Welcome to Bay Vista!

Bay Vista is a planned community of seventeen residential parcels located at Bayshore in Mason County, Washington. The owner of Bay Vista is the Bay Vista Housing Association, a cooperative housing corporation, which is registered as a Washington State nonprofit association. Each member of the association leases one of the seventeen Bay Vista parcels for 24 successive 10-year terms, or a total of 240 years.

Bay Vista includes the both the members’ parcels, as well as common areas along the shores of Oakland Bay and on the uplands. Members are immediately adjacent to tidelands, water-related activities, and stunning views. Because of these opportunities, Bay Vista is one of the most desirable residential locations in Mason County.

Bay Vista Housing Association is responsible for maintenance of the common areas, and members are responsible for maintenance of their own parcels.

Bay Vista is governed by a Board of Directors, which follows its Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, and Rules and Regulations. The purpose of the Association is to “make Bay Vista Housing Association an exemplary place to live in accordance with the principles of cooperative ownership.”

Bay Vista is a residential use restricted community. The members participate in a variety of activities as an association, including social gatherings and cooperative efforts to maintain and improve the common properties.

What is a Co-op and How Does It Work?

In that Bay Vista is a housing co-op, the following information is intended to serve as a guide to the principles of co-op living and as an introduction to the Bay Vista Rules and Regulations.

Being a member of the community means that you have purchased, from a corporation which owns the property, one of seventeen shares of the corporation.  Because you have signed a Bay Vista Housing Association Occupancy and Lease Agreement, rather than buying real property, you have purchased a share of the corporation. That share entitles you to a proprietary lease, corresponding to a specific property, giving you the right to live in the community.  In addition, not only are you are entitled to exclusive use of a specific housing unit and the rest of whatever other property exists within the boundaries of your surveyed parcel, you are also entitled to use of the common area property in Bay Vista.

In a manner of speaking, we are members of a business which is run by and for its members.  As such, this provides a way for us to share the costs of this property and facilitates our ability to live in the unique environment that is Bay Vista.

Typically, co-op housing shares the costs of upkeep, maintenance and shared amenities across all its membership, similar to an HOA.  This requires a form of self-governance to manage the costs of the community and make decisions regarding future expenses.  In the case of Bay Vista that governance is manifest in the Board of Directors.  Because we are somewhat self-contained it is up to us to govern our community in the manner that makes it a place we want to live.

As with other housing co-ops, our principles are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. As members of the Bay Vista co-op, we believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others.

Bay Vista will endeavor to have members who share our values, accept the responsibilities of membership and are willing to take pride in their homes, meet their financial obligations, participate in the operations of the co-op, and follow the policies of the co-op, including the behaviors defined in the Rules and Regulations.