What the recorded documents actually say about Stone Oak Estates in New Carlisle — 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
Where these answers come from. Every answer on this page is read from one recorded document: the Third Amendment to Protective Restrictions, Covenants, Limitations and Easements for Stone Oak Estates, executed by Westwood Shores Associates, Inc. and filed for record with the St. Joseph County Recorder on March 1, 2000. It amends the three earlier Stone Oak recordings in their entirety, which means it replaces them rather than adding to them: the original protective restrictions recorded December 19, 1995 as document 9542955, a correction recorded January 11, 1996 as document 9601075, and an amendment recorded April 25, 1997 as document 9715434. It runs thirty-eight numbered paragraphs with a table of contents, two legal description exhibits and a home specification sheet, and it is signed and notarized. Nothing newer than it appears in the county records gathered for this page.
Which lots these answers cover. The Third Amendment states its own reach. It covers Stone Oak Estates, Lot 1 through Lot 62 and Lot B, from the final plat recorded March 2, 1995 as instrument 9505752, and Stone Oak Estates Phase Two, Lot 63 through Lot 85, from the final plat recorded January 11, 1999 as instrument 9901165. It expressly excludes Lot A, which the covenants describe as the subdivision's information and operations center. So this page answers for lots 1 through 85 and Lot B, in Olive Township, St. Joseph County. If an address sits outside that range, or on Lot A, this page does not answer for it.
What is not covered here. No third phase, no later section and no amendment after the 2000 one turned up in the county records gathered for this page, although the covenants do contemplate future additions and sections being brought into the association later. The recorded plats themselves are not part of the copies on file, so a particular lot's setback lines, easements and pond boundaries have to be read off the plat rather than off this page. Dollar figures and dates here are the ones written into a document recorded in 2000 and can have changed since.
How it was read. The copies on file are scans of paper with no digital text, so they were read by optical character recognition. Four separate scans of this same recording are on file; all four were read and compared line by line against one another, and the rules were read from those complete scans rather than from the shortened extract prepared for this page, because that extract left out more than half of its main document without saying so. Every number that carries an answer above was then checked by eye against the page images at full resolution, including the Recorder's filing stamp that gives the March 1, 2000 recording date. Because a scan can still misread an individual word, nothing in the answers above is presented as a direct quote; the exact recorded wording is kept alongside each answer.
Before you rely on this. Pull the recorded documents from the St. Joseph County Recorder yourself, or have your title company pull them, and ask the association for its current By-Laws, its current dues figure, and any rules it has adopted since. This page is a reading of what was recorded; it is not a substitute for the record, and it is not legal advice.
Perimeter fencing is permitted in the rear or side yard only, and the placement, style and height of all fencing must be submitted to the Architectural Control Committee for written approval. If split rail fencing is approved, black coated chain link may be applied over the split rail where necessary. A privacy fence around an immediate patio is capped at six feet and has to conform to the architectural standard set by the style of the house built on the lot. No fencing may be installed in an easement area without written committee approval, and any variance from the stated fence requirement also needs written approval. The paragraph says it is not meant to prohibit planting or maintaining hedges, shrubbery or trees. A separate sight-line rule bars a fence between two and six feet above the roadway on a corner lot inside the triangle formed by the street lines twenty-five feet back from the intersection.
Up to two detached storage or pet shelter structures may be built, and they have to go to the Architectural Control Committee for approval before construction begins. They must be of quality construction, maintained in attractive and neat appearance, blend with the established home, match its decor, and be erected near the rear half of the lot. If permitted, a detached structure may not exceed 8 feet in width, 12 feet in length and 8 feet in height unless the committee approves otherwise in writing, and the committee may require protective screening around it once it is erected. Metal pole barns are not permitted. The covenants also say some lots are not conducive to detached structures and will not be allowed at the committee's discretion, and that perimeter lots are more conducive to yard barns in most cases. Separately, a tool shed, storage shed, barn, shack or other outbuilding of a temporary character may not be used on a homesite at any time.
Recreational and commercial vehicles, including campers, trailers, trucks, dune buggies and boats, may not be used as a temporary residence and may not be kept in open areas in the subdivision, whether those open areas are on or off the owner's lot. The document never defines what an open area is, and it does not mention a garage either way, so whether a camper or boat kept fully inside a closed garage is reached by this paragraph is not settled by the text. Two related facts sit elsewhere in the same document and are worth knowing: the temporary structures paragraph lists semi-tractors and trailers, school buses, modular homes, mobile homes, motor homes and house trailers as prohibited, and the land use paragraph says occupying a motor home as a residence in this subdivision is not permitted. Every dwelling is required to have an attached garage for at least two and not more than three cars. If keeping a camper, boat or trailer matters to you, it is worth asking the association in writing how it reads this paragraph before you buy.
Only permanently installed, fully in-ground pools are permitted. Above ground, partially in-ground and on-ground pools are not. The covenants define a partially in-ground pool as one whose sides rest in partial contact with the earth and a fully in-ground pool as one whose entire side surface rests in full contact with the earth, and state the intent is to prevent temporary pools that sit on top of or partly into the ground regardless of any permanent decking planned around them. Detailed plans showing size, placement, materials and fencing must be approved in writing by the Architectural Control Committee before installation, and the document recommends getting that approval before ordering any materials. Tennis courts also need written committee approval, and evergreen screening around playground equipment may be required at the committee's discretion.
Nothing may be erected, constructed, placed, maintained or altered on a lot, and the natural topography or drainage may not be altered, until the construction plans have been approved by the Architectural Control Committee. Approval or disapproval is given in writing. Plans must show the floor plan, quality of construction, materials, outside colors, harmony of external design with existing structures, and location against lot lines, topography and finish grade elevations, and the site plan must show driveway placement. Two complete sets go to the developer's office and are kept there. No structure that does not comply fully with the approved plans may be erected or maintained, and no change or deviation from approved plans may be made without the committee's prior written consent. Specific materials rules follow: exterior siding is limited to aluminum, vinyl, brick, redwood or cedar lap with no vertical Masonite, every residence must be faced with brick or stone or at least a partial brick or stone front or accents as the committee approves, roof pitch must meet the county building code or be at least 6 in 12 whichever is more restrictive, and there must be a minimum one foot overhang. Exterior fireplace chimneys must be masonry unless the committee approves a direct vent unit or an interior chimney with brick veneer above the roof, and vinyl sided chimneys are not permitted.
Outside above-ground television, AM, FM and short wave radio antennas of any type may not be erected or maintained on any lot or structure in the subdivision. Each lot owner may have no more than one satellite dish for electronic signal reception. It may not be placed in the front or the side yard, and its placement and size must be approved by the Architectural Control Committee before it goes on the lot. The committee may also require protective screening around it. All public utility service on the lots and in the streets, including cable television, is required to run underground and not be visible. These covenants were recorded in 2000, so how the association applies the dish rule today is worth asking about directly.
Solar panel installation and location must be approved in writing by the Developer before construction. The covenants say nothing further about panel type, size or roof placement, and they do not describe what the Developer weighs in deciding. Because the same paragraph requires committee approval of construction plans generally, and because the developer reserved the right to hand architectural approvals for later improvements to the homeowners association, an owner today may need to ask the association who actually holds this approval.
The side, front and rear yards of each lot must be planted with grass seed, sod or ground cover and landscaped within one hundred and twenty days after the structure is completed or is occupied as a home, whichever is earlier, unless the Architectural Control Committee approves otherwise. No screen planting over thirty-six inches high is permitted between the building setback line and the front lot line on any lot. Protective screening areas shown on the plat as non-access easements must keep their plantings, retained and maintained by the lot owners at their own expense, to form an effective screen. No tree of more than sixteen inches in diameter may be removed unless actually necessary for construction, and lot owners agree to make diligent efforts to save as many trees as possible. Individual owners are responsible for planting and mowing grass in any easement area on their lot, and the association keeps the right to mow it at the owner's expense if the owner does not maintain it. On a corner lot, a hedge or shrub that obstructs sight lines between two and six feet above the roadway may not remain inside the twenty-five foot triangle at the intersection. The fencing paragraph states it is not to be read as prohibiting the planting or maintenance of hedges, shrubbery or trees.
Mailboxes should be placed so that the front of the box is two feet from the edge of the pavement. Where there is a stone or paved shoulder, the front of the box may be placed even with the edge of the shoulder but no closer than two feet from the pavement. A brick mailbox should be placed one foot behind the concrete curb, or as the county right-of-way and maintenance easement standards require, whichever is more restrictive. The covenants note the county uses that area to maintain the roadway and is not responsible for damage to mailboxes, planters, decorative stones, posts, fences or sprinkler heads within it. No style, color or material standard is set beyond the brick case, so a particular design may still be a question for the Architectural Control Committee.
No animals, livestock or poultry of any kind may be raised, bred or kept on a lot, except that dogs, cats or other household pets may be kept, 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. Subject to county code, horses would be permitted. No dog may be permitted to run at large. The covenants set no limit on the number of household pets and name no restricted breed. Up to two detached pet shelter structures are allowed under the detached buildings paragraph with committee approval, and protective screening can be required around them.
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 basketball post with a mounted backboard may be installed along the driveway of a homesite, and no closer to the road than forty feet. The backboard must not face the road and must be kept in neat repair. A post may not be left standing without a backboard attached to it. The covenants do not address a portable hoop separately, and they set no height or color standard.
No sign of any kind may be displayed to public view on a lot, except one sign of not more than five square feet advertising the home for sale or rent, or a sign of any size used by a builder or developer and approved by the Developer during the construction and sales period. A For Sale By Owner sign on a vacant lot advertising the lot or its asking price is not permitted, apart from the signs of approved realtors, builders or developers, unless the Architectural Control Committee approves it in writing. In no event may the price of the lot or the home be displayed on exterior signage. The developer reserved the right to put up its own signs, including in the landscape easement areas at the subdivision entrance, and to place county street signs. The paragraph does not name political, security or contractor signs, so those fall under the opening words about a sign of any kind.
No vehicles of any type may be parked on a street in the subdivision, except for the temporary parking of vehicles of guests of lot owners. In the same paragraph, recreational and commercial vehicles, including campers, trailers, trucks, dune buggies and boats, may not be kept in open areas in the subdivision, whether those open areas are on or off the owner's lot. Every dwelling must have a full-size attached garage capable of storing at least two and not more than three automobiles, with four permitted only on specified lots on plans pre-approved by the Architectural Control Committee. Separately, the refuse paragraph says no lot may be used for the storage of old lumber, cars, materials or debris, so a disused car left standing on a lot is reached there rather than by the parking paragraph. Semi-tractors and trailers, school buses, modular homes, mobile homes, motor homes and house trailers are listed as prohibited.
A lot may be used only as a single-family residence, except for a home occupation. To qualify, the use must be conducted entirely within the residence dwelling, participated in solely by a member of the immediate family residing there, and be clearly incidental and secondary to using the dwelling as a dwelling without changing its character. Four conditions attach: no sign or display indicating from the exterior that the building is used for anything other than a dwelling, no commodity sold on the premises, no person employed other than an immediate family member living there, and no mechanical or electrical equipment used. The covenants state that in no event is a barber shop, styling salon, beauty parlor, tea room, fortune-telling parlor, animal hospital, or any form of animal care or treatment such as dog trimming a home occupation. The developer could also use a lot as an office or model while developing and selling the subdivision.
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, garbage and other waste may not be kept except in sanitary containers. No lot, or a contiguous lot during the construction period, may be used or maintained as a dumping ground for rubbish or brush, and no lot may be used for the storage of old lumber, cars, materials or debris including grass clippings. Firewood may be stored on a lot but must be stored in an orderly and sightly manner. All incinerators or other equipment for storing or disposing of such material must be kept clean and sanitary. During construction the builder or lot owner must place a construction dumpster on or available to each homesite. Vacant lots must be mowed in their entirety so foliage does not exceed twenty-four inches in height, except for the first thirty to forty feet, which must not exceed twelve inches. If an owner fails to keep a lot neat, or fails to remove a dead tree in a timely fashion and the developer or association has to do it for safety or appearance, a lien in their favor may be granted.
The covenants never mention a grill, a barbecue or cooking outdoors, either to allow it or to forbid it. The fires paragraph is a single sentence and it reaches only streets and roadways: no fire is permitted to burn upon any street or roadway in the subdivision. On the face of that wording a contained cooking grill used on a lot or a patio is not what the sentence addresses. Two other things can still bear on it. The nuisances paragraph bars any noxious or offensive activity that may become an annoyance or nuisance in the neighborhood, and local open burning rules apply regardless of what the covenants say. Anything permanent, such as a built outdoor fireplace or fire pit, would be a structure, and the architectural approval paragraph would likely reach it.
No laundry may be hung outside on any lot in the subdivision. The sentence sits at the end of the nuisances paragraph and is written flat, with no exception for a retractable line, a drying rack, a screened area or a rear yard, and no clothesline is named anywhere else in the document. A buyer who intends to line-dry should treat this as a real restriction and raise it with the association.
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.