Zephyr Valley Community Cooperative
Membership Information
Membership
Before joining Zephyr, you will need to work out your
own answers to three questions: (1) Do you want to
live in a community governed by consensus? (2) do
you want to live in a rural area? (3) Is Zephyr the right
consensus-based rural community for you?
Zephyr’s route to membership is designed to give you
the time you will need to answer these questions for
yourself and to get the assistance you will need from
Zephyr Members. To help you to do this, you are
invited to become a Friend of Zephyr (FOZ) or an
Associate Member (AM). FOZs are people who want
to spend an indefinite amount of time just getting to
know ZVCC and who don’t have an immediate time
frame for joining. Associate Members are people
who are willing to put a good deal of time and energy
over a period of at least 6 months exploring the
possibility of joining Zephyr.
Financial Requirements
Members pay an initial fee of $10,000 per adult
member. This was the amount each of the original
members contributed toward the purchase of the
farm. This amount is refundable to departing
members, but the Coop may limit repayments to no
more than $100 a month plus interest on the unpaid
balance. Members make a monthly contribution to
Zephyr’s expenses. This is set annually during Coop
budget discussions and is currently $50/month per
member. Other charges paid by those living at
Zephyr include charges for trash/recycling averaging
from $20 to $40/month per household depending on
the number of adults & kids.
Financial Health of Coop
The Coop has no outstanding debt. Land and
buildings are assessed at over $2 million. Our
operating budget for 2013 is $21,000. 31% of this
comes from members and the rest from agricultural
land and building rents, and from government
programs. This additional income allows us to keep
member contributions low.
Home Ownership
All land is owned by the Coop, including the foot print
of buildings.
There are six existing homes owned individually by
members, which occasionally become available for
resale to new members or rental to prospective
members, plus more home sites. A new home is
under construction.
Homes may only be owned by members. This means
they can only be sold to other members, and so
cannot be sold on the general real estate market. In
the 11 years since Zephyr began, there have been 7
new members in 4 families. Three of these families
built or are building their own homes and one bought
a home from a departing member.
Most new homes have been financed through private
personal assets. Coop financing is not available, nor
are conventional commercial mortgages possible
because of the restrictions on selling. However, North
Country Economic Development provides mortgages
and is currently financing the purchase of one of our
houses by a new member.
There are no restrictions on the kinds of homes that
can be built, though they must be in sites pre-
approved by the Coop. See the Build Your Own Home
at Zephyr section below for details.
Up to one acre of yard space is allowed around each
home, in which members are mostly free to do what
they want subject to a few environmental & safety
restrictions
Running Zephyr
We hold 2-hour, meetings, twice a month, open to all
Members and to those in the membership process.
Here we thresh out issues and work toward
agreement through consensus. Decisions about the
land and community are made here. All other
decisions are individual and are made privately. The
option exists to resolve conflicts by majority decision,
but this has never been used.
Consensus can be frustrating for people who feel
they have a reasonable request, but find that this is
not the way the community wants to go or that the
community will not meet their time frame. However,
when consensus is working at its best, the eventual
decisions reached are better than any of the ideas
that individuals have initially.
Through the years, the community adopted a
meeting process that has been successful in leading
efficiently to consensus decisions.
Our ByLaws are available on request.
Things To Do
Life at Zephyr revolves around our community center
where we have meals once a week and on holidays,
parties, and meetings. Also we have a spring fed
swimming pond, another pond where we ice-skate, a
soccer/baseball field, trails for walking and skiing, and
barns for animals and storage.
There are 176 acres of woodlands, 81 acres of goat
prairies and ---- acres of restored wetlands, plus
many acres of pastures, high grass meadows, ponds,
creeks and a trout stream. A wild spaces policy
governs the use of these areas. Zephyr is an active
participant in various Federal & State conservation
programs.
Winona has a rich cultural life for such a small town,
largely because of the presence of two universities:
Winona State & St. Mary’s.
Earning a Living
You should have a clear idea of how to support
yourself before moving here. Opportunities are much
more limited than in a major metropolitan area.
Most of us earn our livings in nearby communities.
Winona, MN (population 30,000) is 15 miles away, La
Crosse, WI (pop. 75,900 ) 30 miles and Rochester, MN
(pop. 93,300) 50 miles away. Occupations of
members include school administrator, information
systems, community organizer, forester, gardener,
bookkeeper, massage therapist, and artist.
Visiting Zephyr
Advance arrangements are required for visits. Most
of us are occupied with our jobs and families, which
limits time and energy for visitors.
First send us a brief email describing who you are
and your interest in a rural, consensus-based,
community. That way we can connect you up with the
right member to make arrangements for your visit.
To make arrangements, contact us at
zephyrcoop@gmail.com. Here is a Map of Zephyr
Building Your Own Home at Zephyr
We live in separate homes. We do not want urban
densities, but we do cluster homes to promote social
interaction to the extent the topography of the valley
allows, avoiding the visual dominance of ridge-top
dwellings and the isolation of secluded areas. Sites
must be pre-approved by the Coop.
Zephyr places no restrictions on the type or
appearance of new homes, but we do limit the size in
the initial phase of construction to 2,000 sq. ft.
Extensions are possible, subject to County zoning
restrictions, providing the first phase has been
completed and is occupied. Also, the Coop limits the
length of construction to three years, although
permission may be granted for extensions. For more
information, see the Coop’s Home Construction
Policy.
Construction of additional homes is subject to the
Winona County Zoning Ordinance which places
restrictions on where homes may be built based on
the gradient of the land, use of tillable agricultural
land and other factors. Winona County requires a
permit for new home construction, including location
and design of the septic system and requires an
electrical inspection.
© 2015 Zephyr Valley Community Cooperative