Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Boundaries

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Feb 14, 2005, at 10:17 PM, Stacia Leech and Gary kent wrote:

> Have other communities experienced 'youth' on site who are not there 
> for
> a purpose and if so how do you deal with them?

We had serious problems about a year ago and had to be very vigilant 
for a time and then it ended. In our case it was a particular set of 
kids who were using out hot tub (we had to lock the cover, not just the 
fence), walking into people's houses uninvited, playing basketball, 
etc. We had to lock a gate to stop others from just walking through.

In our case it was a particular set of individuals. The walk-throughs 
only made us nervous because of the behavior of those individuals but 
it seemed prudent to stop it. We are not a gated community but do have 
a fence across the back and the parking lot has a gate to stop illegal 
parking. We are also pretty urban.

Your situation at Robert's Creek is different. We have clear boundaries 
and just needed to make them known to kids who live in the area. One 
was a known, active, professional thief but for others we looked like a 
park and they didn't see it as private property.  It sounds like your 
boundaries are not clear and are adjacent to an area that is used by a 
variety of people -- not neighbors. I doubt that signs will help at all 
-- I think they may be necessary legally if there were ever an incident 
on your property that you were held accountable for. The public posting 
of signs is in some places evidence of your attempt to protect others 
from your property.

If a parent felt that you were providing a spot for their kids to get 
in trouble -- encouraging or enabling delinquent behavior -- you could 
be held liable. If you wanted to stop unwanted intrusions or use of the 
land but still wanted to give access to the school classes, for 
example, you might put up a fence with gates so you could permit access 
but control it. Would tall hedges work? They take time to grow but are 
less imposing perhaps.

Sharon
---
Sharon Villines, Editor and Publisher
Building Community: A Newsletter on Coops, Condos, Cohousing, and Other 
New Neighborhoods
http://www.buildingcommunitynews.org