What the recorded documents actually say about Crescent Oaks A in South Bend — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
3 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
STEP 0: the input carries no not-shown-here marker, and all 13 pages of the primary document are present. Verified against disk at data/ocr_text/hoa__crescent-oaks-a/, which holds 13 page files; every page has its substantial text in the input except the notary acknowledgment page, which carries no restrictions. STEP 0b: the document is a scan, so the page images at data/vision_pages/hoa__crescent-oaks-a/ were read by eye for the sections where a wrong silence would matter. Pages 9 and 10 of the recorded document, covering Article VII Miscellaneous Provisions A through L and Article VIII A through D, match the OCR exactly. Article V runs A through J and Article VI runs A through D with no gap in the lettering, so the not_stated answers reflect real silence in the document rather than failed OCR. SIBLING GAP: the input listed only hoa__crescent-oaks-a and hoa__crescent-oaks-a__3, but disk holds six further document sets under hoa__crescent-oaks*. Of those, hoa__crescent-oaks-a__2 and hoa__crescent-oaks__2 through __4 are duplicate OCR runs of this same 2009 instrument. hoa__crescent-oaks is a 19-page bundle that was not in this input and does govern this section: the 2013 First Amendment, instrument 1314979, whose own title block names the Protective Restrictions for the Home Sites 1-31 of Crescent Oaks, followed by the Section Two plat and a re-attached full copy of the 2009 Restrictions. It was read in full and folded in; it changes no use restriction. INSTRUMENT NUMBERS: three numbers appear only in the sibling corpus. 0934388 is the recording number of the governing instrument itself, taken from the First Amendment recital because the recorder stamp on this neighborhood own copy is garbled by the OCR. 1314979 is the First Amendment. 1300112 is NOT a recorder instrument number: it is part of the preparing law firm file path printed in the footer, ending 1300112013-04-12 Amendment to Protective Restrictions.doc, where a matter number runs together with the date 2013-04-12. It should not be treated as an instrument. INPUT DEFECTS: the input has no dropped_sources key at all, and its sources list omits hoa__crescent-oaks-a__2, which is rendered and OCR-processed on disk. The supporting document hoa__crescent-oaks-a__3 is a seller HOA disclosure form carrying a property street address, a seller name, and a management contact name and email address; none of that is reproduced anywhere in this file.
Fencing is allowed only in maintenance-free materials. The document requires PVC, aluminum or a similar maintenance-free product, and prohibits wood and painted metal outright. Back yard perimeter fencing up to four feet high may be permitted with the prior written approval of style and location by the Architectural Control Committee. A back yard perimeter fence taller than four feet, still non-privacy in nature, may be allowed at the committee discretion if the owner has a dog that can easily jump a four-foot fence, evidenced by a signed letter from a licensed veterinarian on the veterinarian official letterhead. Privacy fencing up to six feet is limited to a patio area directly abutting the home. Home sites numbered 6 through 11A may put six-foot non-privacy fencing around the entire back yard to allow for a future in-ground pool. Perimeter fencing is for back yards only, and the document recommends keeping it out of any dedicated easement, with the owner assuming the risk if it goes there. A fence installed without approval may be removed by the association at the owner cost, billed as a lien it can foreclose.
A detached storage building or pet shelter is permitted only with prior written approval from the Architectural Control Committee. Size is capped at 10 by 12 feet. It must sit in the rear yard, be of quality construction, be kept in attractive and neat appearance, and blend with the established home, including matching horizontal vinyl siding and matching shingles. The committee may require protective screening around it. The document also limits detached buildings to the area designated on an Exhibit A attached to the restrictions, so the permitted location depends on that exhibit.
Recreational and commercial vehicles may not be kept in open areas. The document names campers, trailers, trucks and boats, and applies the ban to open areas anywhere in the neighborhood, whether those open areas are on or off the owner home site. It does not address storage inside a garage. Separately, minibikes, motorcycles, go-carts, snowmobiles and similar motor-driven vehicles may not be operated within the neighborhood, except duly licensed motor vehicles on dedicated public roads driven by licensed persons.
Above-ground pools are prohibited, and so are temporary and inflatable pools. Tennis courts are prohibited as well. In-ground pools are not banned, and the document assumes they occur: the fencing rule lets home sites 6 through 11A fence the back yard at six feet to allow for future installation of an in-ground swimming pool, and the construction rules treat a swimming pool as an addition that must be completed within six months from the start of construction. Any such addition needs prior written Architectural Control Committee approval before work begins.
Exterior work needs prior approval. Any alteration, improvement, remodeling or maintenance of a house that affects its exterior appearance must be submitted to and approved by the Architectural Control Committee before any work may commence. For new building, or any change to the topography or drainage of a home site, plans must be approved first, and approval or disapproval comes in writing. Two complete sets of prints are submitted, one kept by the committee and one returned to the owner. Plans must show floor plan, quality of construction, materials, outside colors, harmony of external design with existing structures, and location relative to home site lines, topography and finish grade elevations. No change to approved plans may be made without prior written consent. The document gives the committee the sole and exclusive right to review submissions and says it does not have to state a reason to deny approval.
One satellite dish is allowed with conditions. An owner may erect a single direct broadcast satellite dish no more than one meter in diameter. It must be placed, to the extent feasible, where it is not visible from the street or other common property. The committee may require the owner, at the owner cost, to plant shrubbery or provide other screening and to keep the color and installation harmonious with the landscape and architecture, so long as those requirements do not unreasonably impair the installation, maintenance or use of the system. Nothing may be installed until the Architectural Control Committee has approved the placement in writing. Outside above-ground television, AM, FM and short wave radio antennas of any type are prohibited.
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 →Yards must be planted in grass. The side, front and rear yards of each home site must be planted with grass seed or sod unless the owner gets prior written approval for another ground cover from the Architectural Control Committee. Grading and seeding should be completed by the time of occupancy, and if the time of year does not permit, no later than June 15 following occupancy. Grading, sodding and seeding must not hinder drainage or the natural flow of surface water, and drainage swales and easements, including road ditches, must be left open. Lawn ornamentation of all types is prohibited without prior written committee approval, and if approved is limited to one item per home site. Owners must also maintain the lawn to prevent unsightly growth of vegetation and noxious weeds, remove debris and rubbish, and cut down and remove dead trees and stumps.
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 →Household pets are allowed with conditions. Dogs, cats and other household pets may be kept provided they are not kept, bred or maintained for commercial purposes and are not permitted to become a neighborhood nuisance or hazard. No other animals, livestock or poultry of any kind may be raised, bred or kept. Dogs must be kept on a leash and no kennels are permitted. A dog exercise area must be approved: it is limited in size, must sit tight to the side or rear of the house and may not exceed eight feet from the side of the home, and may use PVC or maintenance-free aluminum fencing five or six feet high if the Architectural Control Committee approves. An owner may be required, at the owner cost, to provide landscape screening for a dog exercise area on the side of the home.
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 →A basketball hoop needs written permission first. Sport and recreational equipment, with basketball hoops, soccer goals, swingsets and sandboxes named, is prohibited without prior written permission from the Architectural Control Committee as to both type and location, and a home site is limited to no more than one item of sporting or recreational equipment. The prohibited structures paragraph repeats the point, listing trampoline, swing set, sand box, playground and basketball hoop among structures that may not be erected without the prior written approval of the Architectural Control Committee.
Signs are limited to one small sign. No sign of any kind may be displayed to public view on a home site except one sign of not more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or rent. Political campaign signs are excepted from the ban, but must be removed within twenty-four hours after the election to which they pertain. A builder may use a sign of any dimension to advertise the property during the construction and sales period, and the developer and its agents keep the right to construct signs to promote and sell home sites.
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 →A home occupation is permitted within narrow limits. It must involve only a member of the immediate family living in the dwelling, remain entirely within the dwelling, and be clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the property as a dwelling without changing its character. It may have no sign or display indicating the building is used for any purpose other than a dwelling, no commodity may be sold on the premises, and no person may be employed other than an immediate family member living there. The document expressly excludes a barber shop, styling salon, beauty parlor, tea room, fortune-telling parlor, animal hospital, and any form of animal care or treatment such as dog trimming. Note that a separate nuisance paragraph states that no commercial, business or professional office uses shall be conducted on any residential home site, apart from developer and builder sales, promotional and construction use, so the two paragraphs should be read together before relying on a home business.
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 →Waste must be kept in sanitary containers. Trash, garbage, weeds and other waste may be kept only in sanitary containers, and no home site may be used or maintained as a dumping ground for rubbish. Any incinerator or other equipment for the storage or disposal of such material must be kept in a clean and sanitary condition. The document does not set container screening rules and does not say when cans may be at the curb.
The document does not mention grills or barbecues by name, so read the two nearby rules. It bans open fires: no fire may be permitted to burn upon any street or roadway in the neighborhood, and no open fires are allowed on any home site. It separately allows portable, government-approved containers for LP gas, gasoline or other such materials used for household purposes, while banning oil and fuel storage tanks. Taken together, a gas grill fits within what the document permits and open burning does not, but the association is the right place to confirm how it reads the open-fire language for charcoal or a fire pit.
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 →Flagpoles are treated as lawn ornamentation. The landscaping paragraph prohibits all types of lawn ornamentation without prior written approval of the Architectural Control Committee, and names flagpoles alongside fountains, bird feeders, gazing balls, benches, chairs and statuary. If approved, a home site is limited to one item of lawn ornamentation. A flag mounted on the house itself is not addressed.
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.