Our community is formally organized as a Cooperative, which functions similarly to a residents' association, but a bit different. There is one vote per adult member, rather than one vote per house owned. Our members include homeowners, owners of residential land without a home on it yet, and those who live here but do not own their residences (renters, etc).
Our Cooperative operates in accordance with our Charter and Bylaws. Our Charter includes several Rules. These include Organic gardening only, Pet rules (no dogs, except as required by ADA/FHA), one cat per homesite, light and noise restrictions, etc. Please see Appendix B of the current Charter, as amended May 2022, for details.
Membership process:
When you become an owner of residential land at Cerro Gordo, you are required to become a member of the Coop right away.
When you live at Cerro Gordo without owning a home here (for example, as a renter), you are required to become a member after living here for one year. You may become a member earlier if you wish, once you have lived here 30 days.
You complete the membership process by:
1) reading the Charter and Bylaws,
2) completing a Membership Application (confirming that you have read and understand the Charter and Bylaws and will abide by them and the decisions made thereunder), and
3) paying the one-time Membership Fee of $500 per adult at escrow when buying property. Renters may apply for a discount to pay $100 per adult.
Your membership in the Coop will be in effect for as long as you live at Cerro Gordo or own property here. Your membership lapses if you leave (no longer live here or own property here), and comes back into effect if you return, with no need to pay the Membership Fee again (thus we call it a one-time fee).
Annual fees:
(Not to be confused with the one-time Membership Fee!)
At Cerro Gordo we share many expenses. Some of those expenses are paid through water fees, based on the amount of water you use from our shared wells. Other expenses are paid through an annual fee. This fee is paid per member/resident (whether you own property here or live here, or both). The fee is also paid by guests who stay here more than 30 days, pro-rated in monthly increments.