The Charter — our commons in plain words

The handful of rules that hold the whole thing together — the spirit the trust deed and co-op bylaws will make binding.

1. The land is held forever

All the land sits in the community land trust, debt-free and permanent. It can't be sold, mortgaged, or foreclosed, and if the trust ever dissolves the land must pass to another like-purpose non-profit — never to private hands. The ground under us is not for sale, ever.

2. Your home and your living are yours

The trust caps land speculation — and nothing else. Your home, your business, your income, your savings are yours, uncapped, to keep and to pass on. The commons owns the dirt and the shared pipes; you own your life on it.

3. One fair rule for every hard turn

Debt, bankruptcy, a death, a departure, a divorce — all met the same fair way: the co-op's right to buy back at a capped value, used as a shield to keep you in your home wherever it can, and to settle things with dignity where it can't. The land never leaves the trust; the commons is never carved up by one member's misfortune.

4. Affinity, never exclusion

You choose who you live near — neighbourhoods form by affinity, freely. But no neighbourhood may ever bar a person from the commons or its shared services for who they are. Gather with your people; never lock anyone out.

5. We decide by consent for the permanent things

One member, one vote — and for anything that touches the permanent commons (the reserve, the occupancy and share terms), we lean on consent, not a bare majority, so a passing 51% can't undo what's meant to last. That's what the Commons Hall is for.

6. Guilds do the work; many hands, one home

The commons runs on ten domain guilds. Join as many as your hands and heart allow; call one your home. The work is shared, owned, and answerable to this charter.

7. We tell the truth about the limits

This charter softens many hostile forces but pretends to defeat none. A spouse's family-law claim and the state's power to expropriate it can shape but not erase — and we say so plainly. A promise too good is torn down in a courtroom; an honest one holds.

The spirit now; the letter with counsel

This is the spirit of the commons, in plain words. The binding versions — the trust deed and the co-op's rules — are being drawn up with legal counsel before the entities incorporate. Where the lawyers' words and these ever differ, the spirit here is what we meant.

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