What the recorded documents actually say about Laurel Creek in South Bend — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
19 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
Lots 16, 17, 29 and 30 are pond lots on the retention area identified on the plat. The covenant also provides that every primary residence be built by Place Realty Inc. unless the developer waives it.
A perimeter fence is allowed at no more than four feet, made of natural materials or vinyl. A privacy fence up to six feet is allowed around a patio or pool immediately next to the house; it has to match the architectural standard set by the style of that house and be approved in writing by the Laurel Creek Architectural Control Committee, unless the committee grants a written variance.
A detached storage or pet-shelter structure has to be quality construction, kept neat and blend with the house, and go to the architectural committee for approval before building starts; the committee can require screening around it. No trailer, modular or manufactured home, prebuilt home, tent, shack, barn or outbuilding may be lived in.
Recreational and commercial vehicles - campers, trailers, trucks and boats - may not be kept in open areas anywhere in the subdivision, on a lot or off it.
Above-ground pools are not permitted. An in-ground pool and a tennis court are both allowed with the Laurel Creek Architectural Control Committee's prior approval.
Nothing may be built, placed, maintained or altered, and the natural topography or drainage may not be changed, until the architectural committee approves the plans. Two full sets go in, showing floor plan, quality of construction, materials, outside colours, how the design sits with the houses around it, and placement against the lot lines, topography and finish grade. The covenant also provides that the primary residence be built by the developer's company unless that is waived.
The covenant bars outside above-ground television, AM, FM and short-wave antennas of any type, and says expressly that this includes any type of satellite dish antenna. 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.
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 →There is a real deforestation clause here. No live tree over four inches across, measured a foot off the ground, may be cut without the architectural committee's prior approval - and nor may any flowering tree such as dogwood or redbud, any broad-leaf evergreen, or live vegetation on a slope steeper than twenty percent. The committee sets the rules for selective clearing. Side, front and rear yards also have to be planted with grass seed, sod or ground cover within 120 days of the house being finished or occupied.
Every lot has to have a mailbox, kept in good condition and repair, built to the design criteria the architectural committee sets.
Dogs, cats and other household pets are allowed, as long as none is kept or bred commercially and none becomes a neighbourhood nuisance or hazard. 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 →Worth knowing before you list. The covenant bars a sign of any kind from public view on any lot AND says in the same breath that this includes signs advertising the property for sale or rent - which is unusual; almost every other covenant in the county carves out a five-square-foot for-sale sign. A builder's sign during the construction and sales period is the exception named.
Stricter than most. Every house needs an attached garage for two to three cars, and garages and parking have to be positioned so that no car and no garage door is readily visible from the street or from any other lot. No vehicle may be parked on the grass or landscaped part of a lot at any time, or on a right-of-way on any regular or recurring basis. Driveways must be at least twelve feet wide and brick or concrete, concrete at least four inches thick; stone and cinder are not allowed and a circular drive must be at least eight feet wide.
A home occupation is allowed if it is carried on entirely inside the house by a member of the immediate family living there, stays clearly secondary to living there, and uses no mechanical or electrical equipment. There can be no sign or display visible from outside, nothing sold on the premises, and nobody employed from outside the immediate family. A barber shop, styling salon, beauty parlour, tea room, fortune-telling parlour, animal hospital or any form of animal care such as dog trimming is named and excluded.
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 →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. A fuel storage tank, above or below ground, needs the architectural committee's specific written approval.
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 →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.