Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Playgrounds

[PattyMara (PattyMara]

In a message dated 5/16/99 3:45:37 PM !!!First Boot!!!, lilbert [at] 
earthlink.net 
writes:

<< I have read all of the responses to your question,(so far), and there is 
one
 thing nobody has mentioned.  You must make a playground budget NOW, or
 consense to what you want to build, even if you don't plan to build it until
 you are done with the houses.  Our community made a grave mistake in putting
 off building the playground, and it continues to have repercussions. 

At Tierra Nueva on the central CA coast, we made the same mistake.   
Fortunately we did have the village green put in as part of the landscaping 
budget, so we just had to get group consensus for the playground equipment.  
It took about 2 or 3 meetings of discussion and some tense moments before  
the membership voted to alot the money. 

Anyway, once the money got consensed, the kids and parents got together, 
surfed the web, found a great company who builds modular cedar play 
structures.  Then the kids got together and voted on which features to buy 
(rotating tire swing, rope ladder, climbing wall, platforms etc) based on the 
budget that was approved.  It was shipped to us, and we all got out there and 
assembled it in one day.   

Actually 3 of the dads did the lions' share of the work,  but all of the kids 
were out there helping and watching every move and most of the moms and 
others as well. We made lunch for everyone and made a day of it.  A very 
rewarding experience.  My memory of the event was the eagerness of the kids 
to get up on it even as the pieces and parts were being tilted up for their 
initial set up.  

The structure is a popular place now (six weeks after installation) for all 
ages of kids, even the young teens and pre-teens who hang out on the highest 
platform together.    

Liz continues:
<<We mistakenly believed that everyone wanted play areas for the children,
 because they were on the plans.  Later, we had problems reaching consensus
 because several of the non-parents don't like spending money on children.>>

 At Tierra Nueva, it wasn't that some folks didn't want to spend money on 
children, but there were so many other areas needing money,  including the 
workshop that was slated to be built "after move-in".   And the workshop was 
on the plans, in fact we put in a pad, a retaining wall and stubbed out all 
the utilities to it.  And *still* there is some reluctance among the 
membership to spend the rest of the money required to complete it.  

 If there is one piece of advice that I would give any group, to echo what 
Liz wrote about, it is:  for any common facility, be it a children's 
playground, a community workshop or sprung wooden dance floor,  swim pool, 
hot tub, *whatever* you think you want to build, get it put into the original 
construction budget.  Otherwise it will be in a perilous position, and may 
never get built after move-in. 

  Liz continues:  
>>We are now having to go back and ask the whole group for permission every
 time we want something, and few of us have the energy to push a project
 through the entire process.  I am getting really angry as I write this, and
 I would save you the frustration of that.>>

Ditto Ditto Ditto.  Unless your group is comprised of all the members who 
will be living in the finished project, the membership will definitely change 
when all the units are sold.  Our core group who did the huge work of design, 
development, marketing and construction was about 1/3 of the membership.  All 
the others came in relatively late in the process (within the last year 
before move-in).  So what was important to the core group is not necessary a 
priority for the whole group.  Then, our core group was comprised mostly of 
families with young children.  Now our membership is nearly 50% senior 
households.  I don't want to give the impression that this age diversity is a 
source of irritation.  In fact some of the seniors are the staunchest 
supporters of a child-friendly community.  But it does reflect a whole 
different set of priorities that often don't mesh with the original core 
group's decisions and visions (some of which weren't consensed, but were 
thought to be so organic to the group that we never expected them to be 
challenged or dismissed).  

So be aware that if you want to see your community facilities built, get them 
into the original budget to be built during the construction phase.  
Otherwise, be prepared for delays and possibly derailing of your dreams.

Patty Mara Gourley
Tierra Nueva Cohousing, Oceano, CA