What the recorded documents actually say about Emerald Chase in Goshen — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
22 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
Emerald Chase was platted in four sections, each with its own recorded covenants, and the answers below hold for all four. Two things do differ by section. Minimum house size: Sections One and Three require 1,400 square feet for a ranch and 1,700 for a one-and-a-half or two story; Sections Two and Four require 1,500 and 1,800. And the association: a 2011 amendment moved Sections One and Three to the Emerald Downs Homeowner's Association, Inc. and the Emerald Downs Architectural Control Committee, while Sections Two and Four keep the Emerald Chase names. Confirm which section a specific address sits in before relying on either.
Fencing has to match the architectural standards set by the style of the house it belongs to, and it has to be approved in writing by the architectural control committee before it goes up. The covenants set no height limit and name no approved materials, so what passes is the committee's call and its decision is described as entirely within its discretion. A separate sight-line rule applies on corner lots: no fence, wall, hedge or shrub that blocks the view between two and six feet above the road inside the triangle formed by the two street lines and a line joining them 25 feet from the corner, and the same within 10 feet of where a driveway meets a street. Along any non-access easement shown on the plat, screen planting between the building setback line and the front lot line may not exceed 72 inches.
A detached shed, pet shelter, playhouse or pool house is capped at 10 feet by 12 feet unless the committee or the developer gives a written exception. It has to be quality construction, kept in attractive and neat appearance, and blend with the house, and the plans go to the architectural control committee for approval before construction starts. The committee can require screening around it. A well house or pump house needs its own written approval.
Campers, trailers, trucks, boats and snowmobiles may not be kept in open areas anywhere in the subdivision, and the covenants say that applies whether the open area is on the owner's own lot or off it. A separate storage paragraph also bars using a lot to store boats or cars. The documents do not address keeping one inside an enclosed garage.
Above-ground pools are not permitted. An in-ground pool is permitted only after plans and specifications are approved in writing by the architectural control committee, and any lighting fixtures for it need that same prior approval. A pool house counts as a detached building, so it falls under the 10-foot-by-12-foot cap.
Nothing gets built, placed or altered on a lot, and the lot's grade or drainage may not be changed, until the plan is approved by the architectural control committee. The submission has to show the floor plan, quality of construction materials, outside colors, how the design sits with existing houses, and placement relative to lot lines, topography and finish grade, including all pavement and the well and septic locations. One complete set of plans is submitted and kept by the developer's office. Approval or denial comes back in writing, with reasons given for a denial. Any paving at all, parking or recreational included, needs approval first. Nothing may deviate from the approved plans without the committee's prior written consent. Chimneys have to be masonry or exterior masonry veneer. Anyone submitting plans agrees not to sue the committee or the developer over the decision.
A satellite dish is permitted only if it is less than two feet in diameter. Outside above-ground television, AM, FM and short-wave radio antennas of any type are prohibited. All utility service, electric, gas, telephone and cable television, has to run underground and not be visible.
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 →Every lot has to have an underground irrigation system able to water all cultivated areas, kept in working order and run enough to keep things growing. Lots are to be kept in good and orderly fashion with landscaping in keeping with the pattern of the subdivision, and may not be overgrown or weed infested. Side, front and rear yards have to be planted with grass, sod or ground cover within 120 days after the house is finished or occupied, whichever comes first, unless the committee approves otherwise; on wooded lots the strip between the tree line and the curb has to be planted too. If a lot is left overgrown, the association gives the owner ten days' notice and can then do the work and bill the owner. The committee has the exclusive right to approve or refuse any tree removal, for building, a driveway, landscaping or anything else, and trees to be cut are marked with orange spray paint with 48 hours' written notice before cutting. Each lot also carries a dusk-to-dawn post light of a committee-approved type, in front of the front setback line.
A mailbox goes in front of each home, placed for easy mail and newspaper delivery and landscaped. It has to be similar in design and materials to the house, or as the developer determines, with a newspaper receptacle directly beneath it. The box or post carries brass numbers three inches tall on both sides so they read from traffic in either direction.
Dogs, cats and other household pets are permitted as long as they are not kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose and are not allowed to become a neighborhood nuisance or hazard. No livestock or poultry of any kind. No vicious or attack-trained dogs. The covenants set no limit on how many pets, and say nothing about leashing or kennels; a detached pet shelter is treated as a detached building, so it needs approval and falls under the 10-foot-by-12-foot cap.
A lease of a dwelling needs prior approval, and no lease may run longer than one year. The covenants put that approval with the developer. Control of Sections One and Three was turned over to the association effective December 31, 2011, so for those sections ask the association who signs off now. There is no stated cap on how many homes may be rented.
A basketball court, named alongside tennis and volleyball courts, may not be built or installed on a lot until plans and specifications are approved in writing by the architectural control committee, and any lighting for it needs that same approval. The paragraph reaches permanent or paved athletic facilities; a portable hoop that is not built or paved in is not addressed.
One sign of not more than five square feet advertising the home for sale or rent is the only sign a homeowner may display to public view. A builder may use a sign of any size to advertise the property during construction and the sales period, and the developer keeps the right to put up signs to promote the development. A sign promoting the sale of an undeveloped lot needs the developer's written consent.
No motor vehicle of any kind may be parked, kept or stored on any street or lawn area, and no vehicle may be parked on a street between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. Campers, trailers, trucks, boats and snowmobiles may not be kept in open areas anywhere in the subdivision. Every house has to have a full-size attached garage holding at least two cars, and not more than three without the committee's written consent. Driveways have to be concrete, at least four inches thick and at least twelve feet wide; stone and cinder driveways are not permitted, and any additional paving needs approval.
The paragraph headed Home Occupations says a lot may not be used for any purpose other than a single-family residence, and the land-use paragraph allows only one single-family dwelling of no more than two and a half stories plus a private garage. The covenants carve out no exception for a home office or a business run from the house, and they make no distinction between one with customers coming and going and one without. The one commercial use the documents do allow is the developer's, which may use a lot for realty sales and promotion.
The covenants never use the words short-term, vacation or nightly rental. What they do say is that no lease of a dwelling may be entered into without prior approval, and no lease may run longer than a year, so a short stay is a lease that still needs that approval. There is no stated minimum number of nights. Ask the association before counting on it.
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 →Trash, garbage and other waste may be kept only in sanitary containers, and the storage and disposal equipment has to be kept clean. A lot may not be used as a dumping ground for rubbish, grass clippings, leaves, tree limbs or compost, and clippings, leaves and other waste may not be dumped on anyone else's property in Emerald Chase; debris left anywhere in the subdivision can be cleaned up at the offender's expense. Trash pickup is to happen on one specified day each week, with the association choosing the day by majority vote. Open burning is prohibited on any lot, in incinerators, containers or otherwise, and that covers trash, waste, refuse, building materials, leaves, tree limbs, grass clippings and debris.
Inside an otherwise flat ban on open burning, the covenants permit a campfire or barbecue pit up to three feet in diameter, burning clean wood or charcoal. Nothing is said about gas grills.
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.