What the recorded documents actually say about Keystone Pointe in Goshen — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
16 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
A fence is named directly: no fence may be commenced, erected, maintained, improved or altered without the prior approval of the Architectural Control Committee. The committee is three or more owners appointed by the board, and it takes reasonable effort to approve, modify or disapprove an application in writing within 30 days of receiving it with all plans and specifications. A denial, or a failure to act inside the 30 days, can be appealed to the board in writing within 30 days, and the board can reverse or modify by a three-fourths vote. No height, material or setback standard is written into the declaration itself, so those standards live in the committee's own rules and the board's Policies - ask for them before you plan a fence.
The documents never use the word shed or outbuilding. What they do say is that no structure may be erected or altered on a dwelling unit site without the prior approval of the Architectural Control Committee, and a shed is a structure. This is a villa and cluster-home community where the association mows and maintains the lawns and most of the ground around the homes, so where a shed could even go is a question for the committee. Ask the association for the committee's current standards rather than assuming a shed is available.
The list is long and flat: no boats, campers, trailers of any kind, buses, mobile homes, trucks other than pickups, motorcycles, mini bikes, mopeds, or any vehicle other than a normal passenger automobile may be stored anywhere in the community. The one carve-out is storage completely enclosed within a garage. No loading or short-stay window is written into the covenant.
A pool is never mentioned anywhere in these documents. What governs is the general architectural rule: no improvement, excavation or change in grade that alters a dwelling unit site from the state it was in when the developer first conveyed it may be done without prior approval of the Architectural Control Committee. Two other clauses bear on it - the covenant says no recreational toys or equipment are permitted in the community unless the association provides them, and the yards are association-maintained. Treat a pool here as an open question to put to the board in writing, not as something the covenant allows.
This is the center of the covenant. Nothing that alters a dwelling unit site or the improvements on it from its original conveyed state may be done without prior approval of the Architectural Control Committee - improvements, alterations, repairs, color changes, excavation, grade changes. Repainting any part of the exterior a different color or shade needs the committee's written approval separately. Nothing may be affixed to exterior walls, roofs or any other part of a dwelling unit without prior consent of the board. The committee works to answer in writing within 30 days; appeals go to the board within 30 days and take a three-fourths board vote to overturn. A fine imposed by the committee that goes unpaid more than 30 days becomes a lien on the property.
Satellite dishes are handled directly and the process is specific: before installing one, the owner completes an exterior change form and has to get approval from the association manager for the location of the dish. The board may adopt further policies on dishes and similar devices. Separately, no radio or television antenna may be affixed to exterior walls, roofs or any other part of a dwelling unit without prior consent of the board. No size limit is written into the declaration.
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 →Planting is controlled tightly here, and by a committee of its own. An owner may not remove, trim or prune any tree or shrub the developer planted without written approval of the Grounds Maintenance Committee, and may not plant any tree, shrub or other plant without that committee's prior approval. Flowers may only be planted in areas the board designates, and the board can set a more detailed flower standard. Additions to the original landscaping need board approval, and the board may condition that approval on the owner taking over the cost of maintaining and replacing whatever they add. The association itself waters, fertilizes, mows and reseeds the lawns and runs the irrigation system, with the cost in the assessments.
Mailboxes are the association's, not the homeowner's. Installation, repair, replacement, maintenance and upkeep of the mailbox structures and the mailboxes or mail receptacles on them - including those sitting in the street right-of-way - is association work paid for out of the assessments, and their placement is fixed on the recorded plans. Nothing in the documents gives an owner the right to swap one out or move it; that would be an exterior change and would go to the committee.
Dogs, cats and customary household pets are permitted in a dwelling unit. No livestock or poultry, and no pet kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose. Pets go outdoors only under leash or other restraint - the covenant says specifically that tethering a pet outside the dwelling unit site does not count as attended - and must be taken to a roadway or a designated area to relieve themselves. The owner is fully liable for injury or damage the pet causes. The board may require a pet security deposit in an amount it sets, refundable when the pet leaves for good, less any damage. A pet the board judges to be a nuisance or an unreasonable disturbance has to be permanently removed within 10 days of written notice. No breed list, weight limit or number limit is written into the declaration, and the board may adopt further pet rules.
Renting is contemplated - the covenant refers to tenants, renters and leases throughout - but it is not left open. Use is exclusively single-family residential, and the board is expressly empowered to adopt Policies regulating occupancy and further regulating rental arrangements, which means restrictions can exist outside the recorded declaration. Any prospective owner, regular occupant or renter of adult age has to take part in the association's orientation program before acquiring or renting, and the sale or occupancy agreement is conditioned on it. The declaration sets no cap on the number of rentals and no minimum lease term, so ask the association for the current rental policy.
Basketball goals are not named, but the clause that covers them is broad and flat: no swing sets, sand boxes, or recreational toys or equipment are permitted anywhere in the community unless the association provides them. The same paragraph says only common areas specifically designated for recreation may be used for recreation and that a dwelling unit's lawn is in no event a recreation area. A pole-mounted or roof-mounted goal would also need board consent as something affixed to the home.
One for-sale sign is permitted, with a size cap written right into the covenant: an owner may put one standard yard sign advertising the property for sale on the lawn of the dwelling unit site or in a window, and it may not exceed 18 by 24 inches. The association keeps the right to place for-sale or for-lease signs around the community for unsold or unoccupied units. Any other sign - anything affixed to an exterior wall, a roof or another part of the home - needs prior consent of the board. Political, contractor and security signs are not addressed.
Street parking is capped at twelve consecutive hours, and the covenant closes the obvious workaround: the same person may not park on the street on successive days even if each stay is under twelve hours. Only normal passenger automobiles may be kept in the community at all; everything else has to be completely enclosed in a garage. Designated guest parking is not for owners' personal use, and a visitor using a guest space should keep it to one week - beyond that the visitor needs written permission from the association manager.
The ban is unusually wide. No industry, trade, commercial or educational activity - whether it is for profit or not - may be conducted, practiced or permitted anywhere in the community. Use is exclusively single-family residential. The covenant draws no line for a home office with no clients, no signage and no traffic, so how this reads for quiet remote work is a question for the board.
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 →Flat prohibition, and it reaches the family car: no repair work may be done on any vehicle anywhere in the community, passenger vehicles included. No exception is written in for work inside a closed garage.
Containers live inside - inside the dwelling unit or the garage - and may not go out earlier than 5:00 a.m. on the day of scheduled collection. Garbage goes in sealed disposable plastic bags or other containers, and it is set out at the locations the board designates rather than wherever is convenient. The covenant does not say when cans have to come back in, so check the board's current policy.
Grills are named and permitted, with a placement limit. The covenant lists what may be kept on a patio or deck - patio or deck furniture, barbecue or similar grills, plants and minimal decorative items - and requires the patio or deck to be kept neat, clean and free of debris. Nothing is said about grilling on the lawn or in the common areas, or about fuel type and clearance from the building, which in attached villas and clusters may also run into the insurance clause: nothing may be done that increases the insurance rate on any dwelling unit.
Line drying outside is out. No clothes, sheets, blankets, rugs, laundry or other things may be hung out where they are visible from any common area, any limited common area or any public street. The covenant does not name the line itself, but a clothesline visible from anywhere in the community has nothing it could be used for.
Flags are not named, and two clauses pull on the question. Nothing, ornaments included, may be hung or displayed on the outside of windows or on an outside wall - except that wreaths and other decorative items are permitted on the front door, porch, wall, or walls extending from the front porch. And nothing may be affixed to exterior walls, roofs or any other part of a dwelling unit without prior consent of the board, which is what a flag bracket is. A flag on the front porch may read as a permitted decorative item; a mounted bracket or a flagpole is the board's call. Ask before you drill.
There is an actual standard here, and it is about uniformity: exterior windows have to have light colored window treatments if treatments are used at all, so that every home presents a uniform appearance from outside. Separately, nothing - ornaments included - may be hung or displayed on the outside of windows, though wreaths and other decorative items are permitted on the front door, porch and the walls extending from the front porch. No particular shade of light is specified, so ask the association what it has accepted.
Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.