What the recorded documents actually say about Covington Shores at Knollwood in Granger — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
45 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
TWO THINGS DECIDE WHICH RULES APPLY TO YOUR HOME HERE: which section or phase your lot is in, and whether it is a LAKE LOT. The main declaration covers all of Phase I Sections One through Four, Phase II Section One and Phase III, each recorded separately and each listing its own lots - the lot ranges are set out above, and they are worth checking against your own lot number. On top of that, the lake lots in Section One (lots 43-50, 52-56, 58-66, 83-88 and 196-201) carry a whole additional declaration with its own architectural committee, covering piers, docks, sea walls, shoreline use and what may be built near the water. A home on one of those lots is governed by both documents. The declaration also carries special provisions for Lot J and for Lots B and C specifically; if you own one of those, ask for them by name.
The only perimeter fence allowed is a split rail fence, two rails high and no more than four feet tall. A dark vinyl-coated mesh may be attached to its INSIDE face, but it may not rise above the top rail and its inner side has to be partly screened with landscaping. Anything else counts as a privacy fence: no more than six feet high, allowed only around the immediate pool or patio area, matching the architectural style of the house, and approved in writing by the Architectural Control Committee. No fence of either kind may run forward of the front foundation line of the house. Any variance from all of this needs written committee approval.
A detached storage building or pet shelter is allowed, but it has to be quality construction, kept neat and attractive, blend with the house, and go to the Architectural Control Committee for approval BEFORE construction starts - and the committee can require screening around it. On a lake lot there is a further limit: no such structure may stand within forty feet of the lake's easement line. Separately, no trailer, modular or manufactured home, prebuilt home, basement, tent, shack, garage, barn, outbuilding or temporary structure may be moved on, assembled or built and used as a residence at any time.
No recreational or commercial vehicles - campers, trailers, trucks and boats are named - may be kept in open areas in this subdivision, and the clause reaches open areas whether they are on your lot or off it. On the lake side, a boathouse or boat shelter may not be built on a shoreline area at all.
No above-ground pools, no domed pool enclosures and no tennis courts. An in-ground pool is contemplated - the fencing paragraph allows a privacy fence around the immediate pool area - but like anything else built here it goes to the Architectural Control Committee for written approval first.
Nothing may be erected, constructed, placed, maintained or altered on a lot, and the natural topography and drainage may not be changed, until the Architectural Control Committee has approved the plans. The house itself is limited to one single-family dwelling of no more than two and a half storeys plus a private garage for no more than three cars, and any exception needs the committee's unanimous written approval. Driveways must be at least twelve feet wide and built of asphalt, brick or concrete - no stone or cinder - with asphalt at least three inches thick and concrete at least four; a circular drive in front may be eight feet wide. All fireplace chimneys are masonry. Every lot carries a dusk-to-dawn post light of a type the committee approves, set in front of the front building setback line, and the owner keeps the bulb working.
A dish is allowed within limits. You may put up a direct broadcast satellite dish no more than one meter across, an MMDS antenna no more than one meter across or diagonally, or a television broadcast antenna - but NOTHING may be installed until the Architectural Control Committee has approved it. It must go where it is not visible from the street or common property so far as that is feasible, and the committee can require you to plant shrubbery or other screening at your own cost and to match its colour to the house, so long as that does not unreasonably impair your use of it. Above-ground AM, FM and short-wave radio antennas of any type are banned outright, and all utility service is underground and out of sight.
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 →There is a real planting requirement here, and it is bigger than most. A minimum of FOUR trees, each at least eight feet tall and four inches in diameter, must go in with the initial landscaping of the yard. The side, front and rear yards must be seeded, sodded or planted with ground cover within 120 days - weather permitting - of the house being finished or occupied, whichever comes first, unless the Architectural Control Committee approves something else. Wild flowers are allowed, but only as a minor accent. On a corner lot the usual sight-line triangle applies, and hazardous material may never be allowed to run into the catch basins along the curbs or in the rear yards.
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 →Dogs, cats and other household pets are allowed. No animals, livestock or poultry of any kind may be raised, bred or kept otherwise, none may be kept, bred or maintained for a commercial purpose, and none may be allowed to become a neighborhood nuisance or hazard. A detached pet shelter is possible but needs Architectural Control Committee approval before it is built.
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 →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 →No sign of any kind may be displayed to public view on a lot, except one sign of no more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or rent, and a builder's signs of any size during the construction and sales period. The developer kept a right to put up whatever signs it wanted to promote the development.
Recreational and commercial vehicles - campers, trailers, trucks, boats - may not be kept in open areas anywhere in the subdivision, on or off your lot. Driveways are at least twelve feet wide and built of asphalt, brick or concrete; stone and cinder drives are not permitted. Every home has a private garage for no more than three cars.
A home occupation is allowed, but only if it is invisible: conducted entirely inside the house, carried on solely by a member of the immediate family living there, clearly incidental to using the home as a home, with no sign or display showing from outside that the building is used for anything but a dwelling, and no commodity sold on the premises. Otherwise a lot may be used only as a single-family residence.
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 →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 →No lot may be used or kept as a dumping ground. Trash, garbage and other waste go in sanitary containers, and any incinerator or disposal equipment is kept clean. The clause that catches people is the next one: absolutely no dumping of trash, landscaping debris or animal waste is permitted on any empty lot or common area, and a violator who can be identified pays the cost of cleaning it up.
No fire may burn on any street or roadway in the subdivision, and burning anywhere else here requires a burn permit from the Harris Township Fire Department. Fuel storage is limited too: no oil or fuel storage tank may be installed or kept on a lot, apart from portable government-approved containers of LP gas, gasoline or similar for household use - which is what a propane grill tank is.
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 →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 →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 →Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.