Curious about the move to no backyards

[an]

Even with an alley design (which I prefer immeasurably over the ugly “snout houses”) the garages generally hold at least two cars. Do that many families out there actually have 3+ cars?!? Do they really NEED that many? I live in an older neighborhood with alleys (Kensington) and I don’t notice a huge problem with all the street parking being taken…

I guess it all depends on the people who live there. For instance, Asian in general, tend to stay home with our parents much later than other nationality. I’ve seen many Asian families where their sons/daughters live with then until they get married or at least engaged. Imagine if the parents have 2 kids, that’s 4 cars already. If each kid have a bf/gf that come over often, that’s 6 cars. Now what happen if the parents have 4 kids? See where I’m getting at? These are all adults who NEED cars to get to work. They just decide to live together and want to live together. With these 3k+ sq-ft house & 4-6 bedrooms, there’s plenty of rooms to house all those people comfortable but there won’t be driveways to hold all those cars. Then you have people who live in a certain place for a very long time and start to accumulate things and use their garage as a storage. Now, the 2 car garage can only hold one or none. That would be another 1-2 cars on the street. Then there are people who have project car in their garage being rebuilt, so there’s no room for daily drivers. Alley houses with no driveways are not very suitable for families with 3+ cars. I’m sure that’s the majority, not minority.

[jeeman]

Desmond,

I hope you and the losties are rescued from the Island. 🙂

So, where do you live? Is it in Kensington or 4S or Del Sur?

Jeeman

[jeeman]

Desmond,

I hope you and the losties are rescued from the Island. 🙂

So, where do you live? Is it in Kensington or 4S or Del Sur?

Jeeman

[JJGittes]

Much of Bressi is like this, correct? Anybody live there, or have friends who live there? Opinions?

I’m also concerned with the echo factor, the goofball neighbor with a table saw or electric guitar in his garage who keeps his door open while enjoying his precious hobby, or the local drunk who backs into your garage while trying to get out of/into his garage across the narrow alley. Could be issues…

[JJGittes]

Much of Bressi is like this, correct? Anybody live there, or have friends who live there? Opinions?

I’m also concerned with the echo factor, the goofball neighbor with a table saw or electric guitar in his garage who keeps his door open while enjoying his precious hobby, or the local drunk who backs into your garage while trying to get out of/into his garage across the narrow alley. Could be issues…

[desmond]

I live up in Valencia, this is a 2004/5 KB development with more rentals, nod’s, reo’s per foot then anywhere I have seen.

[desmond]

I live up in Valencia, this is a 2004/5 KB development with more rentals, nod’s, reo’s per foot then anywhere I have seen.

[cashman]

The move to a central motor courtyard is motivated simply by one thing: higher density housing and more profit for the builders. I personally couldn’t stand it. Imagine having your remote control change the channel on five of your neighbors at once! And yes, it is a giant echo chamber. How about when your good neighbor decides to work on his Harley at 1 AM? No thanks, I’ll take some land and privacy, please. I think other design alternatives, such as putting the “snouts” on the side of the house are much preferrable.

[cashman]

The move to a central motor courtyard is motivated simply by one thing: higher density housing and more profit for the builders. I personally couldn’t stand it. Imagine having your remote control change the channel on five of your neighbors at once! And yes, it is a giant echo chamber. How about when your good neighbor decides to work on his Harley at 1 AM? No thanks, I’ll take some land and privacy, please. I think other design alternatives, such as putting the “snouts” on the side of the house are much preferrable.

[recordsclerk]

Anything that reminds me of apartment living is a bad thing. Coming home after a long day just to find that you cannot pull into garage because someone is blocking it, not a good thing. This is not a new trend because of demand for this design. This is a way for builders to give you more bang for the buck. You can build more house on a smaller lot. I have two different friends that have bought these types of homes. They bought because of the price for the product. They would have preferred a snout garage with a driveway but could not afford the equivalent sq footage for the same price. I personnally like a motor court with a private gated entry.

[recordsclerk]

Anything that reminds me of apartment living is a bad thing. Coming home after a long day just to find that you cannot pull into garage because someone is blocking it, not a good thing. This is not a new trend because of demand for this design. This is a way for builders to give you more bang for the buck. You can build more house on a smaller lot. I have two different friends that have bought these types of homes. They bought because of the price for the product. They would have preferred a snout garage with a driveway but could not afford the equivalent sq footage for the same price. I personnally like a motor court with a private gated entry.

[JJGittes]

Also, I am wondering, in these alley-garage communities, are there CCRs about not washing your car? I mean you don’t have a driveway, so where would you do it anyway? Oh well, its probably not eco-friendly with all the brake dust washing away down the alley gutter anyway…

[JJGittes]

Also, I am wondering, in these alley-garage communities, are there CCRs about not washing your car? I mean you don’t have a driveway, so where would you do it anyway? Oh well, its probably not eco-friendly with all the brake dust washing away down the alley gutter anyway…

[Author]

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