What the recorded documents actually say about Hidden Lake Reserve in Elkhart — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
7 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 Covenants and Restrictions of Hidden Lake Reserve DPUD, re-recorded in Elkhart County on August 15, 2019 as Instrument No. 2019-16581. They were read from the complete recorded scan rather than from a shortened extract, and checked against a second complete scan of the identical declaration recorded in 2011 as Instrument No. 2011-20596. The thirty-five numbered paragraphs run unbroken from 1 through 35 in both copies, with no gap in the sequence. The 2019 recording exists to attach the Exhibit A legal description, and a note on its first page says so. That Exhibit A is worth reading. It lists the bound lots individually across seven tracts rather than describing the subdivision as a whole, it excepts a western portion of Lot 16, and Lots 1 and 2 of the original 2004 secondary plat do not appear on it. It also adds one lot that was never part of the original plat, with that owner's written consent and the association's approval. So confirm your own lot number appears on Exhibit A before relying on these answers for a specific address. One further caution: the clause limiting detached structures on lots abutting the river gives the rear-line distance two different ways inside the same sentence, and the recorded page itself reads that way, so treat that distance as unsettled. No amendment to the declaration was found. Association bylaws, articles, any board rules and regulations, the budget and the current dues are separate documents and are not part of this recording. For anything you intend to act on, order the recorded documents from the Elkhart County Recorder, or ask your title company to pull them.
Fencing is limited by type and height. The declaration permits only a split-rail fence three rails high and no more than four feet tall, or a privacy fence around an immediate patio of no more than six feet. Whichever you build must match the architectural standards set by the style of the house, and the Hidden Lake Reserve Architectural Control Committee has to approve it in writing. The committee may also approve a written variance from the fence requirement. A separate paragraph repeats that any fencing contemplated for a lot is subject to architectural control.
Sheds and outbuildings are allowed only with committee approval. The declaration bars any trailer, tent, shack, garage, barn, tool shed, storage shed or other outbuilding from being placed on a homesite at all unless it is approved under the detached-outbuilding paragraph. That paragraph caps a detached outbuilding at 1,500 square feet and puts every outbuilding under the architectural control committee, which may allow a larger one if the plans show it will look consistent with the house already built on the lot. Smaller detached structures such as a pet shelter, play house, or a structure for storing lawn tools, toys or pool equipment must be of quality construction, kept neat, blend with the house, and go to the committee for approval before construction starts; the committee may require screening around them. For lots abutting the river the document also sets a rear-line distance inside which no such structure may be placed, but it states that distance two different ways in the same sentence, so confirm it with the association.
Recreational vehicles have a place and a time limit rather than a flat ban. The declaration says no snowmobiles, recreational vehicles, motorcycles or dune buggies may be parked outside of permitted structures on a homesite for longer than twenty-four hours, which leaves a permitted structure open as a place to keep one and allows a short stay outside. Every dwelling is required to have a full-size attached garage able to hold at least two cars. Boats are not named in that sentence, but the same paragraph bars any trailer from being placed on a homesite unless the detached-outbuilding paragraph approves it, and a boat trailer would tend to fall under the word trailer. The same paragraph also says no homesite shall be used for storage of motor vehicles. Nothing in the recorded documents addresses keeping a boat in the water, or a dock or pier.
In-ground swimming pools and tennis courts are expressly permitted, subject to architectural control. Above-ground pools are prohibited. The committee must approve the design, appearance and location of a pool or court, and that approval rests on its review of the design, location and planned construction method for any required fencing, plus compliance with zoning, development, health and safety standards and any other standard the committee sets.
Nothing may be built, placed or altered on a lot until the committee approves the plans. The declaration covers the house and any other structure or improvement, and it also covers changing the natural topography or drainage of the lot. Plans have to show the floor plan, exterior type and finish, materials, outside colors, how the design sits with existing structures, and the location relative to lot lines. Two complete sets go in; approval or disapproval comes back in writing. Work that does not match the approved plans may not be built or kept, and any change from approved plans needs the committee's prior written consent. The committee's authority under the declaration runs for twenty years from the recording of the plat the lot sits on.
A satellite dish is permitted within stated limits. The declaration requires all utility service, including cable television, to run underground and stay out of sight, then allows a satellite dish not larger than eighteen inches, measured as circumference in the document's own wording. The dish has to sit in the perimeter landscape part of the lot with at least three complementary shrubs or bushes next to it. If the dish cannot aim correctly from the perimeter landscaping, a clump-like landscaping area is created instead, with an artificial rock or another committee-approved cover over the dish. The document states that the dish may not be placed on a roof, or on any other part of the house or its porches, breezeways or garage, if it would be visible from the street or from another homesite in or next to the development.
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 →Landscaping goes through the committee as part of approving the house. The owner or the builder submits lawn and landscaping plans in two sets, with enough supporting detail to show the location and type of trees, shrubs and plants and their size, variety and planned location. The committee must approve those plans in writing before construction of the dwelling and the landscaping begins. If someone other than the developer builds the house, that builder coordinates the lawn and landscaping requirements with the buyer and the committee before closing. Once approved, the owner maintains and cares for the lawn and landscaping consistent with the approved plans.
Every dwelling is required to have a mailbox, kept in good working order and maintained to look right at all times by the owner. For homesites on the private road, the declaration adds that mailboxes are placed near the paved portion of the road in a location the architectural control committee approves, so regular mail and parcel delivery works. The document does not set a style, color or material for the box.
Household pets are allowed with two conditions. The declaration bars raising, breeding or keeping animals, livestock or poultry of any kind, then excepts dogs, cats and other household pets, provided they are not kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose and are not permitted to become a neighborhood nuisance or hazard in any manner. The paragraph ends there. It sets no limit on the number of pets, names no banned breeds, and says nothing about leashes or about where pets may be walked.
Renting is addressed by the length of the lease. The declaration says no lease of a dwelling may be entered into for more than one year without the association's prior approval, which leaves a lease of a year or less unaddressed by that sentence. The owner stays responsible for all assessments while the home is leased, and by signing the lease the tenant also becomes jointly and severally responsible for any assessments that come due during the lease term or while the tenant is using the home. The documents set no cap on how many homes may be rented and no waiting period after purchase.
The documents never use the words basketball, hoop or backboard. What they do say is that the construction and placement of any detached play structure has to be of quality construction, kept neat in appearance, blend with the house, and be submitted to the Hidden Lake Reserve Architectural Control Committee for approval before construction begins, and that the committee may require screening around such structures. A separate paragraph puts any structure or improvement placed on a lot under the same approval requirement. A freestanding goal would tend to fall under that language, but because the document does not name one, it is worth asking the association before installing one.
Signs are limited to a short list. No sign of any kind may be displayed to public view on a homesite except one sign of not more than eight square feet advertising the property for sale, or a sign of reasonable size used by builders during the construction and sales periods. The home-occupation paragraph separately requires that no sign or display indicate from the outside that the dwelling is being used for anything other than a residence. The developer reserved a right to put up its own signs to promote and sell lots and homes, regardless of those limits. The document does not address political, contractor, security or holiday signs.
Parking is addressed by where the vehicle sits. On-street parking on the shared private road is expressly prohibited, and the declaration states it is the duty of all owners to keep that road open and free for coming and going. Every dwelling must have a full-size attached garage capable of holding at least two cars. A separate sentence says no homesite shall be used for storage of motor vehicles, alongside lumber, firewood, materials, junk, waste, debris or grass clippings. Snowmobiles, recreational vehicles, motorcycles and dune buggies may not sit outside a permitted structure for longer than twenty-four hours. The document does not set a number of vehicles allowed in a driveway.
A home occupation is allowed if it stays invisible and small. The declaration requires the lot to be used as a single-family residence, then permits a home occupation that is carried on entirely inside the dwelling and run solely by a member of the immediate family living there, and that stays clearly incidental and secondary to living there. Four conditions attach: no sign or display showing from the outside that the building is used for anything other than a residence; no commodity sold on the homesite; nobody employed other than an immediate family member living there; and no mechanical or electrical equipment used. The document names businesses that may not qualify, including a barber shop, styling salon, beauty parlor, tea room, fortune-telling parlor, animal hospital, and any form of animal care or treatment business such as dog trimming. The committee may grant an exception for good cause, which the document says includes showing that the heavier use will not interfere with or harm the value of other homesites.
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 →Trash handling is spelled out. No homesite may be used or kept as a dumping ground for rubbish. Trash, garbage and other waste may only be kept in sanitary containers. Incinerators and other equipment for storing or disposing of that material must be kept clean and sanitary and kept indoors except for pickup. Containers may not go outside for pickup any earlier than twelve hours before the expected pickup time, which in practice means the night before a morning collection.
The declaration never names a grill. Its open-burning paragraph says no fires, burn pits or other types of incineration devices may function, operate or be placed on any street or roadway in the development, within any homesite, or on any common area. It then expressly permits properly established, maintained and controlled campfire pits for social functions, as distinct from incineration or burning purposes, including such pits on the common areas. The heading is open burning, and the paragraph draws its own line between burning things up and a social fire, so a contained cooking grill is not plainly caught by the words; a strict reading of the first sentence could reach it. Because the document is silent on grills either way, it is worth asking the association before relying on either reading.
The documents never use the word clothesline, but they prohibit the practice a clothesline is for. The declaration states that no regular or repeated hanging of laundry, rugs or other items outside a dwelling unit on any homesite is permitted. The ban is written against regular or repeated hanging, so it does not on its face speak to a one-off. The same sentence also requires committee approval for any awning.
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.