Cohousing Directory - Community View
Clearwater Commons is an intergenerational residential community, ranging from small children to grandparents. Members share an intention of living a lifestyle that sustains a balance between individual and community needs and the natural ecosystem.
Clearwater Commons began forming in June 2006 when a group of families purchased a 7.4 acre site on North Creek, 11 miles north of Seattle, WA city limits. The site includes wetlands, wooded spaces and salmon stream. We plan to break ground on the site development for 16 residences plus a common house in the spring of 2008. We have a mix of three-bedroom townhomes and single family homes. We have eight families who are members, and eight homes to sell.
The physical design of the community represents our underlying values of community and low-impact development. Pedestrian walkways, community gardens, benches, shared tool sheds, and play spaces reflect our desire to interact with neighbors through the natural course of our days. Our shared common house allows individual dwellings to occupy a smaller footprint and minimize our impact on the earth.
The inspiration for this community grew from founding members' involvement in The Clearwater School, located across the street. Our shared experience with the school encourages us to allow the structures for community meetings, gatherings, and events to evolve through our daily interactions, rather than follow a preset or mandated framework.
We take on a responsibility to act as stewards of our land--restoring and enhancing the natural environment including the stream, wetlands, habitat and wildlife. We value relationships between individuals, families, and our environment, and promote a lifestyle that will promote and sustain these relationships. We trust each family to make decisions that are aligned with our intent of sustainability and that balance individual autonomy and community needs. We expect the specific commitments of our community will change over time and we wish to avoid hard and fast rules. We value communication and discussion and take the time needed to voice, discuss, and understand diverse perspectives in order to reach informed and conscious decisions.
Status: Site permit pending; designing residences and common house. Eight homes available.
