White Hawk

What kind of community is White Hawk?
We are an intentional cohousing community: people who share both physical living space and a high degree of interaction as we work, play, grow up and grow old together. We enjoy living together as a large, extended family with all the perks of our own homes; that making decisions together is good for us; that sharing resources is healthy and practical; that for each member, respect, equality, peace and daily joy should come from the voices all around us as well as from the voices within us. For more information on what it means to be part of an intentional community, visit our Cohousing FAQ or:
Fellowship for Intentional Community
and
Wikipedia - Intentional Community

What are the advantages of living in an intentional community?
Like a traditional neighborhood, White Hawk thrives because its members know and interact with one another. Families can grow up together, and neighbors can share expenses and pool their resources; instead of each family having to purchase expensive but necessary tools and household appliances, some of them can be shared. In addition to saving money and conserving natural resources, this approach encourages neighbors to interact and communicate with one another, so that in times of crisis, they can rely on one another for support. In an intentional community, each member contributes to the lives of all members.

What beliefs do members of the community share?
Members of White Hawk are diverse, yet still share a commitment to sustainable living and green land use and try to make environmentally friendly choices. As a group, we strive to create a cohesive, interdependent community environment in which each individual plays a vital role. We seek simplicity and meaning in our daily lives. We try to value and respect one another as we share our land and work to achieve common goals. For more information, see our mission statement.
Unlike some intentional communities, White Hawk was not founded based on a shared set of religious beliefs. However, many of us find spiritual fulfillment in living and working together to benefit the earth and one another.

How will daily life at White Hawk be different?
There are several factors that make living at White Hawk different from living in a traditional urban or suburban neighborhood: Individuals and families who join White Hawk and build homes there are asked to adhere to the community's green building standards, which guide the choices they make about building materials and methods, landscaping, plumbing, energy sources, and other aspects of land use. In our effort to preserve the serenity of our homes and the land, we have elected to make White Hawk a pedestrian community. This means that our cars are usually parked in a group parking area set apart from the houses, so that we may better protect our children and pets and prevent noise pollution.

Are there other communities like White Hawk?
Yes. There are intentional communities all over the world (see above), and EcoVillage at Ithaca (EVI) is nearby. It has two neighborhoods and is working on building a third. White Hawk strives to be more affordable than EVI, and we allow for a greater degree of individuality in individual homes.

Who will live at White Hawk?
White Hawk members represent a diverse blend of skills and educational backgrounds, drawn together by a common belief in sustainable community. The current plans for our neighborhood consists of single-family and multi-family units, totaling about 30 family households when complete. To meet our current members, visit the Who are we? section of the website.

How are decisions made at White Hawk?
White Hawk members participate equally in a decision method called consensus. Unlike many prevalent decision methods, consensus does not operate by automatically giving the majority what it wants: instead, to move forward with a decision, everyone comes to agreement. When someone does not agree, they can block a decision. In effective consensus decision-making, blocks should be rare. For more information about our decision-making process, see the decision making section of the website.

What is the legal and financial structure for White Hawk?
As we build, we lease the land from its current owner, Henry "Beauty" Peterson, who also is a member. When enough units are built to repay infrastructure loan, the property will be transferred to the White Hawk cooperative. For more information, click here to read more on our legal and financial structure.

How much land is part of White Hawk, and what is on it?
White Hawk sits on a total parcel of about 120 acres, much of which will remain as it is now. The the village, road, parking take up about 10 acres. We have about 10 acres of forest and two ponds. There is plenty of acreage suitable for gardening, farming, reforesting and recreational projects. Our land contains its own supply of groundwater and rich topsoil, and its gently rolling hills once were used for farming.

Who owns the land?
Every member or family in White Hawk will own their house, as well as a share in the land, which is jointly-owned. Before the first phase of homes are built, the land will be owned in a joint venture legal/financial structure, which will revert to a co-op
legal/financial structure once the homes are built. For more information on joint ventures and co-ops, click here to read more on our financial and legal structure.

What is a 99-year lease, and why does White Hawk use it?
A 99-year lease is a lease that lasts as long or longer than the life of the lessee. (Similar constructs have been around since the Renaissance, and a 99-year lease was used when Britain leased Hong Kong from China.) The idea is that the lessee comes as close to ownership as possible without actually buying the property. The reason White Hawk doesn't sell individual plots of land to individual buyers is that it would take the community out of the group's control and put it legally into the control of individuals. Selling individual lots would make the community the same as a regular housing development in the eyes of the law, which would mean that it would be subject to fair housing laws. In other words, it would require White Hawk to legally break up the land we share into smaller chunks to sell to whomever wanted to buy them and develop them. We would have no control over membership or land development. With a co-op legal structure and a 99-year lease model, we can preserve the land as one big, mostly natural parcel.

Can I will my home/land to my descendants?
Absolutely. As long as they agree to meet membership requirements, or agree to sell the home/lease to someone who will.
For more information, see how our membership process works.

What kinds of land use happen at White Hawk?
We have built a shared play area, started our gardens (so far we tend toward permaculture) and blazed some trails around the land. Members interested in raising chickens built a coop together and share the eggs. The chickens roam free during the day, entertaining us and gobbling up bugs. In the fall of 2009, all three households were interested in winter apple storage, so they bulit simple underground storage units together.

Are pets allowed at White Hawk?
Of course! We welcome pets as they are an integral part of our families, but we ask that members observe the pet policy. For more information, see the policies section.

BUILDINGS AND UTILITIES

What is a "common house," and what is it used for?
A common house is a small community center, where we could to do things in large groups or place shared facilities. We can use a common house for shared meals, meetings, games, workshops, laundry facility, childrens' playroom, a library, yoga classes, storage and anything and everything else. Common house construction is planned for the last third of the project.

What are the green building standards for individual dwellings?
We seek to build small, energy-efficient houses. For a more complete list of green building standards at White Hawk, contact us.

Where do White Hawk's resources come from?
We draw our water from wells located on the property. Individual households can be grid-tied or energy-independent. As of fall 2009, one of the three homes at White Hawk has a grid-tied PV array. The same home heats mainly with wood. Another home heats both hot water and the structure with one tankless water heater. We look forward to trying other technologies and welcome alternative energy systems.

What will it cost on a monthly basis to live at White Hawk, and why?
In most intentional communities, residents pay a common cost monthly fee to cover shared expenses. Our common costs currently include property taxes (shared for the land plus a specific amount for each household that varies based on home value), insurance, snow plowing, and outreach. So far our common costs range between $325-$400 per month. If you currently pay property taxes, recognize this as a common cost you are already accustomed to paying.

GREEN LIVING

What are residents doing together to make White Hawk eco-friendly?
In addition to reducing the footprints of our homes and our lifestyles by conserving energy, water and other natural resources, we practice organic farming, composting, animal husbandry, permaculture and creating our own energy.

What else can individual residents do?
From the very beginning of the home design process, members are empowered to create a
green lifestyle that suits each person in their household. Various factors can be
manipulated to help with this, including construction and materials; technology related to
heating, water and electricity; orientation toward the sun; use of seasonally-growing
exterior plants to cool the house in summer, etc.

THE TOWN

Where is White Hawk located?
We're located in the township of Danby, NY, in Tompkins County, about five miles south of Ithaca. We're near Cornell University and Ithaca College, which provide a colorful blend of academic and bohemian local culture, as well as lots of gorges and waterfalls, good hiking and camping. White Hawk children have access to the Ithaca school district, which enjoys an excellent reputation (although some alternative education advocates find it too traditional), as well as two Montessori schools and one Waldorf school. There is an active network of homeschoolers in the area.
For more information, you can visit the Ithaca City School District.

How many people live in Danby? What is it like there?
For more information on Danby, Ithaca and surrounding cities, see: http://citydata.org/

Is public transportation available at White Hawk?
Yes. The bus to Ithaca stops at Danby Market on Route 96B, and White Hawk will apply with the bus company for a bus stop at the end of our community road once we get enough people living there who will ride. The town has already asked us to install a bus shelter, so this is a great sign!

How does White Hawk interact with the local community?
We try to be as welcoming and involved as possible. We consider ourselves to be active
members of the surrounding community. For more information, see our members.

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