Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Controversy over attached garages

[Nancy E Wight (wight]

David Adams said:

..
> That said, this frightens me.  First, I'm concerned about a family who wa
> so attached to the idea of an attached garage that they would give up the
> place in the development rather than lack a garage.  

I should clarify this.  I believe the issue for them and most others was 
the *parking* next to their house.  Garages are available for those who 
want them, they just aren't *attached* to the houses - you have to walk 
75-300 feet.

> I don't know the specific situation, and
> I'm probably being horribly unfair.  Unless there are all sorts of other
> hidden agendae, it seems like an odd reason to give up a space in the 
> community.  Furthermore, it's sad that people ahead of this family in 
> seniority were more interested in having a garage than in keeping this 
> family in the community.  

What is unsettling to me here is that these people were not alone, they 
just had the least seniority.  There are other households who would not 
have stayed in the group if they could not park next to their house.  There 
are some people for whom the inconvenience of lugging their stuff and their 
kids to and from their cars, especially in the winter, is just too 
inconvenient (even with the carts that we are going to have).

Yes, it was very sad to lose these people.  Maybe we can learn something 
from this, though.  Not everyone shares our "pedestrian community" idea - 
they just see it as giving up something important (drive-up parking).  
Maybe we all need to hear from folks living in cohousing about the benefits 
of a pedestrian community, and how it has worked out in other communities.

> For those who don't have garages, what is the average / longest walk?  Wi
> you be contracting for plowing?  Will you be paying the teens to shovel 
> common walkways?  

I believe that we have 11 houses with drive-parking (some with attached 
garages).  For the other 13 houses, most of the people will have to walk 
between 75 and 250 feet.  There are a couple of houses that are 300 feet 
from parking, and one house that is almost 350 feet.  

We have not decided how the walks will be shoveled.  I vote for contracting 
for plowing.  I'm sure we'll pay *someone* to shovel the common walkways - 
we don't have enough teens right now.

- Nancy

Nancy Wight                                   wight [at] world.std.com
New View Neighborhood Development             Acton, MA