What the recorded documents actually say about Larimer Greens in Goshen — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
18 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Fences have to match a named product standard and sit behind the house, and the Architectural Control Committee can approve something different in writing. A privacy fence must be comparable in style, appearance and quality to the Wellington XR Triple Crown Fence; every other fence must be comparable to the Hampton XR Triple Crown Fence. All fencing goes behind the Dwelling Unit, no closer to the street than the rear wall of the house unless the committee approves, and at least five feet in from the side lot lines. Perimeter fencing is not permitted except as the committee approves. Pool fencing is governed by its own separate set of measurements, which are set out under pools. The covenants also say every fence must comply with applicable laws and local ordinances, and the ordinance controls if the two conflict. The committee is allowed to alter, limit or expand the fencing criteria by written declaration, and a fence properly installed or approved before that change is not affected by it.
Tool sheds and storage sheds are named by name in the prohibition. The covenants bar a structure of a temporary character, a cellar, shack, garage, barn, tool shed, storage shed or other outbuilding of any type or nature from being used on a lot at any time, with the only written exception being dwelling construction and temporary dwelling maintenance. A separate covenant adds that no detached building or structure may be erected or placed in a detached position upon any lot unless the Architectural Control Committee approves it, so anything detached at all is a committee question. Ask the association how they read the two together before counting on a shed.
A recreational or commercial vehicle can only be kept on the property if it is inside the garage attached to the house. Outside storage is covered twice: a separate covenant says no commercial or industrial vehicle or equipment, tractor, semi-trailer, truck, recreational vehicle, snowmobile, boat, trailer or motor home may be placed for storage or repair on any part of the exterior of a lot. There is no loading or unloading window written into the document, and no exception for a driveway.
An above-ground pool is not permitted at all. An in-ground pool is permitted only after the Architectural Control Committee approves the plans and specifications in writing. The fencing that goes with it is spelled out in detail: protective fencing is required and committee-approved, no more than five feet high, aesthetically pleasing on both sides, and compatible with the house in the committee's judgment. It must be wood stained to match the house color or a weather-resistant material such as plastic or vinyl that needs no painting, in a color the committee approves. No part of the fence may sit more than seven feet from the pool, deck or pool patio, it cannot be in front of the house, and it must be at least twenty feet from the rear lot line. Openings can be no larger than four inches, the fence must come within four inches of the ground, and every gate must close and latch automatically. If the pool has an automatic pool cover, no fence is required. Tennis courts are also not permitted.
Nothing gets built, placed or altered on a lot, and the natural topography or drainage cannot be changed, until the Architectural Control Committee approves the plans. Two complete sets of plans go in, showing floor plan, quality of construction, exterior type and finish, materials, the outside colors, how the external design sits with the existing houses, and the location against lot lines, topography and finish grade; one set is kept and one returned. The approval or disapproval is in a signed writing, and no deviation from approved plans is allowed without the committee's prior written consent. The document says the committee's decision is entirely within its discretion, and no response deadline is written in. Specific items: awnings need advance signed written approval; metal or other roofing is prohibited unless it is or resembles asphalt shingles, is aesthetically cohesive with the subdivision and is approved by the committee; exposed fireplace and furnace chimneys must be masonry or look like masonry, with no metal exterior chimneys and none painted to mimic brick. Each lot is also required to keep one exterior pole light in a committee-approved location, at a height matching neighboring lots, photo-electrically controlled and on from dusk to dawn. If a lot was already out of conformity when the restatement took effect, the committee may ratify and approve that nonconformity at the owner's request.
A satellite dish is permitted on a lot with a house on it, subject to conditions, and the covenant defers to any state or federal law that requires more to be allowed. As written, the dish cannot exceed one meter (the document says in circumference), it must be attached on the back half of the roof in an inconspicuous location, and the committee has to approve where it goes. The same section requires all public utility service, including cable television and other communication services, to run underground and stay out of sight, and prohibits overhead wires and poles. Over-the-air television antennas are not separately addressed.
Solar panels are allowed on the roof of the house and nowhere else on the lot. They have to lie parallel with the slope of the roof they sit on and cannot be propped up at a different angle. They also cannot be placed so that they are visible from the street in front of the house, and the covenant defines the front as any street-facing side of the house, which on a corner lot means more than one side. Every solar installation is subject to Architectural Control Committee review.
Landscaping is an approval item and there are height and placement limits on top of it. Lawn and landscaping plans go to the Architectural Control Committee in writing before the work, in two sets, showing the location, type, size and variety of trees, shrubs and plants. Screen planting between the building setback line and the front lot line cannot be over six feet high. On a lot bordering the golf course, screen planting has to stay at least fifteen feet back from the golf course. Plantings in the rear fifteen-foot utility easement cannot exceed four feet. Trees outside that strip have to be trimmed so a fifteen to twenty year old tree still leaves six feet of visibility under the limbs, and ornamental trees and shrubbery around the house must stay within twenty feet of it. Yards have to be seeded, sodded or planted in ground cover within 180 days of the house being finished. Every lot must be mowed and trimmed at least twice a month from May through October; if the association decides an owner is not keeping the lot up it can hire the work done and bill the owner for the cost plus a fifteen percent administration fee, which becomes a lien if it is not paid. A garden is allowed in the rear portion of a lot for flowers or a few vegetables for the owner's own use, no larger than twenty by thirty feet, with nothing in it taller than thirty-two inches and no corn. Compost piles and similar organic recycling piles are not permitted, and landscape clippings must be disposed of properly rather than kept on the property. Firewood has to be kept inside a building or covered and screened with plantings so it is not visible to neighbors.
Every house has to have a mailbox, supplied by the owner and kept in good working order and looking presentable. The Architectural Control Committee is allowed to set a single uniform mailbox style for the subdivision and to approve where mailboxes are placed, so a replacement is worth checking with the association first. A newspaper receptacle can be built into the approved mailbox, but a separate newspaper box on its own post is expressly prohibited.
Dogs, cats and other common household pets are allowed, with conditions and no number limit written in. They have to be kept on the lot, leashed or secured at all times, not kept or bred for any commercial purpose, and not allowed to become a neighborhood nuisance, hazard or threat, which the covenant says includes being left unattended for extended periods or barking excessively. Pets must not be left outside the house at night. Livestock, poultry and pigeons cannot be raised, bred or kept for either commercial or personal use, and the document states that potbellied pigs and chickens do not count as household pets. Owners are responsible for immediate cleanup of pet waste on their own lot, on all common areas, and on every street and roadway in the subdivision. The association decides any question about whether a particular pet is permitted.
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 →Basketball hoops are not named anywhere in the covenants. The rule that reaches them is the one covering swing sets and sandboxes, which applies to all exterior play or leisure equipment: it has to be kept in good repair, has to be located in the rear yard of the lot, cannot sit nearer than ten feet to any rear or side property line, and cannot exceed twenty by thirty feet in dimension. A driveway or garage-mounted hoop sits in front of the house rather than in the rear yard, and the document does not say which side of that line it falls on, so it is worth asking the association before installing one.
One sign is allowed. No sign of any kind may be displayed to public view on a lot except a single sign of not more than five square feet advertising the house or lot for sale, or a reasonably sized builder's sign during the construction and sales period. Nothing in the document carves out political, security or contractor signs. Separately, the home-occupation covenant bars any sign or display indicating from the outside that the house is being used for anything other than a residence.
Street parking is tightly limited. A vehicle cannot sit on the roadways for more than four hours in any twenty-four hour day measured midnight to midnight, and no on-street parking is allowed after 6:00 pm on any day. Every vehicle in the subdivision has to be parked in a garage or on a driveway. Recreational and commercial vehicles are a separate rule and may only be kept inside the attached garage. Driveways themselves have a spec: at least sixteen feet wide, concrete at least four inches thick, with circular drives having two street access points allowed at a minimum of ten feet; dirt, stone and cinder driveways are not permitted.
A lot can only be used as a single-family residence, with a narrow home-occupation exception. The work has to be conducted entirely inside the house and carried on solely by a member of the immediate family living there, and it has to be clearly incidental and secondary to living in the house. On top of that: no sign or display showing from the outside that the house is used for anything but a residence, no commodity sold on the lot, no employee other than an immediate family member, no activity that local codes would require off-street parking for, and no mechanical or electrical equipment beyond electrical office equipment. The covenant then names trades that can never be a home occupation here: an implement or vehicle repair shop, barber shop, styling salon, beauty parlor, tea room, fortune-telling parlor, massage parlor, animal hospital, or any form of animal care or treatment such as trimming or grooming.
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 →Working on a vehicle outside is prohibited. No car may be repaired, or stored in a non-functional condition, on any part of the exterior of a lot, and commercial or industrial vehicles and equipment, tractors, semi-trailers, trucks, recreational vehicles, snowmobiles, boats, trailers and motor homes cannot be placed outside for storage or repair either. The covenants also rule out an implement or vehicle repair shop as a home occupation.
Cans live indoors except around pickup. Trash and garbage have to be kept in appropriate residential containers, kept clean and sanitary, and kept indoors except for pickup. Containers can go out no earlier than twelve hours before the expected pickup time, and loose trash bags are not permitted on a lot at all. No lot may be used or maintained as a dumping ground for rubbish, trash or junk. Compost and similar organic recycling piles are prohibited, and landscape clippings have to be disposed of properly rather than dumped or kept on the property.
Open fire is restricted to one thing: a fire pit no more than thirty-four inches wide that the Architectural Control Committee has approved. Everything else in that family - fires, campfires, campfire pits, burn pits and other incineration devices - cannot be operated or placed on any lot, street, sidewalk or roadway in the subdivision or in any common area. Gas and charcoal grills are not named one way or the other, so the document does not say whether they fall inside that ban. Firewood and other materials used for heating or recreational purposes have to be kept inside a building or covered and screened with plantings, and not visible to neighbors.
A permanent outdoor clothesline is not allowed. The covenants prohibit any permanent structure for hanging laundry, rugs or other items outside the house. A portable or retractable line is not separately 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 →Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.