Governance

Daybreak’s governance structure is in review

Prospective residents are granted access to the Daybreak Cohousing intranet after their sales offer has been approved or after they’ve signed a lease. In the meantime, the following information will give you an overview. Keep in mind our governance structure is currently being reviewed and reconsidered by the Bylaws Revisions ad hoc team for compliance with the Oregon Condominium Act (2015).

What laws and agreements pertain to Daybreak?

Our community is declared as a condominium complex. However, our Declaration and Bylaws further state that it’s a cohousing community. As a condominium complex, we’re subject to state and city condominium and rental law (when a unit is rented). As a cohousing community we’re subject to our recorded and internal cohousing documents.

We have consensed on the following agreements:

• Plenary communication
• Donations or loans
• Work: Visit the FAQ on our work agreement
• Young adult decision-making
• Smoking
• Pet
• Email

What are the governing bodies?

We have a Homeowner’s Association (HOA) and elected Officers of the Board of Directors (BOD). Because we’re also cohousing, we have some additional governing bodies, including the designated members of the BOD, Steering Team and other teams.

Our Declaration and Bylaws offer a limited description of how we will structure governance, but they do indicate that when the governing bodies make decisions, they will do so by consensus. This is true for all governance except in limited cases as described by the Declaration or Bylaws, such as requiring a 75 percent approval vote for amending the Declaration or rebuilding if the entire complex is damaged.

How is governance structured?

Some of the governance happens via groups that participate in bimonthly, monthly or annual business plenaries and some of the governance happens through teams. There is no definitive process to determine when a team has authority to make a decision and when a team should bring a proposal for community-wide decision-making.

• All owners listed on the title for a unit are automatically members of the HOA. They can request in writing and obtain approval for temporary “inactive member” status in cases of illness or emergency. Other members of the household can also request in writing to join the HOA. HOA members participle in decision-making in all community-wide decisions except those decisions that require decision-making by the designated members of the BOD.
• BOD officers are chair, secretary and treasurer. Officers are responsible for ensuring the Declaration and Bylaws are followed, signing any documents requiring BOD signature and notifying the community of the annual meeting.
• We have 30 designated members of the BOD, represented by one person per household. This person is designated to be a decision-making party in certain types of community-wide decisions. Decisions made during plenaries that require a quorum of the BOD are made by active members of each household present at that meeting.
• We have a Steering Team that sets the agenda for business and annual plenaries. Any individual or team can propose agenda items to the Steering Team.
• We have teams. Anyone can be on any team, and most people actively participate on at least two teams. Most day-to-day decisions are made by teams. Teams also give updates at monthly business plenaries and submit budgets for approval to the annual business plenary. We have standing teams, ad hoc (temporary) teams, informal teams and one elected team of board officers.