ABOUT US

Our current neighbors includes state employees; healthcare workers; university professors and librarians; a land conservationist; students; and retirees with a rich variety of professional backgrounds. Our ages range from 3 months old to 86 years young!

What is an Intentional Community?

At its core, an intentional community is a planned residential community where residents share a common vision, values, and activities. Examples of intentional communities include cohousing, ecovillages, housing collectives, cooperatives, and others.

What is Cohousing?

Cohousing is an intentional community that balances the traditional privacy of homes with an enriching experience of community through resident participation in the design and maintenance of common areas and amenities.

History

The idea of a cohousing community in Tallahassee began with Ann & Emory Hingst. After sharing their vision with friends and community members, three families enthusiastically joined them. After purchasing and developing a 1.5 acre in-town site for eight homes in 1991, three households had moved in by December 1993.

Several years later when an acre across the street became available, this young community expanded Daystar to include five additional homes which would become DayStar II, a separate entity with its own HOA. While all thirteen homes are part of an intentional community, the first 8-home site of DayStar is cohousing and the second 5-home site is DayStar II, an intentional community minus the cohousing features.

From DayStar's beginning, many people have participated in ways big and small to create the community we enjoy today. Some came to a few early meetings, some lived here for a time, and others put down roots that just keep growing.

Self-Governance in DayStar

The residents of our 8 households are responsible for self-governance through our Homeowners Association. Guided by the DayStar HOA Bylaws and Covenants and Restrictions, we aim for consensus in making decisions and rely on the ongoing input and participation of all community members. Leadership roles, including our Board of Directors, are voluntary and are paid handsomely with good humor and gratitude. Our HOA collects annual dues from homeowners for routine common area maintenance, tree stewardship, and miscellaneous repairs. Regular HOA Business meetings are held in the Spring and Fall, with other meetings on as 'as needed' basis.

DayStar does not have a shared economy or common set of beliefs. We are a group of individuals with our own personal beliefs and values, who live independently of each other yet are also committed to both the benefits of and the modest practical demands of living in intentional community, grateful that many hands make light work.

For more information, our governing documents can be found under the "Library" tab.

Community Work

We collaborate in managing community activities and responsibilities, including caring for our common areas. All DayStar residents participate in "workdays" as needed throughout the year to help maintain the beauty of our neighborhood and to tackle small enhancement projects for the enjoyment of all. We routinely care for our shared gravel parking lot and stormwater pond and clean up storm- or hurricane-related debris as needed. These workdays (generally really a few hours each) are another great way to spend time with our neighbors.

The Sights and Sounds of DayStar

A paved sidewalk begins in the shady, graveled parking area and winds past each house’s front porch, alongside flower beds and small grassy lawns, past the small pond and to the Little Free Library by the street. Native, low maintenance landscaping is a prominent feature and garden boxes located on the larger lawn produce vegetables year-round. Residents annually share the bounty of our community fruit trees, including figs, satsumas, Meyer lemons, and pears.

A table and benches underneath a Longleaf pine tree often host neighbors discussing the season’s crop or catching up with the latest news. In cooler weather, the fire pit area finds us sharing time together. Other residents of our community include local wildlife such as rabbits, raccoons, opossums, and more than 25 bird species that thrive on the seed and suet provided by the birders among us. Between the “bird song” overhead and the “frog song” emanating from the pond on warm evenings, it’s sometimes hard to believe we’re living in the middle of town!

As you wander, you’ll notice that only three DayStar houses have street frontage; the others are located further back on the property, behind the gardens, lawns, and pond. You might also notice that houses have a “nameplate” by the front door: Casa Blanca; The Beehive; Day Break; Keystone Cottage; Light House; Pond House; Evensong; and Solstice Cottage. Each house name was chosen by its owner to call attention to a special characteristic of the house itself or its environ.

As we go to and from our mailboxes and cars; sit on our front porches, work in the garden; and walk our pets, we appreciate the beauty of both our surroundings and of impromptu encounters with neighbors in our daily lives.

DayStar II

Our Nearby Family

Across the street, DayStar II neighbors live in traditional housing (5 homes in all) on small lots sharing a back-alley driveway. They are historically connected to DayStar and their residents continue to share in community by frequently joining us in weekly happy hours, monthly potlucks, and our annual summer Progressive Dinner. This larger neighborhood fellowship adds a special richness to our lives.

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