TAYLOR Becky G <br />From: patriciaparcells@aol.com <br />Sent: Monday, September 23, 2013 3:42 PM <br />To: wcd@willardcdixon.com; TAYLOR Becky G <br />Subject: supporting Oakleigh Meadow Cohousing <br />Follow Up Flag: Follow up <br />Flag Status: Flagged <br />Dear Hearings Official, <br />I am an across-the-street neighbor to an existing cohousing community, Coho Ecovillage, in Corvallis. Frankly, these are <br />the best neighbors an aging woman can have! They share, pitch in, and welcome at every turn! Community overflows <br />their borders into our entire neighborhood! <br />A few years ago, for instance, our elderly cat had died in the dry heat of August, and I was struggling to dig,a hole where <br />we could bury him. I put out a call to Coho, and one of the men came over and dug that hole for a kitty he'd never met. <br />And last week, when I needed dill to pickle some beans, I was offered the excess from a Cohoot's plants: <br />I've been welcomed into the Coho madrigal singing group. We joined the "Friends of Coho" group and are now welcome <br />at their community meals. My excess juice jars have a use when they do cider pressing. Some of them garden on our <br />excess land, keeping it weed-free and their tables laden. Our excess tomatoes and zucchini have been served up at <br />Coho community meals. <br />They have made their common house meeting room available for a variety of community talks and entertainments. <br />Their land use planning is a model for anyone wishing to integrate food production and native plant habitats into their <br />property. I'm forever consulting one or another of them about plants they have, and walking interested friends over for <br />tours. <br />Frankly, if the plans for Oakleigh Meadow have any resemblance to Coho, they'll be an asset to their <br />neighborhood. Please approve their application. And I would be happy to talk with any prospective abutters who are <br />worried. Cohousing communities function very differently from, say, the apartment complex half a mile down the road <br />from us. They actively want to be part of a community and work very well with others! <br />Sincerely, <br />Patricia Parcells <br />1165 SE Alexander Ave. <br />Corvallis, OR 97333 <br />1230 <br />