Our Development Process
We self-developed our project, which meant that we directly hired the architect, general contractor, and other experts to construct the building, rather than working with an independent developer. This benefited us by reducing our costs, provided us with more input on design and marketing decisions, and gave us a head start on developing the human aspects of our community.
How do we make decisions?
Self-development requires a multitude of group decisions. We use Sociocracy for our self-governance structure and business meeting process, and we use consent in our decision making. Sociocracy creates harmonious social environments and effective organizations. Sociocracy enables us to decentralize leadership, work, and decisions. It empowers everyone to participate and helps us honor everyone's voice. It works surprisingly well! Come see for yourself. Check out an interview with our Plenary facilitator, Amy Vincus, as she talks about Sociocracy and how it's used in BCC.
How do we oversee development?
We created a Development Oversight team to oversee the design and construction of the building. These select members worked directly with our architect, general contractor, and other building experts and kept all community members fully informed during the development process. One of our members, Christine Westfall, serves as our project manager and owner's representative, and is the liaison with all our contractors. The other team members support Christine and all oversee construction and project budget. Scroll down to meet the team.
