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Field Pointe

What the recorded documents actually say about Field Pointe in South Bend — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.

26 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.

What you can build and change

Conditional

Fences

Four feet is the usual county maximum; here it is three. No fence may be built or kept on any lot without the design review board's prior written approval, all fencing has to be natural materials, none may be more than three feet high, and none may go forward of the rear corner of the house. A handful of lots may not be fenced at all - the 1996 declaration names lots 1, 6, 45, 60 and 76, and the 1997 declaration for Phase One Section 4 names 1, 26, 27, 40, 45, 60AA, 61AA and 76 - so check your own lot number before you plan a fence.

Paragraph 11 - Fencing
✗ Not allowed

Sheds & outbuildings

No structure of a temporary character - trailer, basement, tent, shack, garage, barn or other outbuilding - may be moved onto, assembled or built on a lot, or used on a lot at any time for any use. The one exception written in is a gazebo, which needs the design review board's prior written permission.

Paragraph 13 - Temporary Structures
✗ Not allowed

RVs, boats & trailers

Recreational and commercial vehicles - campers, trailers, trucks and boats are the ones named - may not be kept in open areas anywhere in the subdivision, on a lot or off it.

Paragraph 19 - Recreational and Commercial Vehicles
Conditional

Swimming pools & hot tubs

No above-ground swimming pool may be built or kept on any lot. A metal swing set or similar apparatus has to be kept attractive and rust-free, and may only go in the rear yard behind the house.

Paragraph 22 - Swimming Pools and Swing Sets
Conditional

Exterior changes & additions

Nothing may be built, placed, maintained or altered, and the natural topography or drainage may not be changed, until the design review board approves the plans. Three full sets go in, showing floor plan, quality of construction, materials, outside colours, how the design sits with the houses around it, the MAILBOX design, the landscape and outdoor lighting plans, and placement against the lot lines, topography and finish grade. The approved drawings have to go in with the building permit application.

Paragraph 4 - Architectural Control, with Paragraph 6 - Building Permit
✗ Not allowed

Satellite dishes & antennas

No outside above-ground television, AM, FM or short-wave radio antenna, and no satellite dish, may be put up or kept on any lot or structure in the subdivision. All utility service runs underground and nothing overhead may be visible. Federal rules on over-the-air reception devices limit how far a private covenant can restrict a satellite dish under one meter across on property within your own exclusive use and control, so ask the association how this one is handled rather than assuming the blanket ban binds.

Paragraph 20 - Utilities, Television Antennas and Satellite Dishes
Not stated

Solar panels

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 →
Conditional

Landscaping, trees & gardens

Every effort has to be made to preserve as many trees as reasonably practicable, and all landscaping kept in well-manicured condition. Planting in a front yard is subject to review by the design review board, which also reviews the landscape plan before the house is built. The 1997 declaration adds that no statue may be placed in the front yard of any home or lot without the architectural control committee's express written consent.

Paragraph 17 - Landscaping, with Paragraph 4
Conditional

Mailboxes

The mailbox design is one of the things the design review board reviews before it approves the plans for a house.

Paragraph 4 - Architectural Control

How you can live here

Conditional

Pets

Dogs, cats and other household pets may be kept, as long as none is kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose. Livestock and poultry may not be raised or kept.

Paragraph 15 - Livestock and Poultry
Not stated

Renting your 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 →
Conditional

Basketball hoops

The covenant does not name basketball hoops, but it does govern the nearest thing: a metal swing set or similar metal apparatus has to be kept attractive and rust-free and may only be placed in the rear yard behind the house.

Paragraph 22 - Swimming Pools and Swing Sets
Conditional

Yard signs

One sign of no more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or rent is allowed, plus builder signage during construction and sales. The developer keeps the right to put up its own.

Paragraph 14 - Signs
Conditional

Street parking

Driveways must be at least twelve feet wide and built of concrete, and every lot has to carry one exterior light post in the front yard at least fifteen feet back from the right-of-way. Every house needs an attached garage for one or two cars. Vehicles may only be parked on the paved part of the lot - never on the grass or landscaped area, at any time.

Paragraph 8 - Driveways and Exterior Lighting, Paragraph 9 - Garages and Parking, and Paragraph 17 - Landscaping
Conditional

Running a business from home

A home occupation is allowed if it is run entirely inside the house by a member of the immediate family living there and stays clearly secondary to living there. Nothing outside may show the house is used for anything else, and nothing may be sold on the property. No noxious or offensive activity may be carried on either.

Paragraph 2 - Home Occupations, with Paragraph 12 - Nuisances
Not stated

Short-term rentals (Airbnb)

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 →
Not stated

Vehicle repair in the driveway

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 →
Conditional

Trash & recycling containers

No lot may be used as a dumping ground. Trash and garbage have to be kept in sanitary containers, and any incinerator or storage equipment kept clean and sanitary.

Paragraph 16 - Garbage and Refuse Disposal
✗ Not allowed

Grilling & outdoor cooking

No burning of waste, leaves, trees or other debris is permitted anywhere in the subdivision - a flat ban, not the usual limit on burning in the street.

Paragraph 21 - Fires
Not stated

Clotheslines

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 →
Not stated

Flags & flagpoles

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 →
Not stated

Window coverings & decorations

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 →

Where these answers come from

The documentDeclaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for Field Pointe Subdivision, Phase I, St. Joseph County, Indiana
Recorded asDeclaration made 1996 by Meadow Wood Ltd. Partnership II, stamped 9607891
Second declaration made 1997-07-21, stamped 9729195
Covenants run thirty years from recording, then extend in ten-year terms
How it was readThe recorded copy on file is a scan of paper with no digital text, so it was read by optical character recognition. That can misread individual words, which is why nothing on this page is presented as a direct quote.
Checked againsttwo recorded declarations came down on separate listings and read the same paragraph for paragraph
The associationField Pointe Homeowner's Association. Note how it is set up: every lot owner is a SECONDARY member and the developer, Meadow Wood Ltd. Partnership II, is the primary member - no one else may vote on anything until control is formally turned over and that turnover is recorded. Plans go to a three-person Design Review Board whose authority ends fifteen years after the declaration was recorded.

Ask us about Field Pointe

Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.

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