchard, and flowers.
The project was designed by members of our cohousing community via design workshops led by architect Chuck Durrett. It has been endorsed by the Greenbelt Alliance for its sustainable features.

Our Mission

A caring, egalitarian, environmentally sustainable, health-promoting, and fun-filled community built on trust and mutual respect, we are committed to nurturing our growth as individuals, as a community, and as participants in our neighborhood and beyond.

  • Purpose
  • Home-sharing
  • Community type
  • Cohousing
  • Activities
  • Property management

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 2008
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 2014
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 29 Total members
  • Not open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
29

How to join

Get to know us to decide if this is a community where you would like to live.

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Check out our website: www.mvcoho.org
E-mail us at Inforequest@mvcoho.org

Primary decision-making authority

  • All Community Members Together

The whole membership decides collectively.

Decision-making process

  • Full Consensus

Everyone must agree before moving forward.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Conflict resolution approach

Major decisions are based on consensus of all member households. More specialized functions are divided among teams of individual members, each of which makes its own decisions about how to carry out their responsibilities. The teams report back monthly to the group as a whole. There are rules about which types of decisions each team must bring to the membership as a whole for consideration or input, and which must be brought to the entire membership when consensus is necessary.

Economic model

  • Independent Finances

Members maintain separate personal finances with minimal sharing.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • Members need to pay fees, dues, or similar to live there on a per month or per year basis
  • There is a labor obligation
  • Members typically need to have their own job or other personal source of income to cover their expenses while living in the community?

Additional economic information

Regular fees: $800
Labor: Yes (3 hrs/week)
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
Member households are responsible for finding their own financing, including mortgages if needed, and for paying their own bills.
Amount of monthly contribution to the HOA is high, because it covers property tax, repairs of shared items like the elevator, all utilities except electricity, and a set-aside for eventual repair or replacement of items like the roof and the irrigation system.
Monthly business meetings and committee/team work. The time spent on this totals 10-30 hrs/month; it varies by individual and the team(s).
There are monthly HOA dues.

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Common House, Garden(s), Workshop, Large Scale Kitchen, Fire pit, Gym or sports area, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 2-5 times per week

Significant food acquisition practices

  • Locally sourced

Community activities and engagement

  • Neighborhood, Community Housing, or Homeowner's Association

Substance use culture

  • Substance use appears in public spaces but no pressure
  • Substance use is prohibited in the community
  • Religions
  • Christian
  • Jewish
  • Unitarian Universalist

Gender composition

  • Majority cis (over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Mixed adults (few or no children)

Property status

  • Privately owned

Property owner

  • By a Land Trust, Home Owners Association, or corporation

Setting

  • Urban

Within city limits with access to urban amenities and infrastructure.

Community type

  • Cohousing

    Private homes with shared common facilities, designed for neighborly
    interaction while maintaining independence.

Self-produced energy

  • Over 66%

Energy sources used

Self-produced food

  • Up to 33%

Local, organic, or fair trade food

  • Up to 33%

Food systems

  • Community garden
  • Land area size
    1.1 acres

Guest Book

Written reviews are available for plus members. Click here to upgrade.

Location

  • California, United States

Mountain View Cohousing Community

Promoted Needs and Offers

Offer
  • Real Estate For Sale
3 months ago

Home For Sale at Cobb Hill CoHousing in Hartland, VT on 270 Beautiful Rural Acres

Dreaming of more community in your life? Rural and ecological living? There is a home for sale in Cobb Hill Cohousing in Hartland, Vermont, a community of 23 homes on 270 shared acres. This is a well loved and beautifully maintained three-story, passive solar house with triple paned windows, radiant floor heat, rich woodwork and custom touches throughout, and pastoral views. 36 Linden Rd, Hartland, VT 05048 2 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom, 3 floors, 2073 sqft Built in 2001 “This house feels like it was dipped in honey,” according to one neighbor! Be the lucky third owner of this beautiful, lovingly maintained, sunfilled home and dive into life at Cobb Hill. This home enjoys the same general layout (3 floors and many windows) and eco features as the other Cobb Hill homes, like extra thick walls, triple paned windows, passive solar heat, composting toilets, solar hot water, and more. Some highlights of this home include: -Cherry floors, kitchen cabinets, doors, and stairs -Radiant floor heating (basement and main floor) -Cold weather heat pumps/mini splits added in 2021 on each floor (used mainly for summer cooling and dehumidification) -Granite counters and window sills -Three hand-thrown pottery bathroom sinks -Custom-built wood features like the bar in the kitchen and counter in half bath -Natural wool carpeting upstairs -An over-sized primary bedroom with walk-in closet, plus a second closet -Large bay windows on lower and main levels -Custom Bali blinds on (almost) all windows -A more private location with no immediate neighbor to the west -Gorgeous pastoral views in all seasons to the south (see photos!) -Side deck, covered front porch, and attached shed -Mature blueberries, raspberries, flower and other garden space around the house Please explore the Cobb Hill Cohousing website (cobbhill.org) to understand what it means to buy a home and be a part of this vibrant, close-knit, agricultural, and mu
Offer
  • Communities with Openings
2 months ago

Rooms in Beautiful Location in downtown East Austin

Mountain Laurel House has upcoming room openings on August 1 and September 1 to share our house in central East Austin close to downtown. Rent is $925 per month with $75 to cover your share of the utilities and maintenance. You provide your own food. We enjoy sharing a meal at the dining table at least once a month for fun, to check in on our lives, and talk about housekeeping together. To apply, email donnaleehoffman@gmail.com with subject line Room at Mountain Laurel House. Request the brief application questions and we’ll provide more info and answer your questions. Mountain Laurel House is in a great location! It’s on a green cul de sac, with a wooded lot to the southwest and a green open space to the west. It’s close to the East 11th & Rosewood dining and entertainment district and right across from the Carver Library and a bus stop. We’re in walking distance to downtown Austin, the State Capitol, Huston-Tillotson University and a short bike or bus ride to the University of Texas; and, south or east of here, Lady Bird Lake and Boggy Creek hike and bike trails, park lands, swimming pools, pickleball and basketball courts. I kayak on Town Lake aka Lady Bird Lake or swim just across downtown at Deep Eddy or Barton Springs fresh-water, spring-fed swimming pools. We enjoy sharing a meal at the dining table at least once a month for fun, to check in on our lives, and plan housekeeping together. HEB is a short 5 minute drive east on 7th St. and Whole Foods is about a ten minute walk from here on 5th St. Amenities in the house include a dishwasher, utility room with a clothes washer-dryer and an optional clothesline, high-speed internet, a big dining room table for meals or activities, and a large screen TV for movie nights. The yard has beautiful native wildlife habitat gardens, veggie and herb pots, a large Cedar Elm, two Live Oaks, a fruit-bearing Fig, a Champenelle grape vine, and a Chili pequin. The cul de sac is a large park-like
Offer

Information

Communities

A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

Organizations

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).

Plus Community Memberhsip

  • Find people with Profile Match
  • Access to your community listing statistics
  • Create Discussion Groups
  • 50% commission when your members purchase a Plus Membership
  • Access to our affiliate program
  • Member badge on your community profile
I am an official member of this community
Disclaimer
I affirm that my information is accurate and I am authorized to manage this listing
Foundation for Intentional Community FIC Member badge logo.

Free Plan

Free Membership
Free

Intentional Advertising

  • Subtotal

    {{ currencyFormat( pricing_summary.total_amount ) }}

Icon representing community connections and collaboration for intentional communities.

Plus Membership

  • Find communities with Profile Match
  • View detailed reviews about communities
  • Direct message and view contact information
  • Create free listings in Needs & Offers
  • Plus Member resources in CommUniversity
  • Plus Member badge on your profile