Policies

Meetings

(As of May 2022): HiP will hold one full council every other Sunday at approximately 7:30p (but more exactly 15-20 minutes after dinner is served so that everyone can get food and sit down.) Council typically lasts 1-2 hours. 

Meetings shall be conducted in accordance with the Hillegass-Parker Rules of Parliamentary Procedure. Minutes 2014.06.01

Agenda items must be submitted no later than 48 hours prior to the meeting. (2005.09.05; additionally, see Late Agenda Items policy below; 2014.02.02) The person submitting the item must have two co-sponsors (besides themselves) to support the motion. Proposals need to be written with enough detail that they won't have to be fleshed-out further in order for it to be passed, and the sponsors should be able to support it as it is written. The president can make exceptions for some items that appear very likely to pass without modification or debate (for example, guests staying more than a week). (2007.10.07)

Meetings shall start with one minute of silence to help us focus. (2006.04.17) Note that at least three attempts to modify or replace the minute of silence have been unsuccessful. See Minutes 2008.04.13 ("Replace the minute of silence with 20 seconds of animal noises"), Minutes 2009.03.01 ("Abolish the minute of silence"), and Minutes 2012.07.01 ("Replace the minute of silence with a moment of screaming"). No screaming or particular noises required as of 2022.08.20. 

Any non-manager who proposes more than 2 motions per semester that involve the imposition of a fine will themselves be fined $20. Any manager who proposes more than 3 motions per semester that impose fines will also be fined $20. (2006.10.22)

Any house member may bring a motion before the house council to create a "mandatory event." The penalty for nonattendance for mandatory events must be stipulated in this motion, which requires a 2/3 vote of the house council. Unless an event is voted on by council in this way or is otherwise stipulated in our bylaws, policies, or central level guidelines, managers may not penalize house members in any way (including but not limited to workshift or uncooperativity fines) for nonattendance at events. (2013.02.27)

Provided all other requirements re: notice are met but quorum is not present, either:

1. 1. Council may be canceled.

   2. A one-minute pause shall be taken to allow all members to recruit additional members. 

   3. Or a present member may move to online vote by raising their hand and saying “move to an online vote.” At that point, discussion will be held for five minutes (as normal) (or extended by vote) and any amendments to the motion may be made. 

      1. From there, the President (or presiding officer) shall launch an online poll within 24 hours, including a link to the specified motion(s) including any amendments from council. 

      2. The poll shall run for 7 days or until quorum is reached, whichever comes later.

      3. The poll shall require email addresses to be added and set to prevent duplicate voting.

      4. When quorum or the 7 days are reached, the President shall check that only one response has been entered per person, confirm that only house members have voted, anonymize the poll, and ask the House Manager to tally the votes. 

      5. If the President sponsored the motion, House Manager may not co-sponsor the motion, and roles described in section (iv.) above must be switched. 

      6. If the House Manager sponsored the motion, the President may not co-sponsor the motion and another non-sponsoring delegated member or manager must tally the votes. 

      7. While Google Forms works well, any sufficient voting software may be used. 

Notes:  No additional discussion should be held online. Email debates are no substitute for council discussion. (2022.07.24)

Late Agenda Items

A council agenda item submitted later than 48 hours before council is a “late agenda item.” Late agenda items may be proposed at any point, even during council. Like regular agenda items, a sponsor and at least two co-sponsors are required. If a late item is added to the agenda, a 2/3rds super-majority is required to pass. This is to discourage passage of controversial items as late submissions. See Minutes 2014.02.02 .

House policies and bylaws may not be changed via late agenda items. Late items are submitted by the following procedure (2014.02.02):

1. Complete the form Request for Late Motion.pdf (also available here: Request for Late Motion). All applicable questions must be answered, even if the best answer possible is “I don’t know.” 

2. Move for a late agenda item and present the form to the presiding officer (usually House President) 

3. Read all sections of the form for council to be entered into the minutes. 

4. There may follow a debate about whether to include the late item on the agenda. The President should endeavor to keep the debate short, after all it is a discussion about whether to discuss. 

5. The late item may be added to the agenda by a simple majority vote.

Room Bids

The House Manager facilitates room bids. Our house uses the BSC Room Bids policy. Please refer to this link for details of the process: BSC room bids

Room Sharing: If two individuals are sharing a room, the person with more points bids for the both of them. In other words, the person higher on the list will bid and pull in their partner along with them (note that the two people's points are not added up or averaged or otherwise modified by a formula).

Switching rooms: Switching rooms by individuals is not allowed; to be fair to all house members, all room changes must go through the bidding process.

Early Move Outs: If a room is vacated in the middle of the semester, the house manager may choose to hold room bids again. If room bids are held, the member who bids into that room retains squatting rights as normal; if room bids are not held (usually due to temporal proximity to the end of the semester), the room must be put up for bid the next time room bids are held. (2011.11.20)

Early Move Outs 2: However, the house manager considers very carefully whether room bids should be held again. A mid-semester room bid at HiP tends to be unfair to many people who would like to move mid semester but cannot. Even with early move outs, room bids generally only happen once per term, near the start of the semester. (2022.11.20)

Room sharing

Up to 6 of the Deluxe rooms can be rented as doubles, bringing house-level occupancy to a maximum of 63. The furnishings of Double Deluxe rooms shall consist of one desk, one dresser, and one full-sized bed set. Assignment of doubles to be done through central level. Bidding is done according to the procedure for apartments (2006.10.22) (except for points, which are not added up—see Room Bid policy above, 2011.11.20). For details on how to obtain a contract for two people in this way, consult central office.

Rooms

North House can designate their own keyholder for locked-out people. (2006.01.29)

"Squatting" in rooms is allowed fall to spring and spring to fall, but not summer to fall. In addition, over the summer, rooms with returning residents in the fall are not allowed to be painted or dramatically altered. (2006.04.02)

The fine for lost keys is $10 per key. (2007.05.13; see also Security, below)

Room improvement reimbursements

Members can be reimbursed 50% of the cost of materials for permanent improvements to their rooms, with the maximum reimbursement being $100 (so $200 max materials cost), subject to the following conditions:

(a) The project must be approved by both the maintenance manager and the house manager before any work is done. In particular, the maintenance manager should provide some guidance to the member on how the project should be implemented. Approval should be based upon the validity of the project, as well as budgetary concerns, the long-term value of the project, and any other relevant factor.

(b) After the work is completed, it must be inspected by the maintenance manager to ensure that the improvement is sufficiently permanent and well-done.

(c) The member must submit receipts for all materials purchased to the maintenance manager within one week of purchase. (2009.08.02)

Workshift

These council-approved house workshift policies are NOT the complete set of workshift policies.

Part of the workshift manager’s expected duties are to dictate the remainder of the workshift policies, and post the workshift policies before permanent shifts start each term.

The workshift manager is encouraged to use past workshift policies as a guide and make only incremental changes where possible.

The workshift manager may make any workshift policies that do not contradict the council-approved house workshift policies. (2017.11.12)

Definitions:

-Workshift fines: Fines applied to a member for workshift hours still owed at the end of the term. ONLY applies to hours owed at the end of the term. In accordance with CO policy, workshift fines are paid into the habitability account, which can be used only for paid workshift and only then as permitted with permission and prior approval by CO staff. (2017.11.12)

-Uncooperativity Fine (UF): A fine applied to a member for behavior deemed uncooperative by house policy. In accordance with CO policy, uncooperativity fines are paid into the house account, which can be used for any lawful purpose approved by house council. (2017.11.12)

-Fining period: A mid-term deadline at which a member’s up or down workshift hours are assessed for possible application of an uncooperativity fine. (2017.11.12)

HiP house does not assess workshift fines mid-term. Workshift fines are applied once per term at the end of the term. (2017.11.12)

HiP house has 3 fining periods in Fall and Spring, and 2 fining periods in the Summer. The workshift manager sets the fining periods at the time the workshift policies are posted. The workshift manager is encouraged to set the fining periods at weeks 6, 10, and 14 in a 17-week term, or make only small deviations from this schedule. (2017.11.12)

At each fining period, any member who is down more than 4 hours is assessed a UF at the workshift rate for all negative hours. Any member down 4 hours or less is not assessed any fine.  Applying a UF does not change the workshift hours balance, and the hours must still be made up. Examples assuming the workshift rate is $14/hour: Adam is down 4.5 hours at a fining period, so Adam’s UF is $14/hour*4.5 hours=$63. Adam must still make up 4.5 hours. If Adam does no extra workshift to reduce his deficit by the next fining period, he is again assessed another UF. Bree is down 4 hours exactly at a fining period, so Bree’s UF is $0. Bree must still make up 4 hours. If Bree falls behind any more before the next fining period, she will owe a UF of more than $56. (2017.11.12)

The workshift manager will determine a cap for the number of hours a member can accrue against future workshift obligations in the same term. The cap should be about 10 hours. (2017.11.12)

Members who are down ten or more workshift hours (two times the weekly workshift requirement) will automatically trigger eviction procedures (the first step is to come up with a plan to reduce your down hours, to be approved by the house). (2005.09.19, 2006.04.02)

We allow each person to be absent from the house for four weeks (or any 28 days) per semester without owing any workshift hours. Beyond the first four weeks, members are held responsible for three hours of workshift per week. They can do these hours in advance or after returning, or they can pay the workshift rate so the house can hire somebody to fill in the open shifts. The workshift manager will keep track of this and is in charge of enforcing the policy. (2008.10.26)

We shall have a 1/2-hour supply-checker workshift. (2005.12.04)

Doing workshifts nude will not buy you additional workshift hours. (2006.01.29)

We will reimburse the breadwinner at 44 cents/mile or for a City Carshare membership if necessary. (2006.06.04)

House-level managers and people who work at CO who receive more compensation than they owe as part of their house-level workshift obligation shall be compensated at the workshift rate for the extra time (for example, if the house workshift requirement is 4 hours/week, and a resident holds a 5 hour/week CO shift, they shall be monetarily compensated for the extra 1 hour). A portion of the extra compensation may be applied to HI responsibilities (with the consent of the maintenance manager). (2006.11.19)

Workshift and social managers decide whether and how much credit to give DJs at parties. (Spring 2007; minutes missing)

The Social Manager can have a social crew member who receives 2 hours per week of workshift. (2023.06.18) 

Smoking & Vaping 

Smoking or vaping of any substance is not allowed inside, unless the member has made a previous arrangement with house leadership about the use of medical marijuana in their room and house leadership has done due diligence to ensure that no neighboring members are adversely affected. (2017.6.18) If you smoke outside, please make sure the smoke does not blow into the house. (2005.08.28) Smoking or vaping is also not allowed within 20 feet of all entrances and operable windows of all buildings (including the carriage house). The way our buildings are arranged at the time of this writing, the following areas would allow smoking: all of the wooden deck in the garden, all of the pergola, and all of the garden in between. Exceptions to this rule are as follows:  

1. the roof (because smoke rises) 

2. during house social events and parties, the area in between Main and South House (for neighborhood noise abatement) 

3. during rain or other inhospitable weather conditions, the covered entrance to the carriage house (for protection from the elements) 

4. non-tobacco products on private balconies, with the consent of all affected neighboring residents 

5. the cement square immediately north of the carriage house windows (aka "the fire pit"), provided that all doors and windows of the carriage house and main house which are facing this area are closed, and smokers will move to a different area if the need to open these doors/windows arises. (2010.10.24)

Fine for smoking or vaping where prohibited (violating section 12 of bylaws and the policy above): one hour of workshift for each offense. (2005.08.28)

Storage

Public space cannot be used for personal storage. People will be warned and fined after 3 days of inappropriate usage. Fines are workshift rate for removal with a minimum of one hour, with procedures left up to the house manager. (2006.08.06)

NoHo storage policy: residents with no closets can store three boxes for free. Otherwise, boxes can be stored for $10/box/semester. A box is up to an 18-gallon Rubbermade-style storage tote. (2006.09.10) Storage fees will be $10 for first box and $5/box for each additional. (2023.09.03) 

Any resident in violation of fire/habitability codes is to be issued a written warning by management. If the violation is not brought into compliance within 48-hours, a $25 fine can be imposed. Second violations of the same nature will be fined $50 (total fine $75 = $25 + $50). (2006.09.10)

The cost for the designated parking spot for a motorcycle is 20 percent the cost of a regular parking spot for an automobile. (2012.02.26)

Bicycle Storage

Anyone not currently living at the house may not store their bike in the regular bike parking areas. Bikes which are being stored while their owners are not living at the house (e.g. for the summer) must be stored under North House or in some other space deemed appropriate by the maintenance manage, as space permits. Similarly, anyone not using their bike frequently is encouraged to put it in storage under North House. (2011.07.10)

HiP can have up to 3 house bikes in bike parking. House bikes will be placed in designated parking spots and labelled so they can be used more easily. House bikes shall be signed out when used and shall not be borrowed for more than 48 hours. Managers will keep track of bike locks and keys. (2014.10.26) The house bike should be named and a photograph should be posted on the refrigerator. (2024.02.04) 

All resident's bikes must be registered (Make/Model/Color/Serial Number) with the house and tagged with a numbered tag. Any bike that is stored long term (more than a month) not registered with any resident or designated a "house bike" will be moved to storage under north house, cutting locks if necessary (with an email to hip_announce at least 24 hours in advance). These bikes will auctioned by the house and, if not purchased, donated to charity on a semesterly basis. Any resident whose bike is not being used (parked for more than a month) or is not in ridable condition will move their bike under north house. These bikes must still be registered. (2014.10.26)

Common space furniture policy (2022.07.24)
Furniture can be a great addition to common space. However, introducing new furniture can also introduce new pest issues, clutter, habitability concerns, safety concerns, stress, and a lack of accountability. According to BSC bylaws, the House Manager is required to deal with abandoned furniture (Section III(A)(3)(5)). This responsibility also falls upon the Habitability Coordinator. This policy addresses furniture introduced to the common spaces at HiP, to empower those who wish to remove it if it does not belong. 

(1) where furniture is getting out of control:

(a) at any time, an inventory may be taken of the existing furniture in the living room, foyer, and front patio by HM and HC; 

(b) a vote will be taken by the house to retain existing furniture, remove it, or replace it at the next council meeting; 

(c) HC, HM, and WRM shall coordinate removal of all unwanted furniture. 

(d) after all unwanted furniture is removed, photos taken again; 

(2) members removing furniture shall email the house within 24 hours of removing any furniture to common spaces (note, managers have the discretion to remove furniture from hallways as needed, as this is an automatic habitability fail).

(3) members introducing new furniture shall email the house within 24 hours of adding any furniture to common spaces to inform the house (note, no furniture shall be added to hallways under any circumstances, as this is an automatic habitability fail). If there is objection to the new furniture by a member and two co-sponsors to their motion, the person objecting shall bring the question of “should the furniture be kept” (not “should the furniture be removed”) to a vote at the next council meeting. Keeping the furniture requires a ⅔ of those present if there is quorum. If the new furniture is rejected, the person who added the furniture to the space must remove it from common space within one week. 

What is furniture? 

Google defines furniture as: “large movable equipment, such as tables and chairs, used to make a house, office, or other space suitable for living or working.” Specifically: couches, chairs, tables, desks, side tables, lamps, rugs, and other variations on these. 

Note: The cooperative thing to do is always to inform the house when you are modifying common spaces. Seek approval (on top of giving notice) if what you are modifying is significant. This note applies to furniture and non-furniture. (2022.07.24)

Services

Collecting money for cans and bottles (instead of letting the City of Berkeley pick them up) does not appear to be cost-effective, so we won't be doing that. (2005.12.04)

We shall charge people at cost for printing. (2006.02.26)

Food & Boarding 

All house-level boarders must be recommended or invited by a house member, or come before council.

House-level boarding rates are:

    Full boarding: 80% of the central-level full boarding rate.

    5 nights a week: 40% of the central-level full boarding rate.

    3 nights a week: 24% of the central-level full boarding rate.

 A house-level boarder may receive a house key only if a motion is passed granting them a key.

 All money collected from the karma box and house-level boarding will be deposited into HiP accounts as follows: 50% to house account and 50% to food account. (2017.11.12)

We are a room and board house during the summer. (Spring 2007; minutes missing)

Going forward, there should be system for donating dishware and pots to the house to limit the introduction of excessive dishware and pots. Kitchen Managers should be contacted before large donations (more than 2 items per person per semester) to ensure that they account for dishware and pot inventory before and after large donations. Excessive dishware and pots will be stored in NOHO for future needs if dishware or pots break. These items should not be accessed or reintroduced otherwise. (2024.03.03)

We don't use Teflon. (2006.11.05)

Finance

$400 is being held in reserve to repurchase mattresses in case the number of people who have their own mattresses decreases. (2006.07.02)

The book club is authorized to spend up to $30/month to buy books for the house library. (2008.08.03)

Authority to spend money will expire the beginning of the following contract term after it was approved, or 30 days after it was approved, whichever is later, unless otherwise specified. (2008.05.11, 2010.07.26) This does not apply to HAPS items. (2009.01.25)

House-managed accounts

Transactions & log:

Any transaction in cash in an account managed at the house level, such as cash in the safe or karma box, shall be verified by at least two elected house leaders/managers, who will log each transaction with the following information: the date of the transaction, the amount of the transaction, the purpose or occasion (e.g. “reimbursement to Gene Wilder,” “deposit to safe from karma box”), and the verifiers’ names. The House Manager shall maintain the log.

Accounting:

The House Manager shall make available to the house, at least monthly, that log, along with a transparent record of balances and transactions in any account managed at the house-level. These include, but are not limited to, cash and paypal accounts.

HM Failure to comply:

If at any time the House Manager fails for a period of 2 or more consecutive months to comply with the accounting requirement above, then the House President shall add to the next possible Council agenda a discussion of accounting for house-managed money

Your Responsibilities as Host (2009.12.06)

Introduce your guest to the house at dinner, by email, or both. Guests should not be seen as uninvited strangers, and uninvited strangers should not be seen as guests.

If your guest will be staying 5 days or more, inform the house manager and workshift manager directly. *If your guest stays 5 days or more, they owe full workshift hours, which may be fulfilled by you, your guest, or other arrangement.

Guests who share regular meals at HiP (or their hosts) pay the "per-meal" boarding rate. Regular meals means more than once a week on average.

You are responsible for your guests at all times. You are responsible for their comfort and well-being, and for educating them on coop policies and safety. You are responsible for their actions, including unintended consequences, for example theft due to doors left propped open.

Duration of Stay: Guests may stay up to one week without prior approval. Guests staying more than one week must be approved at house council. As per BSC policy, each house member may have guests for no longer than 2 weeks.

Restrictions on Guests in Common Space: House members may reserve the guest room for a maximum of 7 nights per semester. The guest room key and an extra house key are available from the house manager in exchange for a key deposit of $20.

Guests are welcome at HiP, but anyone staying in the guest room, basement, carriage house, or other common areas must be personally trusted and known by their hosts. The sentiment of all-embracing hospitality is noble, but at a coop inviting a guest into your house is also inviting a stranger into someone else's house. 

Therefore, People who: 

Are immediate family, close friends or relatives. 

You have lived with 4 months or more 

You have worked with closely (school, work, etc) 

ARE permitted to stay as guests in common areas.

People who: 

Are invited from couchsurfing.com or similar networks 

Are friends of friends 

You would hesitate to lend your wallet, keys & car 

ARE NOT permitted to stay in common areas, and will be asked to leave immediately.

If you are unsure about the appropriateness of inviting a guest to stay in common space, consult the house manager, who may approve, disapprove, or refer the matter to house council.

There are no house policy restrictions on who stays in your personal space. (bedroom) However, PNG restrictions apply to the entire property.

Former Chateau residents are approved to meet on October 22, 2022 in the living room. The organizer has agreed to instruct each attendee (they are expecting 30 to 40) to make at least a $5 contribution to the house's cash reserve. They have also agreed to open up the living room to interested HiP residents from 5 pm to 6 pm. (2022.05.01)

Security

We will have window security bars on vulnerable windows. (2023.01.29)

There will be a nightly security workshift, to take place  every night after 11pm and involve checking all ground floor / basement windows and doors are locked, as well as both exterior gates. This workshift should be assigned to one member, rather than have different members sign-up impromptu. (2023.01.29)

Codified Norms: (2023.01.29)

1. Never prop any perimeter doors open (that connect our property to the street).

2. Don't leave windows open / unlocked at night, unless you are in the same room as the window.

3. Driveway gate will shut at night (any point after dinner), open again in the morning (after sunrise). You may open the gate to drive in/out, but then you must shut it behind you.

Electricity

Any resident who chooses to have a personal fridge or other high-load bearing appliance in their bedroom will be charged a supplemental electricity fee of $10 per month. This is to cover the cost of running the appliance. (This doesn't apply to people who don't actually plug in the appliances. (2006.11.19))

Workshift & HI Hours

HI: All house members are required to put in 4 (3) hours of House Improvement time each semester. (unsure when change took place. Updated here 2022.08.20)

Murals and other permanent art installations in public spaces (i.e. not bedrooms) at HiP, whether commissioned or free, and whether awarded HI, workshift, or other compensation, shall require prior council approval. The advocates will submit a sample in the form of a sketch, mock-up, scale model, computer rendering, or other approximation of the finished work, and/or similar work to demonstrate general form and style. A "yes" vote shall signify both that the project is a welcome improvement to HiP, and that the sample works are sufficient for making this judgement. A "no" vote shall signify that the proposal is lacking on one or both of these points. HI hours for the project may be awarded at the discretion of the Maintenance Manager, up to the number of hours owed for one Fall or Spring semester. HI hours in excess of the number owed in one semester may be awarded with council approval. A simple majority is sufficient to approve the project and/or extra HI hours. The exterior of doors to personal rooms is not considered public space. (2012.01.23)

HI done in a person’s room is credited at half hours with the exception of large projects. Large projects such as painting white or installing flooring will be credited at full hours. The large project exception will be at the Habitability Coordinator’s discretion with advance approval. (2022.05.01)

Opt-in Fees

Every semester, managers may request various opt-in fees. We have traditionally allowed opt-outs for reasons of self-identified financial hardship for the media fee. A member can opt out by communicating their desire to the house manager. We find this is a good compromise between collective economic action, the needs of low-income individuals, and personal privacy. Because this fee will be collected by CO and they have deadlines, members must opt out before the deadline to avoid being charged. The fee is calculated assuming 50 paying members out of 57, which is in line with historical patterns. (2022.02.06)

Consent Workshops 

Consent workshop attendance will be mandatory at the start of each semester, documented with a sign-in and sign-out sheet. If a member does not attend, they will not be permitted to attend any social events until they attend a make-up workshop at HiP or another unit. There will also be a 2-hour uncooperativity fine for members who do not attend, equivalent to $44 as of the time of motioning. (2023.08.20) 

PNG's and Contract Terminations

If two thirds of the house votes to designate an individual as PNG (Persona Non Grata), then the outcome of those votes will hold. This is a symbolic gesture to be used in egregious cases of conduct violations as a kind of “last resort”, when conduct cases at the central level are not processed in a timely manner or in violation of stated BSC procedures. (2024.12.15)

For PNG designations of non-members, we defer to the unit-level PNG policy of the BSC.  The text is reproduced below, as of 2024-12-12:

An individual unit may designate a non-member of their unit as a persona non grata per the process outlined in the unit’s bylaws. Unit-level PNGs may only be considered for Tier I or Tier II conduct complaints. Tier III conduct complaints must be referred to the Conduct Committee (for respondents who are current BSC members) or the BSC PNG Review Committee (for respondents that are non-members).

Once a PNG is approved, the Unit President must inform the Cooperative Experience Manager in order to avoid one of the following scenarios: (a) Assigning an individual to a unit from which they have received PNG status; (b) Hiring an applicant with PNG status for a job that requires that individual to enter the premises where they received PNG status; (c) Admitting a new member who received PNG status while a non-member for offenses that would have resulted in termination had the non-member been a member; (d) Allowing an individual to “flee” from termination by transferring.

Unit-Level PNG status will be kept on file at the Central Office when the following criteria are met:

(1) The PNG is made at a council meeting with quorum and a majority vote.*

(2) The procedure must be properly documented. **

a) Allegations must be described.

b) Entire process must be described.

c) Attendance and vote-count must be noted.***

d) It must be noted whether or not the PNG’d individual is a BSC member.

e) It must be noted whether or not the PNG’d individual was present at proceedings.

f) Minutes should be submitted if available.

g) A written response from the PNG’d individual should be submitted if available.

(3) Houses may use more rigorous voting requirements but not less.

(4) The PNG Review Committee will treat attendance and vote count as good indicators of the seriousness of the PNG status when deciding cases (see below).

(5) People subject to unit-level PNGs may appeal through the process outlined in 2-e and -f. If found unsubstantiated, Central will not record or enforce the unit level PNG.

BSC policies

In addition to the house-level policies outline above, all members have agreed to abide by BSC-wide policies, including those regarding pets and illegal substance use. Any member of the house may report violations of these policies to either the house manager or directly to the central office.

Miscellaneous motions passed 

Note: although some of these policies are no longer relevant to the current house, we decided to put them on to have a record of motions as well as to let the house know what is possible via the parliamentary procedure!! 

• On November 17, 2024 HiP allowed the placement of a Hot Tub in the back yard.

• On October 20, 2024, HiP voted to allow Holden to purchase a Ping Pong table for house use. 

• On September 22, 2024, HiP voted to allow Jae to purchase Hepa stand up vacuums. 

• On September 22, 2024, HiP voted to host an out of house party. 

• On March 3, 2024, HiP voted to allow Ruby to host her 22nd birthday Dolly Parton Darty in the Carriage House.  

• On April 17th, 2022, HiP allowed for the purchase and construction of shelves for the Social Closet. 

• On January 23, 2022,  the house voted to allow Lucas and Alex to host their 30th birthday party at HiP, bring in a band, and clear the deck away of tables for dancing. 

• On February 20th, 2022, HiP allowed for a $1300 purchase of three vacuum cleaners

• On May 1st, 2022, HiP allowed for the purchase of a $600 toaster / convection oven.

• In May 2020, HiP allowed for a $60 purchase of a communal shower anal/vaginal douche to be placed in the MaHo basement guest shower for the purpose of general cleaning, and sanctioned its use. HiP suggested that members interested in using the douche invest in their own douche heads. If you don't find the hose screwed into the shower head splitter, it is likely in the cabinet under the sink. 

• In August 29, 2021, HiP voted to allow Nam to significantly renovate his room .

• On June 20th, 2022, HiP voted to allow a bidet to be put into one of the South House bathrooms, which is really really great for anal hygiene and should frankly probably be in all bathrooms. 

• On June 20th, 2022, HiP allocated $300 and HI to construct a Porch Swing, which you may hopefully enjoy. 

• On May 2nd, 2022, HiP voted to allow Lucas' guest Alex (his twin) to stay for a month. 

• On December 12, 2019, HiP hosted a bitter and at times rancorous debate over whether to dismantle the gym in the carriage house that had been approved in Summer 2018, with a different motion. Although the motion to dismantle the gym passed 21 "yes" to 19 "no" in December 2019, it was later argued that the motion was close to a bylaw change in the purpose that it was dictating for the permanent use of a common space, and thus needed a 2/3rd vote. That threshold was not cleared. A third motion, passed on March 21, 2021, reverted the language of the Dec 2019 motion to make it clear that it was a bylaw change and that the outcome of the motion was invalid, and so the gym lawfully remains. 

• On March 7th, 2021, HiP voted to allow several boarders to get keys. 

• Throughout March 2021, there were a motions to try to get a treadmill and another motion to redo the votes of the original motion due to suspected double voting.  The house did not get the treadmill. 

Defunct

Space in the basement shall be allotted for a (folding) ping pong table. (2006.02.12)

We have given permission to several adults to set up a kiddie pool in the back yard and lounge around in it. (2006.06.18)

Matthew Tucker-Simmons is the Maple Syrup Tsar. (2006.09.24)

Any meetings or gatherings held in our house must be approved by the house. Meetings that are not strictly house functions must be sponsored by a member of the house who is responsible for their guests. (2005.09.19)

We share a vision of trying, in spirit, to not go over our budget (approximate $165/person). (2005.08.28)

There is a John Anderson Memorial Good Co-oper Award, initially consisting of a t-shirt, given to one especially deserving co-oper each meeting. John Anderson is ineligible for the award. (2006.10.22)

We rent a parking space out to City Car Share. (Spring 2007; minutes missing)

We want faster internet (DSL) for $70-100/month. (2005.08.28)

We want a house phone (VOIP) for $28/month. Unlimited local/national calling. If you make international calls, please reimburse the house. (2005.09.10 House Ballot)

We want Netflix for $25/month. (2005.09.10 House Ballot)

We want to subscribe to the following periodicals: New York Times, The New Yorker, The Economist, National Geographic, Scientific American. (2005.10.03)

(Defunct):  In the interest of minimizing the length of individual council meetings, HiP council will conduct one "half-council" every week over Sunday dinner.  The first "half-council" consists solely of Member/Manager Announcements and Informal Discussions; the second "half-council" consists solely of Member Announcements and Motions. All house policies, including submission and notification requirements, continue to apply. (2014.09.28)

Meetings shall be held every other Sunday at dinner time (7:00pm) (Monday if it is the end of a holiday weekend). (2005.11.14; 2006.06.04; article 3 of Bylaws; 2007.10.21) [the struck-through portion was superseded by the council approved policy immediately above and then that superseding policy was itself rendered defunct by the reinstatement of the original policy of Sunday councils held every other week]

We don't use plastic plates. (2010.09.26)

There's a TV schedule posted a month in advance. Each member can reserve the carriage house TV or the basement TV for up to 3 hours each day (6am-6am). (2006.07.02)

In line with BSC policy, the unit-level Persona Non Grata (PNG) policy requires 2/3rds of the votes to be YES, rather than 2/3rds of the entire house. The number of votes should be at least ½ of the house. (2023.10.15)