Community ownership
Encyclopedia
Community owned assets or organisations are those that are owned and controlled through some representative
mechanism that allows a community to influence their operation or use and to enjoy the benefits arising.
Benefits of community ownership in infrastructure
projects such as dams and irrigation are claimed to include increased responsiveness to needs of that community and the community valuing the projects more highly.
including Eigg
and Assynt
, after the local Ames Department Store closed due to bankruptcy and residents were forced to travel 50 miles to Plattsburgh
for staples, the town was approached by Walmart which offered to build a 250,000 square foot supercenter, but it was felt by the community that Walmart would negatively impact local business and increase traffic. As an alternative a community-owned store was organized and shares were sold to community residents. $500,000 was raised by about 600 residents who made an average investment of $8000.goal last spring. The store, Saranac Lake Community Store, opened in October 29, 2011 in remodeled facilities in downtown Saranac Lake. Powell, Wyoming
also has a community store established in 2002 under similar circumstances. In both instances the securities were intrastate offerings registered under less onerous state securities laws
rather than federal law
. Funds were raised in a similar way for an independent bookstore
in Brooklyn, a coffeehouse
in Oakland, and restaurants in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
and Hardwick, Vermont
. In Hardwick two enterprises were created, one which operates a restaurant which prepares meals using locally grown food, another which bought and equipped the location as a restaurant.
The New Rules Project of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance a nonprofit corporation has worked to make financing of community owned business less onerous. H.R.2930, the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Acthttp://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.02930:, would relax securities law requirements making it easier for a community to raise money for community owned enterprises.
Lobbying
Lobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
mechanism that allows a community to influence their operation or use and to enjoy the benefits arising.
Benefits of community ownership in infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
projects such as dams and irrigation are claimed to include increased responsiveness to needs of that community and the community valuing the projects more highly.
Community land buyouts
Community land buyouts are situations where communities buy the land they live on and manage them through locally run trusts. There are many examples of this in the highlands and islands of ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
including Eigg
Eigg
Eigg is one of the Small Isles, in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With an area of , it is the second largest of the Small Isles after Rùm.-Geography:The main...
and Assynt
Assynt
Assynt is a civil parish in west Sutherland, Highland, Scotland – north of Ullapool.It is famous for its landscape and its remarkable mountains...
Community owned enterprises
In Saranac Lake, New YorkSaranac Lake, New York
Saranac Lake is a village located in the state of New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,406. The village is named after Upper, Middle, and Lower Saranac Lakes, which are nearby....
, after the local Ames Department Store closed due to bankruptcy and residents were forced to travel 50 miles to Plattsburgh
Plattsburgh (city), New York
Plattsburgh is a city in and county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 19,989 at the 2010 census. The population of the unincorporated areas within the Town of Plattsburgh was 11,870 as of the 2010 census; making the population for the immediate, urban Plattsburgh,...
for staples, the town was approached by Walmart which offered to build a 250,000 square foot supercenter, but it was felt by the community that Walmart would negatively impact local business and increase traffic. As an alternative a community-owned store was organized and shares were sold to community residents. $500,000 was raised by about 600 residents who made an average investment of $8000.goal last spring. The store, Saranac Lake Community Store, opened in October 29, 2011 in remodeled facilities in downtown Saranac Lake. Powell, Wyoming
Powell, Wyoming
Powell is a city in Park County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 5,373 at the 2000 census. Powell is an All-America City and home to Northwest College.-Geography:Powell is located at ....
also has a community store established in 2002 under similar circumstances. In both instances the securities were intrastate offerings registered under less onerous state securities laws
Blue sky law
A blue sky law is a state law in the United States that regulates the offering and sale of securities to protect the public from fraud. Though the specific provisions of these laws vary among states, they all require the registration of all securities offerings and sales, as well as of stock...
rather than federal law
Securities regulation in the United States
Securities regulation in the United States is the field of U.S. law that covers various aspects of transactions and other dealings with securities...
. Funds were raised in a similar way for an independent bookstore
Independent bookstore
An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned.-Literary and countercultural history:Author events at independent bookstores sometimes take the role of literary salons. The bookstores themselves, "have historically supported and cultivated the work of independent...
in Brooklyn, a coffeehouse
Coffeehouse
A coffeehouse or coffee shop is an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the characteristics of a bar, and some of the characteristics of a restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on...
in Oakland, and restaurants in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
Hastings-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located in the southwest part of the town of Greenburgh. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 7,849. It lies on U.S. Route 9, "Broadway" in Hastings...
and Hardwick, Vermont
Hardwick, Vermont
Hardwick is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 3,174 at the 2000 census.It contains the incorporated village of Hardwick and the unincorporated villages of East Hardwick and Mackville...
. In Hardwick two enterprises were created, one which operates a restaurant which prepares meals using locally grown food, another which bought and equipped the location as a restaurant.
The New Rules Project of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance a nonprofit corporation has worked to make financing of community owned business less onerous. H.R.2930, the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Acthttp://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:h.r.02930:, would relax securities law requirements making it easier for a community to raise money for community owned enterprises.
External links and further reading
- "Love a Local Business? Advise it to be careful about selling shares!" blog post by Katovich Law Group
- "Local Stock Exchanges and National Stimulus" by Michael H. Shuman, originally published in the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Community Development Investment Review Volume 5, Issue 2, 2009
- "Community Development Investment Review" Volume 5, Issue 2, 2009, forward by David Erickson, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
- Full review
- Could “Small Is Beautiful” Replace “Too Big to Fail?” Don Shaffer, RSF Social Finance
- Full review
- Innovative Models of Financing, Ownership and Management, by Bruce Girard, 18 April 2005
- New move over land reform, BBC News Online, 19 August 2003