Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Re: Use of Common Space

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Sep 16, 2005, at 7:31 PM, OCC611ng wrote:

>     If we use the argument that anything required of the community for
> upkeep of these facilities requires payment from the people using 
> them, then
> there is likely no double standard.  In fact, that will be the 
> reasoning I
> intend to follow in setting policy on private-use areas.

This is a difficult argument since nothing is required to keep up 
private unit interiors either and those are all included in the basic 
percentage interest condo fee.

The parking spaces and backyards are not really equivalent spaces. A 
parking space can be reassigned at any point and is a space that could 
be rented to anyone inside or outside the community. The community 
could also decide to convert the parking spaces to a basketball court. 
Renting them, rather than signing over rights to them or just allowing 
them to be used, preserves this option.

A back yard is not going to be used or assigned to anyone but that 
unit. If it is left open, it provides a sense of spaciousness to 
everyone. Fenced, it gives the whole area a much different feel. Think 
about retrofit cohousing where the creation of the community came from 
taking down backyard fences.

It sounds like your community does not have a clear standard for 
apportioning common and limited common space. The most accepted 
principle is that people pay in proportion to the space they have the 
right to occupy on an exclusive basis.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org