Controversy at J Street Co-op

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Open Letter to the Community: SCHA Board Needs Reform

by pxl

From 2005 to 2010, I lived at the J St. Co-op, which is one of two co-operative homes owned by Solar Community Housing Association (SCHA). In the past two years, a series of events has unfolded that leaves me with no respect for the SCHA board of directors or their collective commitment to non-hierarchical cooperative housing and environmental sustainability. In my opinion, the SCHA board of directors is desperately in need of reform and restructuring.

The J Street Co-op was established in 1986 and is located at 234 J Street.

The SCHA board of directors has repeatedly ignored or violated their own bylaws and values and demonstrated their ecological ignorance or lack of concern for the planet. In housing cooperatives, there is often high turnover, including on a board of directors. My hope is that the board will soon get back on track, but I fear this is not the case. Several of the best board members have left this year, with some frustration over faulty board process and I think the most detrimental board members are now the “old hats” from which new board members are learning.

In order for SCHA to stay true to their core values of affordable cooperative housing and environmental sustainability and to put some recent wrongdoings in the organization’s past, I am calling for a general return to core values by the board and the resignation and removal of SCHA director Max Stevenson specifically for many reasons. There has been such high turnover on the board this year already, and I do not know some of the current board members so I do not think it necessary for the entire board to step down.

The not-for-profit SCHA was formed with the stated goal of “reducing the burden of affordable housing from the state.” In order to ensure this, there are income limits in place for all non-student SCHA members (80% of local median family income or currently about $38,000). In 2006 or 2007, SCHA Community Director Max Stevenson started a several month long process of trying to remove the income limits from our housing. This was a huge time drain, detracted from the very core of the organization, and could have jeopardized our tax-exempt status had he succeeded. I opposed this action vocally and Max wrote me an abusive private email belittling me, while sending a polite public email to everyone else. I forwarded his abusive email to the rest of SCHA and he apologized for what he had done. In retrospect, I should have demanded his resignation then.

From 2007-2009, the SCHA board approved thousands of dollars in airline ticket purchases to send members to a national weekend co-op conference in Michigan, while, in the same period they completely ignored a similar West Coast conference. They purchased these tickets over the repeated objections of members who did not want their money to go towards one of the most polluting and damaging means of transportation possible. With these actions, the board has increased the carbon footprint for this 16 room Co-op to an absurdly large and completely unsustainable size. I went to this conference once, but I rode the train.

In 2009, Stevenson attempted to get SCHA to co-invest in some property with him in an expansion project. This was in direct violation of SCHA’s governing bylaws. I opposed this attempt as well.

In September 2009, the Board awarded SCHA Community Director Ben Pearl almost $40,000 to be project manager for a new SCHA expansion project. They did this without creating a job description or seeking ANY outside applicants for the position. While not a violation of SCHA bylaws, I don’t think this conforms to common not-for-profit etiquette. Ben abstained from the vote to “avoid” conflict of interest but I would like to see him resign from the board OR step down as project manager for the new co-op.

On September 21st, 2009, the board held a secret meeting with a small group of mostly former co-op and board members. That night, the board decided that I should be forced out for being “too confrontational”. They offered me $600 to not sign a new lease and move out by October 1st. If I refused, they threatened to serve a three-day eviction notice… after living there for almost five years.  As soon as I became aware of the board’s action against me I initiated a mediation process with the City of Davis’ Community Mediation Services, which is one of the first steps in SCHA’s grievance process. The board declined mediation.

I negotiated with the board personally. At this point, I no longer wished to reside in the midst of a negative situation. We agreed that I would have 30 days to vacate, I left in “good standing”, and I signed a small book-size-document they’d paid a lawyer to draft, saying I would agree not to sue SCHA. I have not financially recovered, am still homeless and I still have no desire to sue the organization. I just don’t want the current board to ruin this great organization.

According to SCHA’s bylaws, there are very specific ways to be forced out, such as 2/3’s of current housemates petitioning the board for a member’s removal. In my case, none of the criteria was met and more of my housemates opposed my eviction than supported it. The board violated many of its bylaws, established process, our written lease, and completely ignored the written grievance policy (a legal attachment to our lease). When I asked why they were not following procedure, the board told me “no one has followed process from the beginning, so we’re not going to start now” and “it’s easier for everyone this way.” Everyone except for me that is, whose rights were being trampled.

This series of actions has severely impacted SCHA’s reputation in the community. Good organizational process is essential for transparency, openness and accountability, which I feel the board is lacking right now. Many current and former members have said they do not feel the board is responsive to them. I have been asked to join the board many times, I always declined (I’m not fond of meetings) and was too busy with my work and gardening for Food Not Bombs, Whole Earth Festival, Yolo County Food Bank, and J St. co-op.

I hope that you’ll let the board know what you think about their actions, demand that the SCHA Board of Directors adhere to their bylaws and that directors are reprimanded when they don’t. The future of truly co-operative housing is at stake…

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SCHA Board Response

by Solar Community Housing Association Board of Directors

Solar Community Housing Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has provided cooperative housing in Davis for 31 years. The nonprofit is run by a volunteer board of 7 members from its two houses and 3 from the community. We make all decisions by consensus. Holding select members responsible for these decisions is unjustified and defamatory. The open letter of Ron Stivers (Pxl) contains factually inaccurate claims and misrepresentations of the bylaws, actions taken, and opinions expressed by SCHA members. Asking a member to leave is a stressful event in any community; we feel it would be unjust to list our grievances in a public forum. Those concerned with these decisions are welcome to contact us. We pursued legal counsel to ensure our compliance with all written policy. We also pursued discussion that reached mutual agreement, avoided eviction, and allowed Mr. Stivers to leave in good standing. The board is evaluating how our bylaws could be reformed to ensure a clearer process, as well as pursuing training activities to facilitate more effective communication within our community.

This past year has been one of challenge and opportunity at SCHA. In April we took on fiscal sponsorship and signed the lease of the Davis Bicycle Collective; helped them establish accounts, insurance and move towards their own non-profit status. This fall, we hosted a low-carbon diet team that brought members of different households together to brainstorm ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Most ambitiously, we are developing a new cooperative at 3rd and J Street, which will increase our capacity for sustainable low-income housing and outreach into the community. We’re organizing a Davis Co-op Conference to help unite and strengthen the local community by sharing resources, skills, and experiences. We are providing support to save the Davis Student Co-op, which is currently threatened with closure by the university.

We’re a small and imperfect organization that passes its ownership down to each new set of residents, who learn from their own mistakes and bring their own vision and skills. We invite your feedback and your criticisms to help us become a better organization. Contact scha.davis@gmail.com or join us for a community meal; you’ll find times on the Davis Wiki.