What the recorded documents actually say about Felicity Gardens in Mishawaka — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
8 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
TWO SECTIONS, TWO RECORDED SETS. Section Two covers lots 12 through 47 and is what this page is built on; Section 1 covers lots 1-11 and 48-59 under its own covenants recorded as instrument 8916923. Check which section your lot is in. One rule here is more permissive than the county norm and worth knowing: a camper, boat or trailer MAY sit on your driveway or parking pad, where most Michiana covenants require it be garaged or removed. The architectural committee's authority was written to expire in 2009 unless the developer recorded an extension, so ask the association whether an approval gate is still live.
Along the front lot line the only perimeter fencing allowed is split rail, two rails high and no more than four feet. A privacy fence up to six feet is allowed around an open porch next to the house, matching the architectural standard set by the style of that house and approved by the committee in writing, unless the committee grants a written variance. A pet shelter has to be fenced as the pets paragraph requires. On a corner lot nothing between two and six feet above the roadway may block the sight triangle.
One detached building per house, for storing lawn tools, toys or pool equipment, plus one pet shelter. It has to be quality construction, kept attractive and neat, blend with the house, and be approved by the architectural control committee, which may require screening around it.
Commercial and recreational vehicles - trucks, campers, trailers, snowmobiles and boats are the examples given - may not be kept in the open areas of the addition EXCEPT on the driveway or parking pad of a lot. That is more permissive than most of the county, where they have to be inside a garage or out of the subdivision altogether.
Above-ground pools may not be placed on any lot. A tennis court is allowed only if it is screened by dense shrubbery at least five feet high, so its surface cannot be seen from outside the lot lines.
No house may be built, and the natural topography or drainage may not be altered, until the committee approves the plans in writing, entirely within its discretion. Two full sets go in showing elevations, floor plan, quality of construction, materials, outside colours, how the design sits with existing houses, and placement against the lot lines, topography and finish grade - and the committee answers within fifteen days of submission, which is faster than most. Anything begun is finished within a year or removed. A lot carries one single-family house of up to two and a half storeys, a private attached garage, and the detached buildings the covenant allows.
One factory-built television antenna permanently attached to the house is the only exception. Beyond that, no outside above-ground communication, television, AM, FM or short-wave antenna, disc, satellite, satellite dish or other receiving or sending apparatus of any type may go on a lot. Federal rules on over-the-air reception devices limit how far a private covenant can restrict a dish under one meter on property in your own exclusive use and control, so ask the association rather than assuming the ban binds.
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 →Side, front and rear yards are planted with grass seed, sod or ground cover within 120 days of the house being finished or occupied, unless the committee approves otherwise. Nothing may be planted or placed inside a utility or drainage easement that would damage or interfere with the utilities, and the owner maintains the easement area on their own lot - the association maintains the retention easements.
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 domestic pets are allowed, as long as none is kept, bred or maintained commercially and none becomes a nuisance or hazard. An outdoor animal has to be housed in a suitable shelter on a CONCRETE PAD, surrounded by chain link or other appropriate fencing tall enough to contain it - a specific requirement most covenants leave out. Livestock and poultry may not be kept.
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 no more than five square feet advertising the lot for sale or rent, plus a builder's sign of up to twenty-five square feet during the construction and sales period.
No vehicle of any type may be parked on a street or roadway in the addition, except a guest's or visitor's vehicle parked there temporarily. A commercial or recreational vehicle may sit on the driveway or parking pad.
A home occupation is allowed if it is carried on entirely inside the house and stays clearly secondary to living there, with no sign or display visible from outside, no product or commodity sold on the lot, and nobody employed from outside the immediate family.
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 as a dumping ground for junk - and the covenant says expressly that junk includes non-operable vehicles.
No lot may be used as a dumping ground for junk, trash, garbage or other waste. Trash and garbage go in sanitary containers, and any incinerator or storage equipment is kept clean and sanitary. Oil and fuel storage tanks go underground or inside the house, garage or basement - and within six months of natural gas service reaching a lot, the owner has to REMOVE the fuel tank and hook up to the gas.
No fire may be allowed to burn on any street or roadway in the addition. A fire on your own lot 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 →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.