Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Subject: [C-L]_ Boundaries

[John Beutler (jbeutler]

At Liberty Village our property is bounded on the west by a county 
park.  The unbuilt  part of our property has paths through briars and 
brush, and there is a hedgerow with only two openings that connect our 
paths to the park pathways.  It's a very non-urban setting, and part of the 
park is definitely wetland, so foot traffic is quite light.  I haven't 
heard of any major problems with being adjacent to the park, and I think 
the hedgerow is a pretty effective barrier to people entering the 
property.  The south and east boundaries of the property are fenced with 
wire fences (a horse farm and several large single family homes), and the 
north side is bounded by a state road at the entrance.  We've had a few 
issues of people driving into the lots, but not too much problem.  The 
biggest problem lately has been people crashing into the berm or trees 
after going through a stop sign at the intersection where our entry 
is....but accidental (DUI, whatever).

We also have a "cat lady" who has harbored some of the numerous feral cats 
who used to inhabit our property before we began construction, it drives my 
terrier crazy.

I suspect the boundaries issue is much more important in urban settings, so 
I'll stop blabbering......JAB

At 06:48 PM 2/16/2005 -0800, you wrote:

> We at Oak Creek Commons in the Central Coast Region of California are
> situated on 14 acres of which 10 acres is open space covered with natural
> vegetation of oak trees and grassland.  In our Mediterranean climate the
> grass turns yellow in the dry hot summer and is susceptible to burning.
>
> The previous owner of the property did not develop it, but gave the City of
> Paso Robles an easement for a pipeline down the middle of a seasonal creek
> channel.  A gravel road was built at the bottom of the channel and became a
> popular walkway that was used many years by neighbors for strolling, trail
> biking, and dog walking.
>
> When we acquired the property, our plan was, and still is, to keep the
> natural area open to neighbors just as it was before.  We have owned the
> property for about 5 years and have experienced some damage including a
> serious fire one summer probably started by smokers that burned a few acres.
> We have to be vigilant every summer against smoking in the area (most of us
> do not smoke).  We have also seen evidence of campfires that occurred before
> we started construction.  We do not allow any fire on our land.
>
> We have some trouble with trail bikes and motorcycles going up steep slopes
> and causing erosion. Trash and too many cats from a neighbor "Cat Lady" are
> also problems.  We also have owls which one member believes were responsible
> for the disappearance of her cat. And some neighbors dump garden refuse and
> scrap lumber on our land.  Because of the openness, there is a concern on
> the part of some of our parents for security for their children.
>
> So far, the City has not asked us to put in any walkways or declare any part
> of this land as a park.  There is a disadvantage of not having a fence,
> because no one knows for sure where our land starts.  We have to keep the
> grass mowed down during the summer for fire protection.  The neighbors pay
> their gardeners to mow the grass on our land because they want to be
> protected against fire.  So there is some advantage to this confusion.  So
> far, there does not seem to be any compelling reason to build a fence.
> Besides it would be very expensive and have to be maintained.
>
> Norm Gauss
> Oak Creek Commons
> Paso Robles, CA
>
>
>
>
>
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John Beutler
Liberty Village, MD
jbeutler [at] adelphia.net