All life depends on water. Living here where the Desert Southwest meets the Rocky Mountains means that we tend to value water even more.

Because we rely on our own water wells to supply all of our potable water needs, making sure that our water wells will be able meet the additional demand that will be placed on them with the addition of the 14 Phase 2 homes is vitally important to us.

As Ben Franklin famously said, "When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water."

We recently hired a hydrogeologic engineering firm to study the capacity of our best water well (#5). The study involved drilling a monitoring well a couple hundred feet from well #5, pumping well #5 at a much higher rate than our normal production for 24 hours, collecting data for the drawdown of the water level in well #5 and the monitoring well, and then analyzing the data.

Our current water usage for our 24 Phase 1 homes averages about 2,000 gallons per day (gpd). With the addition of Phase 2, extrapolating out to 38 homes, we anticipate using about 3,200 gpd. To obtain county approval, we need to prove that our wells can produce about 14,000 gpd. (The reason for the huge discrepancy between the amount of water that we anticipate using and the amount that we're required to prove is that the government numbers are based on mainstream usage rates while we, living in the arid Southwest, tend to be very frugal in our water usage.) The actual production of well #5 during the 24 hour pump test exceeded 17,000 gallons, over five times the amount of water we anticipate using and easily topping the amount we are required to prove.

To save money on testing, we didn’t test all of our water wells, only our best one. Adding those other wells only gives us even more water production.

This is absolutely great news. While there is no guarantee that our wells will continue to produce at current rates forever, these test results give us considerable water security assurance.

As additional water security, we have a water safety net in the form of a newly developed water pipeline running not far from our land that we could one day hook up to in the event that our wells run dry. Thus far, we haven't chosen that option because our wells are strong and it is far more economical to produce our own water than to hook up to the pipeline and buy water.

​Besides the hydrogeologic study, we have been busy on other work to prepare our Preliminary Plat application. Some of the other notable recent accomplishments include finalizing our Phase 2 site plan (includes lots, pathways, parking, greenhouse, etc.), working out emergency access details of our Phase 2 pathways and a secondary road with the fire department, and completing soils testing and receiving our geotech report.

If you've been following our progress, you know that county approval and marketing have been our big focus areas. While our march towards county approval has been frustratingly slow, attracting 14 new community homebuyers has gone much better. We currently have 13 of our 14 spots in Phase 2 spoken for.

A huge part of Phase 2 is to gracefully integrate our 14 new households with our existing 24 households to become a unified community of 38 households. To that end, we recently held our first ever, in-person community gathering of Phase 1 and Phase 2 – Heartwood SummerFest. I won't say too much about SummerFest here because Nisargo will be writing a Heartwood Happenings newsletter all about the weekend, but suffice it to say that it was a time of wonderful connection and fun. I came away feeling very excited about each and every one of the new Phase 2 households that will be joining the Heartwood community.

​Our primary work continues to be the work needed to submit our Preliminary Plat application. The application, which we hope to submit in the first week of August, will include details of our site plan and infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, parking, drainage, etc.). Our plan is to complete all of our design work and obtain all of our approvals this year so we're ready to break ground in spring of 2023.

With a spot open in Phase 2, we will continue to put energy into marketing, but with the extremely strong interest in Heartwood, it seems likely that that spot will be taken soon.

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. There are currently no homes for sale or rent in Phase 1, but we do have one spot available in Phase 2. To learn more, go to our About Phase 2 webpage.

Summer and fall are great times to visit Heartwood. 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.

With the very limited opportunities to buy or rent a home at Heartwood, staying subscribed to these newsletters is your best way to learn about available homes. When home sale, rental, or housesitting opportunities come up, we will announce them here in our newsletter.

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

“If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.”
— Loren Eiseley

“A man of wisdom delights in water.”
– Confucius

“Water is the driving force of all nature.”
– Leonardo da Vinci

One that reminded me of our county approval process...
“A river cuts through rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”
– Jim Watkins

And one I found especially apropos of community...
“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”
 ― Ryunosuke Satoro

Sadly, but not entirely surprisingly, one of our committed Phase 2 households has decided not to move to Heartwood after all. Their daughter's family (including the most adorable granddaughter you'd ever care to meet) recently moved in next door to them and they now cannot bear the idea of moving away.

When I say “not entirely surprisingly”, it has nothing to do with them. It speaks to the general reality of creating a cohousing community, which is that many wonderful people get involved, but inevitably life happens and some of them will choose a different path. It’s one of the bittersweet aspects of creating a community.

So while we are saddened by the loss of those wonderful people, it creates an opportunity to bring other wonderful people to Heartwood. If you have been disappointed because Phase 2 filled up last fall, this could be your opportunity.

Additionally, with recent trends showing that the spread of the coronavirus is declining, we have decided to reopen our common house guest rooms to visitors starting in April.

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. You might want to check out these webpages:

• Heartwood Cohousing Homepage
• ​About Phase 2
• Plan a Visit

Our primary work in the coming months will be to submit our Preliminary Plat application. The application will include details of our site plan and infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, parking, drainage, etc.) – lots of decisions to be made and work to be done. Our plan is to complete all of our design work and obtain all of our approvals this year so we're ready to break ground in early 2023.

​Now that we have a spot open in Phase 2, we will put more energy into marketing, but with the extremely strong interest in Heartwood, it seems likely that that spot will be taken soon.

With our guest rooms soon to reopen and spring arriving, this is a great time to visit Heartwood. We are also resuming our 4th Friday Happy Hours on April 22. So if you happen to be in the area, come by and say hello.

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. There are currently no homes for sale or rent in Phase 1, but we do have one spot available in Phase 2. To learn more, go to our About Phase 2 webpage.

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.

With the very limited opportunities to buy or rent a home at Heartwood, staying subscribed to these newsletters is your best way to learn about available homes. When home sale, rental, or housesitting opportunities come up, we will announce them here in our newsletter.

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

The really big news is that this past Thursday the La Plata County Planning Commission granted us Sketch Plan Approval for Phase 2. Our biggest approval hurdle is still ahead, but this was a very significant milestone, one that we've been working on for a couple years now.

Something else that's new and might be of interest to you...
We've now added photos and brief introductions to our 14 Phase 2 committed homebuyers on our Meet our Members webpage. When an amazing group of future neighbors! Check it out.

​That really big approval hurdle I mentioned above is our Preliminary Plat approval. Our primary work in the coming months will be to submit our Preliminary Plat application. The application will include details of our site plan and infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, parking, drainage, etc.) – lots of decisions to be made and work to be done. Our plan is to complete all of our design work and obtain all of our approvals this year so we're ready to break ground in early 2023.

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. There are currently no homes for sale or rent in Phase 1 and no spots left in Phase 2, but the Phase 2 Waiting List is now open. To learn more, go to our About Phase 2 webpage.

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.

With the very limited opportunities to buy or rent a home at Heartwood, staying subscribed to these newsletters is your best way to learn about available homes. When home sale, rental, or housesitting opportunities come up, we will announce them here in our newsletter.

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

Absolutely huge news – we now have committed homebuyers for all 14 Phase 2 homes. That has huge positive impacts on the development of Phase 2. When we design our homes, we will be designing them for 14 specific households and not guessing what future residents may want. Banks are likely to give us much more favorable terms on our construction loan because we are 100% pre-sold. The integration of Phase 1 and Phase 2 will continue with all of the members now onboard.

We're very excited about our 14th P2 household, Felice and Chris Pierce – yet another amazing P2 household. Welcome Felice and Chris! Their daughter Margaret's family is also very interested in possibly living at Heartwood. More and more young families have been moving into Heartwood, which is a very positive trend because of the strong value we place on being a multigenerational community.

With all 14 Phase 2 spots now taken, we have opened our Phase 2 Waiting List. We've got a ton of work to do before we actually build Phase 2 homes so there's a fair chance that a committed Phase 2 homebuyer's plans may change and a Phase 2 spot will open up. Check out our About Phase 2 webpage to learn about getting on the Phase 2 Waiting List.

We are currently working on a new plan for our emergency access. The three neighbors to our west have agreed to grant us emergency access easements, which is excellent news. Our next big county approval step is obtaining Sketch Plan approval. Unfortunately the County Planning Department has lost a number of key employees so they are short-staffed, which means that our project is moving very slowly. We're hoping that we can receive Sketch Plan approval in December, but there's a fair chance that it won't happen until January.

With all of the 14 P2 Homebuyers now onboard, in anticipation of their working on home designs (after Preliminary Plat approval) and living in community, we have begun Communications and Consensus Training during our monthly P2 Zoom Gatherings. Our mainstream culture doesn't do a great job of preparing us for cooperative communications and decision making so we've found over the years that it's incredibly valuable to provide that training. Not only is it a fun way of getting to know each other, it also provides skills that spill over into all parts of life, not just here in the neighborhood. Cohousing truly has ripple effects.

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. There are currently no homes for sale or rent in Phase 1 and no spots left in Phase 2, but the Phase 2 Waiting List is now open. To learn more, go to our About Phase 2 webpage.

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.

With the very limited opportunities to buy or rent a home at Heartwood, staying subscribed to these newsletters is your best way to learn about available homes. When home sale, rental, or housesitting opportunities come up, this will be the place where they are announced.

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

The really big news is that we now have committed homebuyers for 13 of the 14 Phase 2 homes. In August we opened Phase 2 Homebuyers Commitment, which meant it was time for Phase 2 Associate Members to decide whether or not to commit to buying a home in Phase 2. Either commit to buying a home in Phase 2 and make a $12,000 nonrefundable deposit or give up their place in line for Phase 2.

Not only do we have 13 of the 14 Phase 2 homes spoken for, the 13 households are made up of some really incredible people. I'm not sure what it is about cohousing, but it seems to attract incredible people. Our 13 new households include nature lovers, engineers, world travelers, teachers, dancers, priests, singers, computer programmers, hikers, bread makers, beer and kombucha brewers, skiers, parents, soon-to-be parents, animal lovers, professors, buddhists, bookkeepers, musicians, lots of gardeners, lifelong learners, home schoolers, foodies, cooks, potters, Dead Heads, chemists, runners, teenagers, backpackers, disc golfers, facilitators, adventurers, food scientists, mountain bikers, avid readers, campers, social workers, Unitarian Universalists, kayakers, artists, many volunteers, and most of all, people who deeply value connection and community.

If you might be interested in the last spot in Phase 2, now is the time to act. That spot will probably not last too long. Check out our About Phase 2 webpage for details.

​This section of the newsletter is called 'Recent Progress', but the news we received last month from the fire department qualifies more as a recent setback. A year ago we had worked out a comprehensive fire mitigation plan with the fire department in lieu of being able to obtain an easement for our secondary access road (our neighbor was unwilling to sell us an easement). In September of 2020, the fire department sent an email to the County Planning Department detailing our fire mitigation plan and their support of the waiver. With the grant money we received, we've done extensive work on that fire mitigation plan. But then, this August, for reasons not clear to us, the fire department withdrew their support of the waiver and we are back to square one in trying to secure a secondary access with the necessary easements from neighbors. There are still many details to work out, but we are confident that we will get it figured out one way or another.

​As discussed above, our top priority right now is coming up with a new plan for our emergency access. After that, we will work with the County to obtain our Sketch Plan and Preliminary Plat approvals. We also have that last committed homebuyer spot to fill, but with the strong interest in Heartwood, we expect that to happen relatively easily.

Because we are working through regulatory requirements, nailing down a timeline is difficult. Here is our current very rough, best estimate of the development timeline for Phase 2.

• Oct 2021: get Sketch Plan approval
• Dec 2021: submit Preliminary Plat application, which includes site design and all infrastructure details
• Feb 2022: get Preliminary Plat approval
• Feb 2022 - May 2022: design homes, get construction financing, etc.
• Jun 2022 - Mar 2023: build homes and move in (the first homes would be completed in Nov 2022)

This is probably an ambitious timeline, but we’d rather set ambitious goals and hit them a bit late than set more relaxed goals and hit them a bit late.

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. There are currently no homes for sale or rent in Phase 1 and only one spot left in Phase 2 so you're encouraged to act quickly if you may be interested in that last Phase 2 opening. To learn more, go to our About Phase 2 webpage.

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.

With the very limited opportunities to buy or rent a home at Heartwood, staying subscribed to these newsletters is your best way to learn about available homes. When home sale, rental, or housesitting opportunities come up, this will be the place where they are announced.

As always, if you have any questions, simply reply to this email. We're happy to answer any and all inquiries. We've posted answers to frequently asked questions on the Phase 2 FAQ page and also the general FAQ page. You might also be interested in our Vital Information for Phase 2 Homebuyers webpage.

August 31 is our deadline for Phase 2 Associate Members to commit to becoming a Phase 2 Homebuyers and earn a $10,000 Early Bird Discount on their home purchase.

If you have been seriously considering living a more peaceful lifestyle, closely connected to nature, and in close community connection with your neighbors, it's not too late, but you need to act quickly to secure the $10,000 Early Bird Discount. Your first step is to become a Phase 2 Associate Member. That holds your spot in the queue. We will only be building 14 homes in Phase 2 so the top 14 in the queue who commit to becoming Phase 2 Homebuyers by August 31 are in.

To learn about becoming a Phase 2 Associate Member, go to our Phase 2 Associate Membership webpage.

Additional useful links for you to explore the possibility of Phase 2...

• Vital Information for Phase 2 Homebuyers
• Frequently Asked Questions about Phase 2
• Archive of Phase 2 Update Newsletters

On August 4, Phase 2 Associate Members were invited to decide whether they want to commit to becoming Phase 2 Homebuyers. There are 40 Phase 2 Associate Member households, but only 14 spots in Phase 2. This is a momentous time.

Who will be the lucky 14 to secure a spot in Heartwood's Phase 2?
Will we fill all 14 spots given the current high construction costs?

If you are seriously considering living a more peaceful lifestyle, closely connected to nature, and in close community connection with your neighbors, now is the time to act. Your first step is to become a Phase 2 Associate Member. That holds your spot in the queue. The top 14 in the queue who commit to becoming Phase 2 Homebuyers by August 31 are in.

To learn about becoming a Phase 2 Associate Member, go to our Phase 2 Associate Membership webpage.

Additional useful links for you to explore the possibility of Phase 2...

• Vital Information for Phase 2 Homebuyers
• Frequently Asked Questions about Phase 2
• Archive of Phase 2 Update Newsletters

​With so many of us now vaccinated and the return of warm weather, we've been able to ease our Covid restrictions. We have continued to hold weekly outdoor Happy Hour Potlucks throughout the pandemic, thanks to heat lamps and bonfires, but we've also now been able to add weekly common meals. Many of our teams are returning to meeting in person, usually outdoors.

We've been welcoming friends and families as well as Phase 2 Associate Members for overnight stays in our guest rooms, although we're generally only booking one of our two guest rooms at a time.

The timing seems perfect. Spring is the time for new beginnings and rejuvenation. We've been very fortunate to have been here together throughout the pandemic because, for the most part, we've been able to get together in limited ways for outdoor gatherings, walks on our trails, and via Zoom, but now it really feels like we're moving ever closer to normal community life together.

​Like so many places in the Rocky Mountain West, Heartwood continues to attract a lot of interest from people wanting to move away from the city and bring more nature and community into their lives. We now have 40 Phase 2 Associate Members (P2AM's), which is a lot considering that we will only have 14 homes available, but with so many uncertainties still ahead and the cost of construction at all time highs, there will inevitably be lots of those folks who decide not to become committed Phase 2 homebuyers. Not only do we have a lot of P2AM's, because of our monthly P2AM Zoom Gatherings, our biweekly P2AM Zoom Happy Hours, and the many P2AM's coming for visits, it's obvious that we also have exceptionally wonderful people showing up. Like our current community members, the P2AM's yearn for community in their lives, value a strong connection with Nature, and generally possess tremendous vitality. Overall, we couldn't be more pleased with the people being attracted to Phase 2. Attracting the right quantity and quality of people to any new cohousing development is absolutely essential and we're thriving in that area.

We've been working diligently with the County and various regulatory agencies and are making slow, but steady progress. We recently submitted our Sketch Plan application. The Sketch Plan approval is a new step that was added by the County during a recent land use code revision to streamline the process. Go figure. We hope to receive our Sketch Plan approval in June. We are also still waiting on the County to decide on the fire department's recommendation about an emergency access waiver and fire mitigation plan. Hopefully that will be coming soon.

Maybe the most exciting news we've gotten so far this year is that we were recently awarded a $200,000 grant for fire mitigation. Here in southwest Colorado, we don't have to worry about earthquakes, tornados, floods, or hurricanes, but we do have wildfires. It's our number one natural disaster to prepare for and hopefully prevent so you can imagine how important this grant is to us. We have worked hand in hand with the fire department for many years and have been recognized as a FireWise Community, but this grant will take our fire mitigation work to a whole new level. In order to receive the $100,000 of state funds and $88,000 of in-kind labor from the fire department, we will be required to chip in $12,000 plus 455 hours of in-kind labor.

Something else that I thought you might be interested in is our brand new Meet our Members page on our website. Check it out to get a feel for the folks living at Heartwood.

​We hope that the county planners will soon approve the fire department's fire mitigation plan and grant us an emergency access waiver. Once that happens, we will be ready to open Phase 2 Homebuyers Commitment. Opening Homebuyers Commitment is a huge step in the development process. That's when we'll find out which households are actually fully committed to buying a Phase 2 home – that is, who will be on this bus together as we continue this exciting journey. It is looking very likely that we will have commitments for all 14 P2 homes and a waiting list. That's incredibly positive.

Lately, we will been devoting our monthly P2AM Zoom Gatherings to what it means to be a P2 Homebuyer (P2HB), what's required to become a P2HB, and how P2HB's will be involved in Phase 2 planning and design.

Because we are working through regulatory requirements, nailing down a timeline is difficult. Here is our current very rough, best estimate of the development timeline for Phase 2.

• May 2021: satisfy regulatory requirements; we're currently waiting on the County to approve our emergency access waiver
• May 2021: submit Sketch Plan application, which includes preliminary site design and preliminary infrastructure plans
• May 2021: update cost estimates and share with P2 Associate Members
• May/June 2021: open P2 Homebuyers Commitment
• June 2021: get Sketch Plan approval
• June/July 2021: submit Preliminary Plat application, which includes site design and all infrastructure details
• Aug/Sep 2021: get Preliminary Plat approval
• Sep 2021 - Feb 2022: design homes, get construction financing, etc.
• Mar - Dec 2022: build homes and move in (the first homes would be completed in Sept 2022)

This is probably an ambitious timeline, but we’d rather set ambitious goals and hit them a bit late than set more relaxed goals and hit them a bit late.

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. With the easing of Covid restrictions, this is a great time to become a Phase 2 Associate Member. We are welcoming visits from P2AM's (with heightened hygiene precautions). 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 40 Associate Member households. Once Homebuyer Commitment opens 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 and biweekly Happy Hours, 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. Phase 2 will sell out on a first come, first served basis.

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 FAQ page and also the general FAQ page. You might also be interested in our relatively new Vital Information for Phase 2 Homebuyers webpage.

I just wanted to send a quick follow up to last week's newsletter (see below). Phase 2 momentum is definitely picking up as we approach the opening of Full Membership, when people get to lock in their spot in Phase 2.

Just in the past few days, we've received deposits from six new P2 Associate Member households. We're suddenly up to 38. So if you are excited about being part of Heartwood Phase 2, but have been dawdling, I'd encourage you to get your deposit in and reserve your spot in the queue. Our Phase 2 Associate Membership page has complete details.

Maybe it's the extra marketing we've been doing to ensure that we'll have enough new community members to make Phase 2 a success. Maybe it's the pandemic, which seems to have convinced so many people that real security in life is to be found in connection with nature and in the community of others, even if physically distanced. Or maybe it's because Heartwood Cohousing offers an opportunity to live in an established, close-knit community on a gorgeous piece of land in an exceptionally sunny part of the Rocky Mountains where deep relationships, low stress, playing and working outside, and eating local organic food all add up to an extremely healthy lifestyle.

For whatever reasons, we have been overwhelmed by the number of really wonderful households who have joined us to become Phase 2 Associate Members (P2AM's). We've got P2AM's of all ages and backgrounds and from all over the country. Everything from retired teachers, engineers, and a veterinarian to young families seeking to give their kids a more healthy childhood, growing up free to play in the safe embrace of nature and community.

We've currently got 33 P2AM households for only 14 available homes in Phase 2. And yet, there's no better time to become an Associate Member. How can that be?

Hopefully within the next month or two, assuming we can get our last regulatory hurdle resolved, we will be opening Full Membership. P2AM's will get priority status in becoming Phase 2 Full Members (P2FM's). While becoming an Associate Member requires a $1,000 fully refundable deposit and is essentially equivalent to saying, "I'm very interested in living at Heartwood. Give me a spot in the queue in case I decide to become a Full Member.", becoming a Full Member requires a $12,000 non-refundable deposit and is essentially equivalent to saying, "I am fully committed to living at Heartwood. Reserve my spot at Heartwood." What all that means is that many P2AM's will probably not make the big step up to become P2FM's, which will create room for those lower in the queue. It's not too late.

In addition to receiving priority status to secure a spot in Phase 2, by becoming a P2AM now, you will be invited to participate in various gatherings exclusively available to P2AM's:

• monthly P2AM Zoom gatherings where the latest development news is shared, and now news especially related to becoming Full Members (includes access to recordings of previous P2AM Zoom gatherings) (Our next P2AM Zoom gathering is this Saturday, February 13.)
• biweekly Phase 2 Associate Members Zoom Happy Hours where we have fun getting to know each other and current Heartwood community members
• the P2AM email chat group where lots of information is exchanged, questions are answered, and you get to know your future neighbors

P2AM's also secure their spots in the lot selection and carport selection queues. Becoming a P2AM means you'll be paired up with a member of Heartwood who will serve as your buddy to answer any questions you may have, put you in touch with other community members with whom you may share interests (e.g., gardening, raising chickens, fiber arts, homeschooling, snowshoeing, etc.), and act as your host when you come for a visit. Because of Covid, the only visitors we are currently inviting to stay in our common house guest rooms are Phase 2 Associate Members.

With P2FM fast approaching, the window for becoming a P2AM will be closing soon. If you don't want to miss this no-risk opportunity (your $1000 deposit is fully refundable for any reason), you might want to visit our P2AM webpage for full details on becoming a P2AM.

​As alluded to above, the really big recent news is all the new P2AM's who have now joined us. Welcome Kristi, Tracy, Shelley, Dawn & Tom, David & Kate & daughter, Hildegard, Janice & Bill, Jennifer & Kelsey & son, Charlie & Brenna, Terri & Sam, Joan, Susi, Denise & Bill, Alana & Jason & sons, Sonja & John & sons, and Kim & Jeff. We are soooooo excited to have you!

We have been having some great discussions on our email chat group and at P2AM Zoom gatherings, and just this last Saturday was our first ever P2AM Zoom Happy Hour, which was an overwhelming success.

At one of our recent Zoom gatherings, we announced that we will be building and selling homes in P2, as opposed to just selling lots. What that means is that we'll be able to provide beautiful, super high quality, energy efficient, and environmentally responsible homes at a lower cost and with less work for homebuyers than if we had sold lots and left it up to new Phase 2 members to build their own custom homes. There's a recording of that Zoom gathering explaining the advantages of building homes in this way and the whole home design process that Full Members will get to participate in.

Another bit of really big news is that we've decided where we will locate the Phase 2 homes. With 361 acres, we had many good options. We will be building the P2 homes somewhere within the envelope shown on the map below. I will work with engineers, architect (Matt Worswick), surveyors, etc. in deciding where in the envelope to place the homes. The P2 cluster will probably end up taking up somewhat less than half of the envelope. We are VERY excited about this location. It is gorgeous, south-facing land, right next to our dome greenhouse, but most importantly, it is very close to the existing cluster and common house thereby supporting a full integration of Phase 1 and Phase 2.

Another big recent community decision was that we have determined (as best as we can) that our very strong water well #5 means that we have enough water for both P1 and P2. Rather than building its own water system, P2 will buy into our existing P1 water system. We basically calculated the cost of the current water system ($251K), divided it by 38 (total homes in P1 and P2) to come up with $6600 per home, and multiplied that by 14 to get the P2 share ($92,400). We are lucky to have such great water (both potable and irrigation), especially considering that we live in a relatively dry part of the country.

Something else that's new: a brand new webpage answering many questions frequently asked by P2AM's. Check it out.

The community has also recently concluded a study considering the feasibility of connecting to the local sanitation system. Being a rural community, we currently have our own septic fields serving Phase 1. The line for the Town of Bayfield system runs along the highway about a mile and a half south of our homes. Tying into that system would relieve us of the burden of building and managing our own systems. In the end, however, we determined that the cost of tying into the Bayfield system (>$1,000,000) along with the fact we are located outside of the Town of Bayfield and they didn't seem to be particularly interested in serving us (system capacity issues), were too great of obstacles to overcome. The good news is that we have good septic systems serving Phase 1 and we will simply build more of them for Phase 2.

We have continued to doggedly work with the local fire department to create a fire mitigation plan which would be acceptable to them and the county planners in lieu of obtaining an emergency access easement. You may recall that even though we have an emergency access road, the neighbors whose land the road crosses between our land and the county road are not willing to sell us a legal easement. They are nice neighbors that we get along with well, but they were afraid an easement might reduce their property value and/or expose them to liability. The county planners have asked us to prepare, or have prepared by fire mitigation professionals, numerous reports and site plans detailing our fire mitigation plans. We have done all that and are hopeful that the county planners will soon make a decision to accept the fire department's recommended plan.

One thing that probably helped us in all this is that we've been very fire conscious for many years, collaborating with the fire department to mitigate the fire danger around our homes and being certified as a Firewise community.

​Once the county planners accept our fire mitigation plan (fingers crossed), we will be ready to open Phase 2 Full Membership and apply for Preliminary Plat approval. Opening Full Membership is a huge step in the development process. That's when we'll find out how many households are actually fully committed to buying a Phase 2 home. Attracting enough committed members is one of the most vital goals any new-forming community must accomplish. We are incredibly blessed to have so many enthusiastic P2AM's. It is looking very likely that we will have commitments for all 14 P2 homes and a waiting list.

We will be devoting our next monthly P2AM Zoom Gatherings to what it means to be a P2FM, what's required to become a P2FM, and how P2FM's will be involved in Phase 2 planning and design.

Because we are working through regulatory requirements, nailing down a timeline is difficult. Here is our current very rough, best estimate of the development timeline for Phase 2.

• Feb - Mar 2021: satisfy regulatory requirements; we're currently waiting on the County to approve our emergency access waiver
• Mar 2021: open P2 Full Membership
• May 2021: submit Preliminary Plat application, which includes site design and all infrastructure details
• Aug 2021: get Preliminary Plat approval
• Aug 2021 - Feb 2022: design homes, get construction financing, etc.
• Mar - Dec 2022: build homes and move in (the first homes would be completed in Sept 2022)

This is probably an ambitious timeline, but we’d rather set ambitious goals and hit them a bit late than set more relaxed goals and hit them a bit late.

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. Although our community gatherings are limited to Zoom and the outdoors, we are welcoming visits from P2AM's (with heightened hygiene precautions). 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 33 Associate Member households. Once Full Membership opens 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 and biweekly Happy Hours, 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. Phase 2 will sell out on a first come, first served basis.

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 FAQ page and also the general FAQ page.