Coop Housing Board of Directors Descriptions

Submitted by Belle Auld on behalf of the Education Committee

(Editor’s note: the Board of Directors descriptions in this article do not refer specifically to Sunnyside Housing Co-operative but to housing co-operatives in general. For information about Sunnyside’s bylaws, please see the documents page on our website. Marion Gauzer, Communications Committee)

• Chair: this position provides leadership to the board and the co-operative. The chair serves as chair for all board and general meetings, maintains a strong relationship with management, and often serves as the face of the organization. The chair should be familiar with important policies and procedures governing co-operatives.

• Vice-chair: this position is tasked with fulfilling duties assigned by the chair or filling in when the chair is not available.

• Treasurer: this position is often combined with the secretary position. The duties of the treasurer require some understanding of financial reporting and accounting practices and are often given to a manager or hired expert (e.g. an accountant) that can perform them efficiently. The treasurer often oversees the co-operative’s finances, filing the annual return, preparing a budget, and keeping the board and shareholders informed on financial matters.

• Secretary: this position maintains the records of the co-operative including policies and procedures, meeting minutes, and an up-to-date membership list. In many co-ops, the secretary serves as a point of contact for members on matters including share redemption, submitting resolutions, or concerns with the co-op.

Coop Housing Board of Directors Responsibilities

The board of directors is central to the operation of a co-operative business. Directors discuss matters affecting the co-op, make decisions that shape and guide the co-op, and prepare information and recommendations to members to discuss and decide on. Much of what a board does is responsive, reacting to events, ideas, and opportunities facing the co-operative. It’s important for directors to think about the future, and look for ways to improve their practices and the co-op’s well-being. This list gives an overview of the important responsibilities of the board of directors:

1. Manage financial matters of the co-operative: It’s important for the board to have a strong understanding of the co-op’s financial position. This can be done with support from staff or an accountant (depending on the size of the co-op). The board should lead the creation of an annual budget, monitor revenue and expenses, and present the annual return and budget back to the members at the annual meeting. Some members of the board will have signing authority on the co-op’s accounts and their signatures will be required for items like cheques, agreements, chequing accounts, annual returns, and applications.

2. Strategic Planning: The board provides leadership to the organization and shapes its direction. It creates, updates, and maintains strategic plans that include the co-op’s agenda, goals, and key opportunities. The board should regularly identify projects and manage the co-op’s investments.

3. Create policies and procedures: The board will create policies when first incorporating the co-op, and on an ongoing basis. Some policies will be created in response to the co-op’s business, or as challenges and opportunities arise. These policies relate to things like finances, membership, conflict of interest, information and technology, safety, and elections.

4. Give the co-operative a voice: Both the board and the management will promote the co-op to the public. The board, as representatives of the members, should speak on behalf of the co-op when working with partners, funders, media, or other audiences. They should provide information to members at meetings and give direction to staff. It’s good to have a communications strategy for the board and management that outlines how the co-op communicates with other parties, so everyone is sharing a consistent message.

5. Management: Depending on the size of the co-operative, the board may directly manage the day-to-day affairs. In larger co-ops, the board usually provides oversight to managers or an executive team. The board will have the final say on many important decisions and may have to deal with conflict or debate that could arise. For example, it’s the board’s job to decide how to allocate the co-op’s profits. To do this, it needs to take a number of things into consideration: adding to reserve funds, investing in the co-op, and distributing profit to members. Decisions like this can lead to conflict, but the co-op can help avoid this by including members in the discussion (and listening to their ideas).

6. Engage the members: At the end of the day, the co-op exists to serve its members. The board should engage members in important decisions and happenings with the co-op. The board can help ensure members have a sense of ownership with their co-op by communicating openly with them

 https://coopcreator.ca/resource/being-a-board-member-in-a-co-operative-business/

Using Legal Interventions to Resolve Sunnyhill Co-op Member Issues

Submitted by Phil Cox

If a member wrecks their unit, causes a disturbance or falls into arrears, and if they then disregard internal processes of sanction, then engaging legal services seems a viable option as a last resort.

Where we have difficult interactions across the membership that are traceable to personal styles and convictions and not malicious intent, there is no place for a legal intervention, ever. It is for us as a community to find a way.

The board initiated a very risky procedure designed to assign fault and make a repair. Confidentiality now is justified to protect the parties, but it has cordoned off what can be talked about and left a few of us feeling just a little less at home. And that is a loss to Sunnyhill.

We can build back from this, to be sure. But please, let’s not hail the use of a private investigator as a tool for making us stronger.

The Principles and Practice of Being Cooperative

Submitted by Rachel Rose

An invitation to Sunnyhill, 

I have been reflecting on what it means to be cooperative and would like to share my thoughts... 

We often speak about “being cooperative” but in my time here I have seen many behaviours we assume are cooperative despite being in contradiction to one another. 

It seems at times that there is an assumption that since we are part of a co-op that we must be behaving cooperatively, but I don’t believe that’s the case. I think being cooperative is an intentional act that needs to be practiced time and time again. It’s not an arrival but rather an ongoing activity. We can’t declare that we are being cooperative, cooperation needs to be driven by shared ethics and values. 

We rely on our policies, Robert’s Rules, as well as norms to govern how we operate, but in many ways these are incomplete. These are merely tools and it’s the ethic and spirit in which they are utilized that can become cooperative or uncooperative. 

I have been wondering, what are the principles of cooperative behaviour? What does this look like in practice? What behaviours undermine cooperation? 

Over the last year I have observed instances of behaviours that I perceive to be uncooperative including: 

• Making assumptions

• Starting dialogue with accusations and adversarial tones.

• Refusing to communicate or shutting down

• Seeking to be right rather than to be heard

• A refusal to take perspectives

I have also seen behaviours that I believe to be cooperative including: 

• Asking questions with curiosity

• Listening

• Turn taking

• Showing appreciation

• Starting with goodwill

• Trusting in the good faith of others to function on our behalf

In my opinion Sunnyhill is at a pivotal juncture whereby we need to begin to further deliberate what it actually means to be cooperative and hold ourselves accountable to this or we risk division, harm, and fracture. My fear is if we don’t do this, uncooperative behaviours will further silence and marginalize members who we so deeply need engaged. Without this our meetings will be empty and we will find ourselves further apart and falling into disrepair.

I am sincerely interested in exploring the ethics and values of how we cooperate and would love to engage in dialogue and learn about what this means to you in efforts of starting to craft a shared vision. 

All my best, 

Rachel 

#807

BYLAWS/ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION/SHAREHOLDERS’ AGREEMENTS AND SO ON – COLES NOTES

Submitted by Brenda Willman

We have good documents that govern our practices.  The documents that deal with day to day details have been carefully presented, debated, written and re-written several times by the members!  I concede that some of the Policies have perhaps been voted on at AGMs since the last full and comprehensive review of the Member Handbook, but I honestly don’t think much has changed, except with regard to the hiring of the Office Coordinator/manager, and that changed Buildings Policies (and were they all voted on and documented?  Probably not and that is our collective error – no one to point fingers at but ourselves).  

However, have members and boards continued to act as they see fit, provided ‘everyone’ is in agreement (that everyone being an interesting idea, since we really have to consider the entire membership and their wishes when changing how things are done)? Most definitely yes, and that was mentioned several times during the June 7th meeting.

There is so much to cover that I don’t know where to start 

Think on some of the ways people can live together.  

• You can live in your own home and be subject to the regulations of the Village/Town/City in which your land is located, along with the requirements of your bank, along with the requirements of your co-habitants, if any.  Who will pick up the garbage (in and out) who will provide safe drinking water, who will ensure that the lender (if one was involved) gets their money back? – which is equally to be considered.

• You can live in a condo and be subject to the same as above, with the exception that some services will be provided by the condo-collective.

• You can live in a housing cooperative and be subject to the same as above, with variations from condo agreements.

• You can live on a commune (maybe as a Hutterite or as a member of Bountiful or Jonestown) and be subject to some of the same as above, likely with some privileges that come with being a religious organization (and such is usually the case).  And maybe be with some detriments that come with living under the same (see Jonestown).

In all examples, there are agreements/Acts/regulations in place to protect landowners, big and small.  Even communes exist in the country/municipality where they gather.  Most of the legislation/regulation will ensure safety in the biggest sense of the word, i.e. safe drinking water, sewage collection, garbage collection, possibly schooling, etc. You might not get that on a commune.

Now narrow down your scope to the choice you have made.  You decided to live in a Housing Cooperative and sign a Shareholders’ Agreement permitting/affirming/confirming your membership.  You signed a business agreement as well as ‘signing-on’ to a more homey/touchy-feely tacit agreement to cooperatively live with other Shareholders in a hopefully mutually satisfactory and friendly environment.  As such you have several documents protecting you as an individual, but (and what seems to be the missing link in so many differences and confrontations) these documents are also protecting you as a member at large who is paying rent and paying a mortgage and insurance, etc. for an entire housing complex comprised of 66 units built on rented land.  You don’t own a unit.  You own a mortgage and you have agreed to pay a land lease.  To repeat - what comes with the mortgage and land lease is a housing complex of 66 units, one of which you may live in.

Here are our governing documents and what they mean to us.

MORTGAGE – we have borrowed money.  We have to pay it back.  We borrowed it to build the premises/buildings.  Then we re-mortgaged everything again when we “got out of” the CMHC agreement.  There may or may not be considerations for how we maintain the buildings under the terms of the current mortgage agreement – there probably are (there were requirements under the CMHC agreement but that is no longer in play and I have not read our mortgage agreement, and have never been provided a summary of same).  Additionally and previously there were stipulations under the CMHC agreement on how much money a person could make upon move-in, how many subsidies should be provided and how much ($$) the subsidy should be – all stated in the $$ of the year of the agreement.  This was revised throughout the years to keep up with inflation.   I don’t know what, if any, stipulations in our mortgage govern our subsidy system any longer, and it shouldn’t matter because we do have a policy in place for that, and it was heavily discussed for months before finally accepted and it has stood the test of time, and has even served as an example for other coops leaving the loving arms of CMHC subsidies.

LAND LEASE – we live on rented land.  The Landlord has rights.  We don’t like some of them.  We want our lease extended or to purchase the land.  The Landlord has the right to say no, or say “yes but only if you do such and such”.  Add in the extra complication that we want the land for non-profit housing purposes and you add on a layer of complexity(ies) that have been carefully considered by City Councilors that you and I have elected.  For example, we must have accessible units if we want to stay on the land (which we all have agreed is a commendable goal and something we would like to strive for – but actualizing that goal is causing great distress amongst the members and introducing a huge financial load onto a tiny community).  The land lease is also the source of the “right of ways” that were proffered by the City and sometimes lead us to a misunderstanding about what we can do where on our little patch of land – because some of “our” little patch is not really ours…the City just let us build a fence or garage there, but reserve the right to govern what happens on that land…that may be over-simplifying but it serves the purpose of Coles notes.

THE COOPERATIVES ACT and REGULATIONS– this is provincial legislation.  I mention it all the time.  If anyone has read it, they will come to understand that the reason I cite it constantly is to draw peoples’ attention to it.  It is NOT a weapon.  In fact, it covers the business end of things – and THAT is why I encourage people to read it.  It does not limit our daily activities to any great extent, and so both Board members and members at large would do best to understand it and understand what DOES dictate our daily activities.  Merely taking a look at the table of contents alone sheds light on what the Act provides for (and again) not only individuals belonging to a coop (and more specifically there is a section just for housing co-ops) but also for members belonging to a coop (ditto).   Shareholders need protection from being evicted without due cause, but also need protection from having a crack house being set up on our collective property – which means we need legal ways in which to terminate that crack housee’s membership.  Below this paragraph is a screen shot of the Table of Contents of the Act and of the Regulations (it’s the smaller list).  Also is a screen shot of the TOC – expanded – for Part 18, where there is a special section for Housing Cooperatives.  One can see that it is all business, but when expanded one can also see that it gets down to some details, especially regarding how Directors are elected, what their roles and duties are (including fiduciary), when we must meet, when we can meet other than when we must, how meetings are to be called, how many days notice, etc.  all that business stuff which is predetermined by way of the Act and which we are obliged to follow.  It tells us we must have Articles of Incorporation (special considerations for Housing Coops are under Part 18 392(1)) and it tells us we must have a Shareholders’ Agreement.  It tells us what ByLaws we must have as a coop in general – see Part I Division 2 and it tells us what ByLaws we must have a Housing Coop in particular see Part 18 392(2)

ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION- re our Name, Purpose, Objectives, No Monetary Gain, the fact that we are a cooperative based on Shares, and a clause about the fact that we will carry on business, on a co-operative basis.   It says the co-operative will comply with Part 18, Division 1 Housing Co-operatives, of the Cooperatives Act of Alberta and includes clauses, that we will have ByLaws and report any changes to our ByLaws to the Director of Cooperatives (a provincial position); it speaks to the number of Director’s we will have, and the address our registered office (place of business).

SHAREHOLDERS’ AGREEMENT – Everyone signs this before they move in, but it seems like some members have forgotten the terms of their agreement…for example I refer to the outcry several years ago when the Board requested confirmation of personal insurance from members and several members noted they did not know they were required to hold insurance policies.  Our Shareholders’ Agreement includes clauses re General Provisions, the relationship is clarified as a right to occupancy and not a landlord-tenant relationship, what the occupancy rights are, general terms that the housing charge will be determined and will be paid – the details of which are described in the ByLaws and Policies, general clauses about provision of utilities and payment of utilities (provision and payment are not the same – the coop agrees that they will ensure you have access to water, electricity by way of pipes, and wires, but the member has to pay the monthly usage fees), right of entry, maintenance and alterations to units.  There is a clause on withdrawal and termination which parrots the Act but one must prudently always revert to the Act when such situations occur, to ensure we are acting under current legislation. There is a clause about insurance and liability and this is where it says the Member agrees to carry personal insurance.  There are an additional 13 clauses.  You should all have a copy of your own Shareholders’ Agreement that you can reference for more details.

BYLAWS – many of our bylaws come straight out of the act – review the Tables of Contents I have inserted to find out more about that.  Our ByLaws has sections on the following subjects:

1. General Matters

2. Corporate Seal

3. Capital Stock

4. Membership

5. Disputes

6. Transfer of Membership

7. Withdrawal of Membership

8. Death of a Member

9. Termination of Membership

10. Share Re-purchase

11. Meetings

12. Board of Directors

13. Officers

14. Payment of Directors and Officers

15. Board Meetings

16. Liability of Directors and Officers

17. Committees and task forces

18. Records

19. Financial Management

20. Housing Charge

21. Reserve funds/Banking/Borrowing

22. Signing Officers

23. Amendments of Policies – i.e., Currently states Major policies can only be passed, amended or rescinded at a general meeting by special resolution.  I am strongly against changing this as was recently proposed by our recent Board.  I believe members should approve all policies board policies or not. It also currently provides that the board can pass any policy that is not designated as a major policy.  We collectively decided at a GM that, for now, all policies are MAJOR, hence requiring member approval

24. The priority of Sunnyhill's documents (and only Sunnyhill’s documents– in all cases the Provincial Act and Regulations will take priority and in some cases our Mortgage and/or Land Lease will also take priority over Sunnyhill’s documents) – WHICH ARE IN ORDER OF PRIORITY: 

• Articles of Incorporation

• By-laws

• Shareholders' Agreement

1. Relationship between the Coop (believe it or not you are one of the Shareholders and represent the Coop as an entity) and individual members (you live here in a unit – and some individual rights come with being a member living in a unit) You have a business relationship with yourself!

2. Winding up of Sunnyhill

And next comes policies, which all members approved at various GMs before and after the major work was done ( 2 or 3 times).  Below is the list of Policies we had in 2008, and again I don’t think it has changed much.  I am willing to review all minutes since 2008 to ensure that any changes are captured to revise the document prepared in 2008.

Here is a high level list of what is in our Policies section of the Member Handbook.  Please note section 1.2 is “what is good governance”.  I am not kidding about having mentioned governance over and over in the last 12 years.

1. General and Background Information

2. General Policies and Board Policies – there might be some new ones to add here which may or may not have been approved yet. 

   • Caregiver Expenses for Document Signing Sessions

   • Collection Keys for all Units

   • “Reside” and “To Occupy” a Unit

   • Move-in Policy

   • Move-out Policy both always under consideration and not sure if any official changes have been made, but this is one area where Committee members have definitely done what they deem appropriate and not necessarily in agreement with what has been documented.  In fact, several situations are not covered and the Committee has to use common sense.

   • Members required to sign 2004 Shareholders’ Agreement Policy – yes some Members had never returned their signed copy and we as a coop had not followed up.

   • Best usage of Space/Housing Fit Policy – separate from Housing Charge Policy but related

   • Directors Liability Insurance Policy

   • Termination of Membership – Appeals

   • Parking Policy

   • Wildlife Policy

   l changes have been made, but this is one area where Committee members have definitely done what they deem appropriate and not necessarily in agreement with what has been documented.  In fact, several situations are not covered and the Committee has to use common sense.

3. Members required to sign 2004 Shareholders’ Agreement Policy – yes some Members had never returned their signed copy and we as a coop had not followed up.

4. Best usage of Space/Housing Fit Policy – separate from Housing Charge Policy but related

5. Directors Liability Insurance Policy

6. Termination of Membership – Appeals

7. Parking Policy

8. Wildlife Policy

1. Financial Policies

2. Housing Charge Calculation and Collection Policy

3. Personnel Policies

4. Privacies Policies

5. SHC Representatives

6. Standing Purchasing Committee

7. Youth Committee

8. Member Selection Policies – same comments as Move-in, Move-out policies

9. Grounds Policies

10. Integrated Pest Management Policies

11. Cyclical Unit Inspections

12. Buildings/Maintenance Policy/Procedures (Unit Maintenance and Improvements)

13. Unit Maintenance at a Glance/Troubleshooting Tips

PROCEDURES - At the very bottom of this list are procedures – those being the ways in which the Policies are carried out.  For example, we may say it is a policy that before any work can be done on a Unit, the Buildings Committee (and now, more currently the Office Coordinator) must pre-approve the work (with perhaps an exception policy in place for emergencies).  The procedure is that we use Purchase Orders to signify approval (and to facilitate payment), and the procedure would dictate who keeps the purchase orders, when they should be available, etc.  For another example, it is Grounds Policy that the Grounds Committee will make available grass seed for reseeding lawns.  It does not stipulate (which would amount to Procedure) where it has to be purchased, stored, etc.  As a general rule, the payment for the seed would fall under our spending policy which was proposed back in 2008 but I’m not convinced it was ever approved; we never got around to completing the policies that were required.

If you’ve read this far, you can understand that we have a tendency to blur the lines between POLICY and PROCEDURE, but that is not uncommon and we should not beat ourselves up for it.  THE END.

A Note on Housing Charge Recalculations

Submitted by Brenda Willman and Mia Rushton

From the unofficial Board update, March 23: 

"If you are in need because of a change of circumstances and you need immediate support, please note that members can apply for a short-term (3- month) housing charge subsidy at any time under current policies; if it turns out that people’s needs extend beyond that time, we will revisit the our subsidy policy and procedure in response" 

In our block’s group email conversation last week, Brenda shared her knowledge of our co-op’s policies around subsidies. I thought it would be useful to share it with everyone in light of the current COVID/unemployment situation. With Brenda’s permission, this is what she shared with us:

IN FACT, the Housing Charge Calculation Collection Policy allows for recalculations - NOT at the usual annual time - in the following circumstances:

- a 3 month calculation when a member goes on Social Assistance;  and

- it allows the Board to order a Calculation when a situation occurs that was not foreseen by this policy such as is the case now. 

A RECALCULATED HOUSING CHARGE UNDER THE SECOND RULE WOULD NOT BE RESTRICTED TO 3 MONTHS.   IT WOULD TAKE EFFECT AND HOLD EFFECT UNTIL SUCH TIME AS THE BOARD SAW FIT TO CHANGE IT. NOW THAT'S GIVING THEM A LOT OF POWER, BUT THAT'S WHAT THE BOARD IS FOR. TO USE THEIR POWER FOR THE GOOD OF THE MEMBERS AND THE COOP AS A WHOLE.  The applicable sections are quoted below - unless the policy has been updated this remains the policy.

 4.6.3 (c) (The Housing Charge will be recalculated) when a MEMBER begins to receive Social Assistance. Special rules apply to these cases, as described in Section 12. [note - this should say section 13 and is a typo]

4.6.4 The Board may order a HOUSING CHARGE calculation when a situation occurs that was not foreseen by this policy.

4.13 What happens if a MEMBER is on Social assistance?

If a unit is qualified to receive a REDUCED HOUSING CHARGE as defined in Section 4.4 and is on social assistance, the HOUSING CHARGE is calculated and collected as follows:

4.13.1 When the MEMBER applies for social assistance, he or she is required to get a form filled out by the "landlord" This form will be filled out by the TREASURER or another officer of the coop, and will show the amount of the housing charge the MEMBER is paying at the time of the application as the “rent”.

4.13.2        If the MEMBER receives social assistance, he or she will take the receipt from Alberta Social Services and give it to the TREASURER

4.13.3        If the amount the MEMBER is receiving from Social Services for “rent” is less than the MEMBER's normal HOUSING CHARGE, then the TREASURER will make the MEMBER's HOUSING CHARGE equal to the greater of the amount the MEMBER is receiving from Alberta Social Services or the FULL SUBSIDY HOUSING CHARGE for the unit

4.13.4        The HOUSING CHARGE for a MEMBER receiving social assistance will be reviewed at the next quarterly housing charge calculation after he or she begins to receive social assistance, and at subsequent quarterly re-calculation dates.

November Board Bytes

Submitted by Helen Wirrell on behalf of the Board

Firstly, we’d like to welcome our new Board Member, Sarah Reimer – thanks for stepping into this new challenge, Sarah.

Policy Reviews

Over the summer, a subgroup of Board members reviewed the Buildings Committee’s policies. The revised document will be returned to Buildings for their feedback and should soon be available to present to the membership for review and approval.

General Meetings

The next will be held January 26th (Australia Day) – we will send out further details closer to this date. Following feedback from the last GM, Phil Cox will be bringing a projector to future meetings so that when items such as policy revisions, are being discussed, members will be able to view them more easily.

NOTE: if you have already indicated that you want to receive all SHC office notifications via email, all GM paperwork (i.e. agenda, budget info) for an upcoming meeting will be sent to you by email. You won’t be receiving paper copies.

General Business

• Motion Sensors ~ will be installed when the weather improves.
• New Contractor ~ The Board is reviewing the process of hiring co-op staff and ensuring this meets co-op policies, including the Board’s responsibilities for overseeing contracts and terms of work.
• Annual Inspections ~ have been completed for 2017.
• Finances ~ the SHC term deposit is not being renewed due to the very low interest rates being offered. The Board and Finance are currently looking for more competitive rates.
• SACHA (Southern Alberta Co-operatives Association) ~ has asked if Sunnyhill would be interested in hosting the SACHA 2018 city-wide Board course. This would take place on a Saturday in late January or during February. Providing we can get space at the Calgary Curling Club, we think this would be a great opportunity in terms of making this excellent course convenient for our members to attend.
• Smoking in Units ~ as various members have expressed a concern regarding smoking in units, the Board has been exploring various resources and ideas, and has found the following website provided by the Canadian Cancer Society ~ http://smokefreehousingab.ca/ . This website can help us “learn ways to implement smoking policies in [our] co-op”. With the upcoming legalisation of marijuana usage, we feel it particularly important to start this discussion in an informed way. so please review the website if you find this an area of concern.
• Andrea’s holidays ~ Andrea will be on vacation from December 20th to January 5th. SACHA will be supplying a replacement office co-ordinator for this time period.
• New Members ~ one of the areas we identified as a concern during our retreat a few months ago was how to help new members feel engaged in the co-op. One idea discussed was having individual Board members ‘adopt’ new members and offer to accompany them to various co-op events such as General Meetings. We will start doing this for our next big event – the annual Christmas party

Christmas party – will be held December 9th!!

Our next Board meeting will be held December 6th.

Smoke free at SHC??

Submitted by Andrea Bergen for the SHC Board of Directors

The Board of Directors has been faced with the question “Does Sunnyhill want to go smoke free” and would like Member’s feedback on this topic.

The below information has come to us from The Canadian Cancer Society…

“The Canadian Cancer Society has created a guidebook and a website to help multi-unit housing providers to implement smoke-free policies.  The website is: http://smokefreehousingab.ca/”

Please submit any questions/concerns/feedback to Andrea at the SHC office.

Grounds Policy

Submitted by Bob Bott for the Grounds Committee

Enforcement of Grounds Policies

Members of the co-op are expected to follow the policies in their binders. That’s what they agreed when they joined. There used to be a more prescriptive grounds policy, which even specified the height of grass. The policy was revised in 2005 after considerable discussion and approved by members at a general meeting. There have been many reminders about the policy provisions in newsletters since then, but a significant number of yards continued to have unmowed grass, weeds, junk, and/or dog feces contrary to the policy.

We received complaints in the spring about certain yards and decided further action was needed (as provided in the policy). In order to be fair, we did a walk-around and identified all the instances of non-compliance. Many of these were minor, and some stemmed from ignorance (e.g., not knowing how to identify noxious weeds). We wrote notices for all the non-compliant units and gave them time to address the problems. We helped a number of units find solutions to their issues. Some of the co-op youth got mowing jobs.  Members of the committee did a lot of weeding, and provided weed instruction to members, during our walk-arounds. In the end, no unit had to pay for an outside contractor to do the work, and the yards have never looked better.

At the time of the notices, only one member suggested that we were being a little too harsh in our tone and approach. On the contrary, many members thanked us for the “wake-up call.”

It was only much later that we heard complaints about the committee’s “mean” and “un-neighbourly” actions. These concerns seem to have arisen after we tried to deal with a related issue: the large number of personal items being left in the common area—toys, dishes, clothes, etc. These items are not only unsightly and sometimes safety hazards, they also interfere with the ability of our contractors to work on the site and add to the costs of maintenance. We have received complaints from both members and the contractor about the amount of “stuff” left in the common area.

Some members took offence when we suggested collecting the left items and putting them in the dumpster. We would welcome suggestions for alternatives. Would it work to have some sort of enclosure where items could be placed when not in use?

If members object to the grounds policy itself, they are welcome to propose amendments and bring them forward at a general meeting. Otherwise, we intend to continue carrying out the existing policy in a way that is both neighbourly and effective.

We expect that this issue will be discussed at the Nov. 5 general meeting. In preparation, we suggest members review the grounds policy. Some members may also want to look at the co-op’s pet and wildlife policies.

City By-laws

The City of Calgary also has by-laws relating to property issues. One reason we had to take action last summer was a serious infestation of creeping bellflower, a noxious weed, which would have resulted in by-law enforcement action. Other by-laws deal with matters such as pets, wildlife, and yards. For example, the yard by-law states:

• Loose garbage, yard waste, bottles, cans, boxes, household furniture, packaging materials, parts of machinery, equipment, appliances, and automobile parts must be stored so that they are not visible from outside of the property.

• Accumulation of offensive material is prohibited. This includes animal remains, animal feces, and materials that create unpleasant odours or are likely to attract pests.

According to the Responsible Pet Ownership By-law, cat owners must ensure their cats:

•  Have a City of Calgary licence.

• Remain on the owner’s property.

• Do not disturb the peace by howling or crying.

• Do not damage others’ property.

• Do not scatter garbage.

• Do not chase, threaten, or attack a person or an animal.

Fines for failing to comply with the Responsible Pet Ownership By-law range from $25 to $1,500.