What the recorded documents actually say about Springwood Estates in Granger — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
10 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
TWO THINGS HERE ARE EASY TO MISS AND BOTH COST MONEY. First, Springwood Estates is on SEPTIC, not sanitary sewer - every house carries its own septic tank, installed at the owner's expense and approved by the county, and no other sewage disposal is permitted. Budget a septic inspection into any offer here. Second, certain lots contain all or part of a RETENTION POND, which is under the county drainage board's jurisdiction; the association reimburses the property tax on that portion and handles the mowing, and the retention-pond paragraph cannot be amended without every affected owner signing. The minimum house sizes are also among the largest in the county, and lots 6 and 78 through 81 carry a higher one still. This page is built on the Section One covenants; a later section, if one was platted, may have its own.
The only perimeter fencing permitted is split rail, two rails high and no more than four feet. A privacy fence up to six feet is allowed around the immediate patio, matching the architectural standard set by the style of the house and approved in writing by the architectural control committee - unless the committee grants a written variance from the fence rule. On a corner lot, nothing between two and six feet above the roadway may block the sight triangle.
A detached storage building or pet shelter for lawn tools, toys, pool equipment or pets is allowed if it is quality construction, kept attractive and neat, blends with the house, and goes to the architectural control committee for approval before construction starts. The committee may require protective screening around it. No trailer, modular, manufactured or prebuilt home, basement, tent, shack, barn or temporary structure may be moved onto or built on a lot and lived in.
Campers, trailers, trucks and boats may not be kept in open areas in the subdivision - and the covenant closes the usual workaround by saying that holds whether the open area is on your own lot or off it. Garage storage is the practical answer here.
Above-ground pools are not permitted, and neither are tennis courts. An in-ground pool is not separately addressed, so it falls under the architectural control committee's general approval requirement - ask the committee before you plan one.
Nothing is built, placed, altered or re-graded until the architectural control committee approves the plans - floor plan, quality of construction, materials, exterior colours, how the design sits with the houses already there, and placement against the lot lines, topography and finish grade. THREE complete sets go in, two kept and one returned, and the decision is in writing. Anything begun is finished within a year or removed. Minimum floor area is 2,200 square feet for a ranch, 2,400 for a two-storey and 2,500 for a one-and-a-half storey, bi-level or tri-level - and on lots 6 and 78 through 81 of Section One every style needs 2,800. Bi-level and tri-level homes are permitted only on specified terrain. Every house has a full-size attached garage, and every fireplace chimney is masonry.
The covenant as written is a blanket ban: no outside above-ground television, AM, FM or short-wave antenna of any type, satellite dish antennas expressly included, may be put up or kept on any lot or structure. All utility service including cable runs underground and out of sight, and street and lot lighting sits on posts with no visible lines. Federal rules on over-the-air reception devices limit how far a private covenant can restrict a dish of one meter or less on property in your own exclusive use and control, so ask the association rather than assuming the ban binds as written.
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 →Side, front and rear yards are planted with grass seed, sod or ground cover within 120 days of the house being finished or occupied, whichever comes first, unless the committee approves otherwise. On the recorded non-access easements the owner maintains the screen planting at their own expense, and no screen planting over thirty-six inches high is permitted between the building setback line and the front lot line. On a corner lot nothing between two and six feet above the roadway may block the sight triangle, and a tree there has to be trimmed up high enough to keep the sight line clear.
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 →Dogs, cats and other household pets are allowed, as long as none is kept, bred or maintained commercially and none is permitted to become a neighbourhood nuisance or hazard. Livestock and poultry may not be raised, bred or 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 →One sign of no more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or rent, plus a builder's sign of any size during the construction and sales period.
Driveways have to be at least twelve feet wide, and asphalt at least three inches thick, brick, or concrete at least four inches thick. Stone and cinder driveways are not permitted. A circular drive in front of the house may be as narrow as eight feet. Campers, trailers, trucks and boats may not sit in an open area anywhere in the subdivision.
A home occupation is allowed if it is carried on entirely inside the house, engaged in solely by a member of the immediate family living there, and stays clearly secondary to living there - with no sign or display visible from outside, no commodity sold on the premises, and nobody employed from outside the immediate family.
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 is used as a dumping ground for rubbish. Trash, garbage and other waste go in sanitary containers, and any incinerator or storage equipment is kept clean and sanitary. Oil and fuel storage tanks go underground or are concealed inside the house, the basement or the attached garage.
No fire may be allowed to burn on any street or roadway in the subdivision. A fire on your own lot is not 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 →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.