​This is perhaps the most challenging part of the Phase 2 development for me – working with the various agencies to understand and meet all of their housing and development regulations, while at the same time trying to keep those regulatory burdens from driving the costs of our Phase 2 homes too high. It's a real test of my patience and persistence, but I'm doing my best to not get frustrated and to keep my eye on the prize: creating community life for 14 new households while making Heartwood more vibrant than ever.

During these tumultuous times for our country, I feel the value of community more than ever. Through community, we can offer the world just a bit more civility, understanding, and connection.

​In our work on septic system plans, we're required to complete a Note 2 analysis if our total discharge for the whole community is greater than 6000 gallons per day (gpd). The analysis is fairly long and expensive (maybe 6 months and $15,000) and intended for large systems so we've been hoping to avoid that requirement.

We have 20 years of good data on our water usage showing that we use only about 2000 gpd, which is very low. We are very water conscious here. Adding 14 Phase 2 homes will probably bring our total usage up to about 3200 gpd, well below the 6000 gpd threshold.

Seems like it should be pretty easy, right?

Unfortunately, in their calculations, the state regulators assume that all homes are at full occupancy, roughly meaning two people in every bedroom, which means they assume that we'd have 209 people living here resulting in daily water usage of 6660 gpd. That's a crazy number given that we've currently got 60 people living here and will probably be at about 100 people with the addition of Phase 2.

We also keep good census data so I calculated the statistical probabilities of full occupancy. I was pretty excited to find that based on historical census data and extrapolating for Phase 2, we have 99.997% confidence that our total population won't exceed 151 people, which equates to 4810 gpd.

Unfortunately it seems that the regulators probably won't be willing to accept statistical analysis and will insist on assuming a population of 209 people. We've tried everything we could think of, but it looks like we're probably going to be required to do the Note 2 analysis. This is frustrating on many levels. The analysis will most likely not impact the design of our septic system one iota while adding six months to the approval process and about $1000 cost to each home.

While this is not a "no" to being able to develop Phase 2, it is definitely an unwelcome setback and a "no" to being able to submit our Preliminary Plat application this summer, which is what we'd been hoping to do.

​Subdivisions of 25 - 99 homes are required to have an emergency access, which is a road that could be used in case our primary access would not be available during an emergency, such as a forest fire, which is our most likely emergency where we live. We currently have a good emergency access road, but it crosses our neighbor's land before connecting with County Road 506.

The neighbors whose land it crosses have become friends of Heartwood over the years and have told me that in an emergency, they would welcome us or emergency vehicles to use their road. Unfortunately they're unwilling to sell us a legal emergency access easement because they're afraid that it might expose them to liability or decrease their property value. Our attorney and I don't believe these fears are well founded, but if they don't want to sell us an easement, there's nothing we can do to compel them to do so.

There could be other neighbors whose land we could cross with an emergency access road who might be willing to sell us an easement, but that could end up costing $100,000 to build the road and obtain the easement. That would represent another significant development cost that wouldn't really add much value given that our primary access road mostly crosses open and relatively flat pastureland so is unlikely to ever be unavailable in an emergency and in addition to that we already have a good emergency access road. According to state statute, emergency vehicles can use whatever road they need in an emergency, regardless of whether there's an emergency access easement on that road.

The county regulations provide that the emergency access requirement can be waived based on a written approval of the fire department, county engineer, and county planning engineer. I had a Zoom meeting with those three men last week to discuss the possibility of such a waiver. The fire department deputy chief seemed willing to give us a waiver given our history of collaborative work with them on fire mitigation (Heartwood is Firewise certified), the existence of an emergency access road, and the quality of our primary access. The county engineer seemed willing to follow the lead of the fire department. Unfortunately, the county planning engineer seemed more inclined to follow the regs more strictly and insist on an emergency access road with an easement. He wants a guarantee that the emergency access road we currently have will never go away and the only way to ensure that is with a legal easement.

So the plan is that I'm going to work with the fire department to come up with additional fire mitigation work that we can commit to in lieu of obtaining an emergency access easement. Maybe then the county planning engineer will agree to the waiver. Wish us luck!

​In the spring of 2019 during our county planning feasibility evaluation process, the fire department completed an agency input form stating that our 30,000 gallons is adequate for both Phase 1 and 2. Unfortunately, this spring they informed us that they had not considered the requirements of the 2015 International Fire Code (IFC), which the county adopted in 2010.

Working with our site planning engineer, we were able to determine that the IFC would require 60,000 gallons of water storage for Phase 1 and 2. Ouch.

The good news is that we also figured out that if we install sprinkler systems in the Phase 2 homes, the total water storage capacity requirement would only be 29,350 gallons, just under the 30,000 gallons of water storage we already have.

In my previous meetings with the fire department, they were fairly enthused about sprinkler systems, even though sprinkler systems don't really help in a forest fire. They said that sprinkler systems have come down in price and now cost about $1.50 per square foot, or about $3000 for a 2000 sf home. Also, a sprinkler system should reduce home insurance costs. So it seems that adding sprinkler systems to Phase 2 homes not only meets a regulatory requirement, it also adds real value to the homes by making them safer and lowering insurance costs.

I'm pretty sure that we're all set on the water storage issue and we can check that box. Making some progress sure feels good!

​With the big setback in our septic system planning it looks like our Preliminary Plat approval will be delayed for at least six months making construction in 2021 unlikely. Building homes in 2022 now seems more likely. That's a real disappointment, but we've been working on developing Heartwood for more than 25 years so adding another year is not the end of the world. We will just keep moving doggedly forward working to create an amazing addition to Heartwood and 14 beautiful and reasonably priced homes for 14 new community households.

Something very positive that's been happening lately is the enthusiasm and engagement of the Phase 2 Associate Members. We've been holding monthly Zoom gatherings so they can get to know Heartwood, each other, and the Phase 1 members. The last Zoom gathering was a virtual tour of Heartwood's many gardens, greenhouses, irrigated pastures, and farm animals. Through these gatherings, our Associate Member group is becoming more closely connected even though they live all across the United States.

There also seems to be a lot more interest in Heartwood from the general public. We've been getting lots of inquiries and people wanting to visit. Perhaps because of the pandemic more people are seeing the value in living in supportive communities and also the attraction of a virtual job in a gorgeous rural location. Whatever the reason, this is good for cohousing, good for Heartwood, and good for Phase 2.

Since the last Phase 2 Update newsletter, we've added two new Associate Member households. A huge welcome to Renée Rivard and Mark & Lauren Gilbert and their one year old daughter!

If you're interested in a greater sense of peace and belonging in your life and a healthier lifestyle fostered by living in community and close to Nature, we invite you to get involved. In July we will again be opening up our common house guest rooms. To get details on our reopening plans, click here to go to our Plan a Visit webpage or click here to send an email to Sandy. She can help you reserve one of our common house guest rooms.

If you've been on the fence about becoming an Associate Member, don't despair about the fact that we already have 16 Associate Member households. Once Full Equity Membership opens up and the $12,000 non-refundable deposit is required, there will undoubtedly be some turnover. If you are seriously interested and would like to get involved with Heartwood and our Associate Members group, including participating in our monthly Zoom gatherings, we'd strongly encourage you to get in the Phase 2 queue by becoming an Associate Member. Click here for info on becoming an Associate Member.

As always, if you have any questions, simply reply to this email. We're happy to answer any and all questions. We've posted answers to frequently asked questions on the Phase 2 page on our website and also the FAQ page.

In just three weeks, Heartwood will be hosting our first gathering of Phase 2 Associate Members. This is a huge and exciting step as we move closer to making Phase 2 a reality.

On the county approval front, recent progress has unfortunately been slow. We've mostly been working on septic system plans, an emergency access easement, and fire mitigation requirements. All of these need to be figured out before we can apply for our Preliminary Plat approval, which is our next big step in the overall county approval process. These are challenging obstacles, but we will persevere. We had many equally challenging obstacles during our Phase 1 approval process and we were able to work through them.

On a more positive note, our group of Phase 2 Associate Members (P2AM's) is growing in number and growing in enthusiasm. Recently we've had   a couple of new households become P2AM's and many P2AM's visit Heartwood. A big welcome to Mary Ellen & Paul Garrett and David & Lalanya Bingham and their 2 children (ages 6 & 1), our newest Associate Members!

In February I gave a presentation during the Cohousing Association of the US online affordability conference on reducing construction costs by offering smart and economical design choices. Coho/US is doing a great job of hosting online events and webcasts to share information about cohousing.

At the end of February Heartwood held its annual retreat. I can't tell you how grateful I am that many years ago we had the foresight to start that tradition. Although shared community meals, casual social interactions of all kinds, work parties, our annual Canyonlands campout, and many other points of connection bring us together throughout the year, for me, nothing seems to bring us closer than our annual retreat.

The retreat combines reflection, authentic personal sharing, humor, renewal of our shared community vision, and breaking bread together to bring us into a place of expanded commitment and connection. We are here together at Heartwood because we recognize that we each need community and connection in our lives to thrive. The world needs community and connection to thrive. At our annual retreat, we reconnect with that shared vision.

The next big thing on the horizon is our very first gathering of the Phase 2 Associate Members over the weekend of April 3 to 5. We've got nine households so far planning to attend plus current Heartwood members.

We've been busy working on plans for the weekend. We'll be sharing information and gathering input on development and design plans. It will be a combination of discussions and feet-on-the-ground reviews of Heartwood homes, other community amenities, and possible Phase 2 building sites.We will be learning, connecting, and having fun together.

If you've been sitting on the fence about becoming a Phase 2 Associate Member and this gathering sounds interesting to you, this might be a good time to join. Only P2AM's and current Heartwood members are invited to the gathering. Associate Members will be able to provide design and planning input (as they've already been doing on our Phase 2 email chat). Click here for info on becoming an Associate Member.

Besides the big gathering, we will continue working on our county approvals and attracting members.

If you're interested in a greater sense of peace and belonging in your life and a healthier lifestyle fostered by living in community and close to Nature, we invite you to get involved. If you'd like to come for a visit, click here to check out our Plan a Visit webpage or click here to send an email to Sandy. She can help you reserve one of our common house guest rooms.

If you've been undecided about becoming an Associate Member, don't despair about the fact that we already have 15 Associate Member households. Once Full Equity Membership opens up and the $12,000 non-refundable deposit is required, there will undoubtedly be some turnover. If you are seriously interested, we'd strongly encourage you to get in the Phase 2 queue by becoming an Associate Member. Chances are there will be room for you. Click here for info on becoming an Associate Member.

As always, if you have any questions, simply reply to this email and let us know. We're happy to answer any and all questions. We've posted answers to frequently asked questions on the Phase 2 page on our website.

​Have a great weekend and Thanksgiving everyone! Lots of gratitude. Lots of love.

The really big news is that last night we went before the County Planning Commission seeking approval for a Land Use Map Amendment which would make Phase 2 possible. We passed with flying colors! That was the the first big hurdle with County approval. We have two more to go – Conceptual Development Plan (CDP) and Preliminary Plat.

Our hearing before the Planning Commission to consider our CDP application is scheduled for November 21. Everything is looking good so far. May it go as smoothly as last night.

The Phase 2 Associate Members' chat group has been lively. Folks have been introducing themselves and we've begun sharing our hopes and dreams about what kind of homes we'd like to build. Our work together to shape our new community expansion has begun.

Besides saving your spot in Phase 2 and your place in the lot and carport selection queue, getting to participate in shaping our Phase 2 planning and design is one of the key benefits of becoming a Phase 2 Associate Member. Click here for info on becoming an Associate Member.

Speaking of which, we are now up to 20 P2 Associate Members. Welcome aboard May and Joyce!

There are a thousand details involved in a real estate development of this magnitude and many of them are rather mundane, although completely necessary. Some recent progress:

• The community revised our covenants paving the way for our new vision of Phase 2 – fourteen homes clustered near our existing Phase 1 cluster.
• We submitted our application to expand our water well permits to allow for Phase 2 expansion plus possible future farm housing.

It's not all about work here. This past weekend we had a great time together at our 24th annual Canyonlands campout. We even did a 204 mile hike on Saturday. Well, actually, 15 of us did a 13.6 mile hike for a total of 204 miles through some of the most jaw dropping scenery on the planet. And since this is the Four Corners region, we had lovely, sunny skies the whole weekend.

​The kids are headed back to school and summer is almost over. How did that happen already? Summer is a very busy time at Heartwood with crops growing in the pasture, wildflowers in the mountains, hiking, mountain biking, new baby farm animals, rafting, backpacking, and evenings on front porches. Despite all of that, we've been making steady progress on making Phase 2 a reality.

​In the last Phase 2 Update newsletter, I mentioned that we were considering selling off some of our pastureland in order to reduce our pasture stewardship burden. In preparation for submitting our map amendment application with the County we devoted a couple of Community Meetings to deciding whether we did in fact want to sell off some pastureland. After a thorough discussion, we ended up deciding not to sell any pastureland for the time being. That means that Phase 2 will only entail the addition of 14 new households into the community in a cluster near our existing cluster. There won't be any homes in the pasture – at least for now. We'll still have the option in the future to pursue selling off some pastureland.

To me this decision is a great example of our collaborative consensus process in action. We started the discussion with the majority of people favoring selling off pastureland, but through engaged conversation, deep listening, and everyone pursuing a decision that would be in the best interest of the whole community, we gracefully changed course and decided to keep all of our pastureland.

There were three main reasons for the change in thinking: 1) with Phase 2 we will have more community members to help with the pastures and we will also have the possibility of housing for farm workers so stewardship should be easier; 2) developing pasture lots would have made the overall Phase 2 development more complicated and therefore maybe more risky; 3) once the pastureland is sold, it's gone forever (scary to part with land we love). We decided to see how the big changes brought by Phase 2 play out and then decide what to do with our pastureland.

This is all good news for you if you're interested in Phase 2. We had thought that Phase 2 might only include 10 new homes within the Heartwood community, but we will have 14 instead, which means that we can accommodate four more households and we'll be creating more community in the world. 

The decision gave us the information we needed to submit our map amendment application with County. The County's current Bayfield District map would only allow 12 new Phase 2 households and no farm housing. Amending the map will allow us to create 14 new Phase 2 households, possibly two or three farm houses, and possibly pasture lots sometime in the future.  

(Note that farm housing is not to be confused with pasture lots. Farm housing is for farm workers to help us achieve our organic farming dreams. Pasture lots would be sold outside of the community to raise money and divest ourselves of pastureland. We still plan to pursue farm housing, but not pasture lots.)

Submitting the map amendment application was a big hurdle. Our hearing before the County Planning Commission to determine whether the map will be amended happens in October. Wish us luck!

Along with County approvals, the other big Phase 2 work right now is recruiting members to be part of Phase 2. We opened Associate Membership in May and the response has been very strong. We currently have 16 Associate Member households (see attached list).

You might be wondering why recruiting members is a priority if we have 16 Associate Member households for only 14 spots. The answer is that because Associate Membership only requires a fully refundable deposit of $1000, it would be naive to consider all of those eggs as hatched. Once Full Equity Membership is open, which requires a nonrefundable deposit of $12,000 (much bigger commitment), we'll have a much better idea of how many of those 14 spots we have filled.

The only way that Phase 2 will happen is if we attract enough members. Please spread the word about Heartwood to friends, family, or anyone you think might want to explore life in community. This is a team effort and word of mouth has always been our best way to find new members. A great way to share information about Heartwood is through social media. Click on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram links at the bottom of this email.

Since the last update I also attended the National Cohousing Conference in Portland, Oregon. That was a great experience connecting with other people passionate about creating more community in the world and learning lessons from each other on just how to make that happen.

We will continue to focus primarily on County approval and marketing. We are currently working on our Conceptual Development Plan (CDP) application submittal. Once the map amendment is approved, CDP approval is the next big hurdle with the County. We plan to work on both those concurrently. Our goal is to have both completed by yearend, which will put us in a position to open Full Equity Membership in early 2020.

I've had several people reply to these updates with questions. That's fantastic. I try to cover what I think is important, but obviously I can only share so much and often leave questions unanswered.  Based on some of the questions I've received, I've created a Frequently Asked Questions section on the Phase 2 page on our website. If you have any questions, please check out that page and if you don't find your answer there, reply to this email and let me know. I'm happy to answer any and all questions.

​The Phase 2 train is picking up steam. If you're interested in having more community in your life and living close to Nature, we invite you to get involved.

Anytime of the year is gorgeous at Heartwood, but late summer and fall are many people's favorite. The wildflowers in the high country give way to fall colors. If you'd like to come for a visit, click here to check out our Plan a Visit webpage or click here to send an email to Sandy who can help you reserve one of our common house guest rooms.

To better support our Associate Members, we will be creating an Associate Member email discussion group. If you're an Associate Member, look for an email with info on that within the next few weeks. 

Another big event in our future is our annual fall community campout to Canyonlands National Park. This year's campout is happening from October 17 - 20. One of the great things about living in Southwest Colorado is our proximity to the vast red rock canyon country of Southeast Utah. It is truly one of the natural wonders of the world. If you would like to join the campout to get to know Heartwood community members and have fun hiking and relaxing in the desert, please let me know and I'll reserve your spot. We share the camping fees, which usually work out to be about $12 per person for the weekend. (See photos below.)

If you've been sitting on the fence about becoming an Associate Member, don't despair about the fact that we already have 16 Associate Member households. Once Full Equity Membership opens up and the $12,000 non-refundable deposit is required, there will certainly be some turnover. If you are seriously interested, I'd strongly encourage you to get in the Phase 2 queue by becoming an Associate Member. Chances are there will be room for you. Click here for info on becoming an Associate Member.

This past Wednesday I sent out a newsletter rolling out Associate Membership. We have had a very strong response and now have nine Associate Member households and counting. This is great news. Obtaining County approvals and recruiting enough members are the two big hurdles we must overcome to make Phase 2 a reality. Having nine Associate Members at this stage in the process is very encouraging.

In case you missed that newsletter, here are the details of Heartwood Phase 2 membership.

Membership in Phase 2 will basically happen in two stages:

1. Associate Member - $1000 fully refundable deposit saves you a spot in Phase 2, the lot selection queue, and the carport selection queue
2. Full Member - $12,000 non-refundable deposit holds your spot in Phase 2, the lot selection queue, and the carport selection queue. Because Full membership involves a large non-refundable deposit, I won't be asking you to make that commitment until more Phase 2 details are nailed down, including County approval of our Conceptual Development Plan and a firm estimate of lot and home costs (probably around yearend). Once Full Membership is available, Associate Membership will go away. Associate Members at that time will need to make the non-refundable deposit or lose their place in the queue.

The benefits to you of becoming an Associate Member...

• Provides you with a no-risk way to save your spot in Phase 2. Associate Member deposits are fully refundable at any time for any reason. If you change your mind and decide you don't want to be an Associate Member, I will promptly refund your entire $1000 deposit. Saving your spot in the queue is important because if there are 15 households that want to buy a Phase 2 lot, but only 10 lots are developed, the first 10 in the queue will get to buy them.
• Saves your place in the lot selection queue. The lot selection queue determines the order in which members will choose their lots. Not all lots are created equal. Lots will be priced based on size, amenities, location, etc. so getting to pick your lot sooner means more choice about price, size, amenities, location, etc. The sooner you sign up, the earlier in the selection process you'll get to choose your lot.
• Saves your place in the carport selection queue. This is the same as the lot selection queue, but it pertains to selecting carports instead of lots. Members signing up earlier get to choose first.
• You'll be invited to participate in onsite Associate Member workshops and provide input into various aspects of the Phase 2 design.

The benefits to us of having Associate Members...

• Gives us a clear idea of who is seriously interested in pursuing Phase 2 Membership. Before moving forward with expensive development work, we need to know that there is strong interest.
• People seriously interested in Phase 2 providing us with design input is a valuable resource and helps ensure that Phase 2 will be built in a way that best meets the needs of its future residents.

If you are seriously interested in being part of Phase 2, but are concerned that with nine Associate Members already in line there might not be a spot for you, don't be discouraged. Once Full Membership opens up and the $12,000 non-refundable deposit is required, there will certainly be some turnover. If you are seriously interested, I'd strongly encourage you to get in the Phase 2 queue by becoming an Associate Member. Chances are there will be room for you.


To become an Associate Member...

1. Respond to this email letting me know you have decided to become an Associate Member.
2. Mail a check for $1000 or make arrangements with me for some other form of payment. Checks should be made out to Tara Development and mailed to Mac Thomson, 800 Heartwood Lane, Unit 16, Bayfield, CO, 81122. The order in which payment is received determines the order in the queue.

I realize that this is a big step forward and I want you to have all of your questions answered. If you have any questions that are making you uncertain about becoming a Phase 2 Associate Member, please don't hesitate to reply to this email with your question or give me a call at nine-seven-zero-903-9751.

As I mentioned in the last Phase 2 Update newsletter, my work is now focused on obtaining County approval and building membership. Good progress has been made in both those areas, but I'm going to wait until the next newsletter to provide that update. I'm going to devote this entire newsletter to rolling out Associate Membership.

Membership in Phase 2 will basically happen in two stages:

1. Associate Member - $1000 fully refundable deposit saves you a spot in Phase 2, the lot selection queue, and the carport selection queue
2. Full Member - $12,000 non-refundable deposit holds your a spot in Phase 2, the lot selection queue, and the carport selection queue. Because Full Membership involves a large non-refundable deposit, I won't be asking you to make that commitment until more Phase 2 details are nailed down, including County approval of our Conceptual Development Plan and a firm estimate of lot and home costs (probably around yearend). Once Full Membership is available, Associate Membership will go away. Associate Members at that time will need to make the non-refundable deposit or lose their place in the queue.

The benefits to you of becoming an Associate Member...

• Provides you with a no-risk way to save your spot in Phase 2. Associate Member deposits are fully refundable at any time for any reason. If you change your mind and decide you don't want to be an Associate Member, I will promptly refund your entire $1000 deposit. Saving your spot in the queue is important because if there are 15 households that want to buy a Phase 2 lot, but only 10 lots are developed, the first 10 in the queue will get to buy them.
• Saves your place in the lot selection queue. The lot selection queue determines the order in which members will choose their lots. Not all lots are created equal. Lots will be priced based on size, amenities, location, etc. so getting to pick your lot sooner means more choice about price, size, amenities, location, etc. The sooner you sign up, the earlier in the selection process you'll get to choose your lot.
• Saves your place in the carport selection queue. This is the same as the lot selection queue, but it pertains to selecting carports instead of lots. Members signing up earlier get to choose first.
• You'll be invited to participate in onsite Associate Member workshops and provide input into various aspects of the Phase 2 design.

The benefits to us of having Associate Members...

• Gives us a clear idea of who is seriously interested in pursuing Phase 2 Membership. Before moving forward with expensive development work, we need to know that there is strong interest.
• People seriously interested in Phase 2 providing us with design input is a valuable resource and helps ensure that Phase 2 will be built in a way that best meets the needs of its future residents.

Back in 2009 we attempted to develop Phase 2, but were unable to because the highway department (CDOT) would not issue us an access permit until our highway intersection was upgraded. That upgrade has now been completed and we have our CDOT access permit. We still have a couple of Associate Members from 2009 who chose to hold onto their spots in the queue. Additionally, two Phase 1 households have signed up for Associate Membership, which means that we currently have four Phase 2 Associate Members. 


To become an Associate Member...

1. Respond to this email letting me know you have decided to become an Associate Member.
2. Mail a check for $1000 or make arrangements with me for some other form of payment. Checks should be made out to Tara Development and mailed to Mac Thomson, 800 Heartwood Lane, Unit 16, Bayfield, CO, 81122. The order in which payment is received determines the order in the queue.

I realize that this is a big step forward and I want you to have all of your questions answered. If you have any questions that are making you uncertain about becoming a Phase 2 Associate Member, please don't hesitate to reply to this email with your question or give me a call at nine-seven-zero-903-9751.