What the recorded documents actually say about Douglas Crossing in Mishawaka — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
15 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 Declaration of Protective Covenants and Restrictions Applicable to the Recorded Plat of Douglas Crossing, Lots 20 through 54 inclusive, recorded in St. Joseph County on December 19, 2000 as document 0058005, together with the association's Code of Bylaws adopted April 25, 2001.
Read the lot range carefully, because Douglas Crossing is not governed by one document. This declaration covers lots 20 through 54 only. A separate and earlier set of Protective Restrictions and Covenants for Douglas Crossing Section One, recorded April 19, 1989 as instrument 8912701 by a different developer, covers lots 1 through 10 and lots 60 through 66, and it is a different set of rules. It has its own architectural control committee and its own home-occupation paragraph, which the 2000 declaration does not have. The only copy in this file is a fax-quality photocopy that is too degraded to read reliably, so nothing on this page is drawn from it. If your lot is numbered 1 through 10 or 60 through 66, these answers may not be your rules, and you should get a clean copy of instrument 8912701 from the St. Joseph County Recorder or through the title company.
Lots 11 through 19 and 55 through 59 are named in neither document in this file. If yours is one of those, ask the title company which recorded restrictions run with it.
The recorded copy on file is a scan of paper, so individual words can be misread, and every answer quotes the document's own wording so you can judge it yourself. Two dates are worth checking with the association before you rely on anything here: the architectural control committee's powers were written to cease on and after December 1, 2010 unless owners of seventy-five percent of the lots recorded an instrument extending them, and the covenants themselves ran to December 1, 2010 and then renew in ten-year terms. Dues amounts and any board rules adopted since are not in these documents either.
There is no general fence-height or material rule. What the declaration controls is sight lines. No fence, wall, hedge or shrub planting that obstructs sight lines between two and six feet above the street may sit on a corner lot inside the triangle formed by the street property lines and a line joining them twenty-five feet back from the intersection, and the same limit applies within ten feet of where a driveway or alley meets the street. Separately, no screen planting or fence over thirty-six inches high is permitted closer than twenty-five feet to the street right-of-way. Walls installed by the developer are excepted.
The declaration never uses the word shed. What it says is that the only buildings a lot may carry are one detached single-family dwelling of no more than two and a half stories and a private garage for not more than four cars. A separate paragraph says no outbuilding, barn, shack or structure of a temporary character may be used as a residence. On that wording a detached storage building is not among the buildings the declaration permits, so anyone who wants one should get the association's position in writing first.
This is one of the firmer clauses in the document. House trailers, motor homes, large trucks and boats may not be parked or located on a lot at any time, temporarily or permanently. The wording names no exception and no permitted place, and a separate paragraph adds that no boat shelter may be erected on a lot. The declaration says nothing either way about a vehicle kept inside a closed garage.
Above-ground swimming pools are not allowed on a lot. The declaration says nothing either way about an in-ground pool, though the architectural control paragraph would bear on the plans for one while that committee is in place.
No building may be erected, placed or altered until construction plans, specifications and a plan showing where the structure will sit have been approved in writing for conformity and harmony of exterior design with the existing houses. If the committee does not approve or disapprove within thirty days of submission, approval is no longer required and the covenant counts as complied with. One thing to check before relying on this: the declaration says the committee's powers and duties cease on and after December 1, 2010, and continue past that date only if owners of seventy-five percent of the lots signed and recorded an instrument, before that date, appointing a representative. Ask the association whether that was done.
Nineteen inches is the line the declaration draws. Exposed exterior radio or television transmitting or receiving devices may not be put up or left on a lot, house or building, but satellite dishes less than nineteen inches in diameter are expressly excluded from that prohibition. Federal rules limit how far a covenant like this can be enforced against a small dish, so it is worth confirming the association's current position.
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 →Two paragraphs bear on planting. On a corner lot, no hedge or shrub planting that obstructs sight lines between two and six feet above the street may remain inside the twenty-five-foot sight triangle, no tree may remain within that distance of an intersection unless its foliage line is kept high enough to keep sight lines clear, and no screen planting over thirty-six inches high is permitted within twenty-five feet of the street right-of-way. Inside the utility and drainage easements shown on the plat, no planting or other material may be placed that could damage or interfere with utilities or change or obstruct the flow of drainage. The owner maintains the easement area of their own lot except for anything a utility or public authority is responsible for.
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, as long as they are not raised, bred or kept for any commercial purpose. Animals, livestock and poultry of any kind may not be raised, bred or kept on a lot. The declaration sets no number limit and says nothing about leashes or outdoor kennels.
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 →One sign of not more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or for rent is allowed. So are signs a builder uses to advertise during the construction and sales period. Any other sign displayed to public view from a lot falls outside what this paragraph permits.
The restriction is aimed at large and recreational vehicles rather than at everyday cars. House trailers, motor homes, large trucks and boats may not be parked or located on a lot at any time, temporarily or permanently. Every house may have a private garage for not more than four cars. Ordinary parking of a resident's own car, on the driveway or on the street, is not addressed.
The declaration has no home-occupation paragraph. What it has is a single sentence saying a lot may not be used other than for residential purposes, backed by a separate ban on any noxious or offensive activity or anything that becomes an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood. How far that reaches a purely in-home office with no sign, no employees and no customers coming to the house is not spelled out anywhere in the document, so anyone planning to work from home in a way neighbours would notice should get the association's position in writing.
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 maintained as a dumping ground for rubbish. Trash, garbage and other waste may not be deposited on a lot except in sanitary metal containers, and all incinerators or other equipment for storing or disposing of it have to be kept clean and sanitary. The declaration does not say where containers must be kept between collections.
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 →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.