Cohousing-L Mailing List: yards

[Cascadia Commons Cohousing (cccoho]

"Greetings" yesterday -- request for help today.
Cascadia Commons is drafting its condo association by-laws.  One of the
questions
giving us some difficulty is whether we should establish mini-yards for the
exclusive use of designated units.  Our site is very dense -- 3 acres for 26
units, and over an acre of that is protected wetlands and associated buffer.
Some of our units have no more than a two foot strip of plantable ground
across the front.  Some actually have fairly sizable back yards -- as much
as 20x20 feet.  Our question is whether to leave all outside area as common
space or permanently reserve for designated units the use of specific,
platted, fairly inaccessible spaces for use as dog pens or idiosyncratic
planting areas, etc. (with ground rules, of course).  
        We would much appreciate hearing from groups who faced a similar
decision and have lived with their choice for some time.  Would you make the
same choice, whchever it was, if you had it to do again?
        Thanks for any help you can give?  

George Stone, For Cascadia Commons