What the recorded documents actually say about Cobblestone Crossing in Elkhart — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
10 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
These answers come from the Restatement of the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for Cobblestone Crossing, a planned unit development in Osolo Township, Elkhart County. It was made on February 10, 2003 by the developer, Fireside Homes, Inc., and recorded in Elkhart County as instrument 2004-27586. It replaces the original Cobblestone Crossing declaration of August 5, 1999, instrument 99-26661, in full, and says so in its own opening pages. All 70 pages were read.
This declaration is written for Cobblestone Crossing as a whole, not for one section. The land it binds is set out in a legal description attached to it, and that description lists the plats already subdivided out of it: Cobblestone Crossing Phase II Section One, recorded as document 98-022704; Section Two, document 99-005911; and Section Three, document 99-016481. Later provisions in the same declaration also name Phase II Sections Four and Five, and the declaration lets the developer annex further phases of Cobblestone Crossing by recording a supplement. So if your home is in a section added after 2004, ask your title company for the recorded supplement that brought it in, and check whether it changed anything.
Two of the rules below come from the association's bylaws rather than from the recorded declaration, and that matters for how much weight to give them. The bylaws were adopted the same day as the restatement, February 10, 2003, and the copy on file is an unrecorded one. The rental answer in particular rests on a bylaw paragraph, not on the declaration.
A few limits worth knowing. The board may adopt additional rules and regulations at any time, and those do not get recorded, so there can be rules in force here that no recorded document would show you. The newest copy of the covenants in this file is a certified reprint of the 2004 recording pulled from the county in October 2023 and used in a 2026 sale, and no amendment recorded after 2004 turned up anywhere. That is good evidence nothing has changed, but it is not the same as a title search; ask the association and your title company for anything recorded since.
One name caution, because the two are easy to confuse: Villas at Cobblestone Square in Granger is a different development with different documents, and nothing on this page comes from it.
A fence is named directly, and it needs approval before it goes up. No dwelling unit, fence or other structure may be commenced, erected, maintained, improved, altered, made or done by an owner without the prior approval of the Architectural Control Committee. The committee regulates the external design, appearance, use, location and maintenance of improvements with the stated aim of keeping a harmonious relationship among structures, plantings and the land. If the committee does not approve, modify or disapprove a complete written application within 30 days of receiving it, approval is deemed given. The covenants set no fence height, material or placement standard themselves, so ask the committee for its current guidelines before you order anything.
The covenants never use the word shed, but they do cover anything you would build. No dwelling unit, fence or other structure may be commenced, erected, maintained, improved, altered, made or done by an owner without the prior approval of the Architectural Control Committee, and a separate clause requires the same approval for any improvement, alteration, repair, excavation or change in grade that alters a dwelling unit site from the state it was in when the developer first sold it. So a storage building is an approval question, not a free choice. The committee has 30 days to answer a complete written application, after which approval is deemed given. Because most of the ground in this development is common or limited common area maintained by the association, ask where a building could even be placed before you plan one.
Boats, campers, trailers of any kind, buses, mobile homes, trucks, motorcycles, mini bikes, mopeds and any other vehicle that is not a normal passenger automobile may not be permitted, parked or stored anywhere on the property. The clause then names a permitted place: nothing in it prevents parking or storing such a vehicle completely enclosed within a garage. So the question is whether it fits inside and out of sight, not whether you may own one. There is no loading or unloading window written into the clause, and the covenants also cap street parking at two hours for cars.
The covenants never mention a swimming pool of any kind. What they do have is a blanket approval requirement: no improvement, alteration, excavation or change in grade that alters a dwelling unit site from the state it was in when the developer first sold it may be made without the prior approval of the Architectural Control Committee, and no structure may be erected by an owner without that approval either. A separate clause bars recreational toys or equipment anywhere on the property unless the association provides them, which the board may read as reaching a portable or above-ground pool. The documents do not settle that, so get the committee to answer in writing before you buy one.
Two separate approvals sit over the outside of a home here. The Architectural Control Committee has to approve, in advance, any improvement, alteration, repair, change of color, excavation, change in grade or other work that alters a dwelling unit site or what is on it from the state it was in when the developer first conveyed it, and no dwelling unit, fence or other structure may be erected, maintained, improved or altered by an owner without that approval. Separately, the board has to give written approval before an owner paints or repaints any part of the outside of the home a different color or shade. Nothing may be affixed to the exterior walls or the roof without the board's prior consent. The committee has 30 days to answer a complete written application, after which approval is deemed given.
A satellite dish 18 inches or less across may be installed, as long as it is inconspicuously located and appropriately landscaped, and the plans for both the installation and the landscaping are approved by the board. A larger dish is not provided for. Separately, no radio or television antenna, and nothing else, may be affixed to or placed on the exterior walls, the roof or any other part of a dwelling unit without the board's prior consent. The association itself maintains any master cable or community television antenna system serving the homes. These are the recorded terms from 2003; federal rules on dishes and antennas have their own effect on provisions like these, which is a question for your attorney or the board rather than something these documents answer.
Solar panels are never mentioned in these documents, in either direction. The clause that would reach them is the one on attachments: no sign, awning, canopy, shutter, radio or television antenna or other attachment or thing may be affixed to or placed upon the exterior walls or roofs or any other part of a dwelling unit without the prior consent of the board. On top of that, the Architectural Control Committee has to approve in advance any alteration to a dwelling unit site or the improvements on it. So a roof array is a board and committee question here, and the answer is not written down in advance. Indiana law on solar access is a separate question from what these covenants say; ask your attorney about it rather than relying on this page.
Owners have less control over planting here than in most subdivisions, because the association maintains the lawns. No owner may remove, trim or prune any tree or shrub planted by the developer without the written approval of the Grounds Maintenance Committee, and no owner may plant any tree, shrub or other plant without that committee's prior approval. Flowers may only be planted in areas the board designates from time to time, unless the committee approves otherwise. Owners in Phase II Sections One, Three, Four and Five are responsible for removing, trimming and pruning the trees, plants and shrubs on their own sites, and have to follow written pruning rules covering how plants are cut back and when, with spring bloomers pruned after flowering, summer bloomers pruned while dormant, and evergreens pruned in the growing season after the first flush of growth. If an owner does not follow those rules, the board may give notice and then enter the site to bring it into compliance and add the cost to that owner's assessments. The association handles mowing, watering, fertilizing and replanting of the grass and the care of the trees and shrubs the developer planted, along with the lawn irrigation system.
Mailboxes are not an owner's to choose or replace. Installation, repair, replacement, maintenance and upkeep of the mailbox structures and of the mailboxes or mail receptacles attached to them is listed as an association responsibility, paid for through the assessments, and the board may adopt rules about them. If a mailbox needs attention, that is a call to the association rather than a trip to the hardware store.
Pet dogs, cats and customary household pets may be kept in a dwelling unit, provided the pet is not kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose and does not create a nuisance. No other animals, livestock or poultry of any kind may be raised, bred or kept on a site or in the common areas. Pets may only be taken outdoors on a leash or other restraint and while attended, and the document states plainly that tethering a pet outside the owner's site is not attending it. Pets have to be taken to a public roadway or a specially designated area to relieve themselves, and the owner is fully liable for any injury or damage a pet causes, including damage to common areas. The board may adopt further rules on pets, including a refundable security deposit in an amount the board sets, to cover damage to common areas. A pet the board judges to be causing a nuisance or unreasonable disturbance or noise has to be permanently removed within ten days of written notice. The documents set no limit on the number of pets and no weight or breed limit.
This is one of the few places in these documents where a question is answered outright. The bylaws of the association carry a paragraph headed Restraints on Alienation which states that neither the declaration, nor the articles of incorporation, nor the bylaws contain any restriction on, or requirement concerning, the sale or lease of a unit in Cobblestone Crossing. So there is no landlord registration, no cap on the number of rentals, no minimum lease term and no board approval of a tenant written into the governing documents. Two things still apply to a tenant: every site and home is to be used exclusively for residential purposes and occupied by a single family, and tenants are bound by the same covenants and by whatever rules the board has adopted. That paragraph was adopted in February 2003, and the board has power to adopt rules, so confirm with the association that nothing has been added since.
A basketball goal is not named, but the clause that covers it is broad and it is a prohibition rather than an approval: no swing sets, sandboxes or recreational toys or equipment may be permitted anywhere on the property unless the association provides them. That exception runs to the association, not to an owner, so there is no written path to putting up your own goal. A related clause adds that only those common areas specifically designated for recreation may be used for it, and that the lawns of dwelling units are not a recreational area. If this matters to you, get the board's position in writing before you buy.
One sign is allowed: a single standard yard sign advertising the home for sale, placed on the lawn of the site or in a window, and no larger than 18 inches by 24 inches. The developer and the board keep the separate right to place for sale or for lease signs around the property for unsold or unoccupied homes. Beyond that, no sign may be affixed to or placed upon the exterior walls, the roof or any other part of a home without the board's prior consent, and nothing may be hung or displayed on the outside of the windows or doors. Political, contractor and security signs are not addressed, so on the face of this wording they fall under the general restrictions.
Only normal passenger automobiles may be parked or stored on the property at all; anything else, including trucks, motorcycles and trailers, has to be completely enclosed within a garage. On top of that, no car may be parked on a street for more than two hours, which rules out routine overnight street parking for residents and guests alike. The association maintains the guest parking areas and the driveways that lie within the limited common areas, so there are designated guest spaces; the documents do not say how many or how they are allotted. Ask the board how guest and overnight parking is handled in practice before you rely on it.
The restriction here is unusually wide. No industry, trade, or other commercial or religious activity, educational or otherwise, designed for profit, altruism or otherwise, may be conducted, practiced or permitted on the property. A second clause restricts every site and home to residential use and occupancy by a single family, with the only carve-out being the developer's own sales office during construction. There is no exception written in for a home office, a business with no customers visiting, or a licensed day care, and the only sign the covenants allow is a for sale sign, so business signage has no basis in the document either. If you plan to work from home here, get the board's written position first.
We don’t have this one confirmed yet — we can ask the association and get you an answer before you commit to anything.
We can find out →This one is stated directly and it is broader than most: no repair work may be done on the property on any vehicle, including passenger vehicles. The sentence sits at the end of the vehicle clause and carries no exception for work inside a garage, for an owner working on their own car, or for routine jobs like an oil change or a brake pad. The same clause separately allows a non-passenger vehicle to be stored completely enclosed within a garage, so the document is willing to name a garage when it means one, and here it does not. What counts as repair work is not defined.
Garbage, trash and refuse have to be stored in appropriate containers inside the home, and the document says expressly that a garage counts as inside, and kept there until no earlier than sunrise on the day of the scheduled collection. For collection it goes out in sealed disposable plastic bags or other containers the board approves, at the spots the board designates, which means the pickup point may not be your own driveway. The common areas also have to be kept free and clear of rubbish, debris and other unsightly materials. The documents do not name a hauler, a collection day or a time by which bins must come back in.
Barbecue grills are named, which is rare in covenants of this kind, and they are named as something that belongs on a patio or deck. The clause says each owner has to keep the patio or deck neat, clean and free of debris, and that only patio or deck furniture and barbecue grills may be kept there. Read on its own wording that permits a grill in that spot and keeps the rest of the clutter off. The documents say nothing about what fuel may be used, nothing about a fire pit or chiminea, and nothing about grilling anywhere other than a patio or deck, and the lawns and common areas are largely association ground. Local fire rules and any board rule adopted since 2003 apply on top of this, so check with the association before you set up anything permanent.
A clothesline is not named, but drying laundry outdoors is. No clothes, sheets, blankets, rugs, laundry or other things may be hung out or exposed on, or anywhere they are visible from, the common areas, the limited common areas or any public street. The restriction is written as a visibility test rather than a flat ban, so what matters is whether any part of your site is out of that view. In a development where the association maintains the lawns and much of the ground is common or limited common area, that is worth checking on the specific home rather than assuming either way.
A flag is never mentioned in these documents. The clause that would reach one says nothing, ornaments included, may be hung or displayed on the outside of the windows or doors of a home or placed on the outside walls of any building, and that no sign, awning, canopy, shutter, antenna or other attachment or thing may be affixed to or placed upon the exterior walls or roofs or any other part of a home without the board's prior consent. A bracket-mounted flag is an attachment to an exterior wall on the face of that wording, so it is a board question. A freestanding flagpole in the yard is not addressed by that clause at all, though putting one in would be an improvement needing Architectural Control Committee approval, and the ground it would stand on may be association-maintained. Ask the board.
There is an affirmative requirement here that catches a lot of buyers by surprise: each exterior window is to have curtains with a white lining, so that every home presents a uniform appearance from the street. Alongside it, nothing, ornaments included, may be hung or displayed on the outside of the windows or doors, and no shutter or other attachment may be placed on the exterior walls without the board's prior consent. The documents do not say anything about blinds, interior shades, film, or seasonal decorations inside the glass. The one window sign the covenants do allow is a single standard for sale yard sign, which may go in a window.
Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.