Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Density vs. privacy

[Mark Frauenglass (WORKGROUP/MAILDATA/Mark%Acquilano_Leslie_Inc+p]

Marty,
>*How many units do you have on how many acres?
Highline Crossing has 36 units on 3.64 acres, about 10 units per acre.

>*How close are the houses to each-other?
25 feet minimum between BUILDINGS (per code).  There are from 4 to 8
units per bldg.

>*How far is it from the farthest unit to the common house?
Only about 180 feet - the C.H. is centrally located and visible from all
bldgs.

>*What is the greatest distance between your two furthest-from-each-other
>houses?
??  40 ft. +/-.  The buildings face each other across the pedestrian way

>*Do you have porches and are they used for socializing? (or for storage!?)
Yes, and with only two bldgs moved in, we hang out quite a bit, particularly
at dusk when it cools down, children are playing in the sandbox 'node'
between
the first two bldgs., and adults are chatting.  My biggest gripe is my 2bdrm
unit
porch isn't big enough for our glider.  For now we're using lawn chairs
until we
get a smaller porch swing.

There are several condo style units on the 2nd story (over the handicap
ground
flr units) that have a large shared balcony-porch.  These people hang out
and
look over the walkway activity, New Orleans style.

>*Do you suffer from too much community and wish for more privacy?  or
>*Do you have too much privacy and wish you were closer together?
The open fronts of the bldgs are great when I want to commune with the
neighbors  Our backyards were programmed to be the 'private' spaces.
No one else has built any fences yet, so all the back yards are connected.
I erected a 6 ft. tall wing wall which extends out 8 ft. on one side of our
back
yard.  My other neighbor wants to do a hedge, but I'm not happy with the
years-long wait for this screen to develop.

>*Do you have a range of options for people that want to be close in the
>middle of things, and some units more private?        No.
>*If so, is that a problem?        Not yet.

The density numbers could be deceiving. Some of the reasons we chose this
site are the park along our north property line, which is open space we
don't
have to (directly) pay for/maintain, and the Highline Canal along our west
border
which has bike/hike/horse trail and overlooks McLellan Reservoir.  Initially
we looked at no less than 5 acres, but the smaller site was acceptable due
to
the built-in open space.

Mark Frauenglass
Highline Crossing
Where the ground was all mud, the trees are all little, and not enough kids
yet.