What the recorded documents actually say about Sylvan Woods DPUD in Bristol — 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
These answers come from the recorded Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions for Sylvan Woods DPUD in Bristol, Elkhart County. It was signed on December 23, 2004, recorded on December 27, 2004 as 2004-42804, and then re-recorded on February 18, 2005 as 2005-04716 as a conforming copy that corrects the subdivision name from PUD to DPUD and attaches the land description and a lot survey. Sylvan Woods DPUD is also a county zoning approval, and that approval is a separate document that is not on file here. Everything below is taken from the recorded covenants, which are what govern what an owner may do with a lot, and not from the county zoning file.
One declaration covers the whole subdivision. It applies to the entire 71-acre parcel set out in its land description and to all fifty-three lots on the plat, numbered 1 through 53. There are no separate section or phase declarations here, and no part of Sylvan Woods is left without recorded covenants.
Three copies of this same recording were on file. The rules were read in full from the complete scans rather than from any shortened version, so no paragraph of the declaration is missing from what is summarized below, and all three copies agree on every number that carries an answer. Because this is a paper document that was scanned, individual words read imperfectly, so every number that decides an answer was checked against the page images themselves.
Three things are worth confirming for yourself. The covenants as written run until March 1, 2027 and then renew automatically for ten years at a time unless owners of at least three quarters of the lots vote to change them. The declaration also gives the Architectural Control Committee its approval authority for twenty years after the plat for a lot was recorded, and that window has either closed or is closing, so ask the association who reviews plans today. And the declaration exempts one retained parcel, described on its Exhibit B, from all assessments while its owner remains a member; the copy on file attaches a survey sheet for a Lot 22 revision as Exhibit B, so if that exemption could affect the lot you are buying, pull the recorded exhibits from the Elkhart County Recorder or ask your title company.
The declaration allows only two kinds of fence enclosure and requires written approval for either. The first is a split rail fence three rails high and no more than four feet tall. The second is a privacy fence around an immediate patio, no more than six feet. Either must conform to the architectural standards set by the style of the house it sits at, and must be approved in writing by the Sylvan Woods Architectural Control Committee. The committee can approve a written variance from the fence requirement. A separate paragraph adds that any fencing on a lot is subject to architectural control, and fencing around a pool or tennis court gets its own review.
Outbuildings are allowed but gated. A tool shed, storage shed, barn or other outbuilding may not be placed on a lot at all unless it is approved under the detached outbuilding paragraph, which caps a detached outbuilding at 1,500 square feet and puts every one of them through the Architectural Control Committee. A majority of the committee may allow more square footage if the plans show a building consistent with the house already on the lot. Smaller detached structures, including a pet shelter, a playhouse, play structures and anything built to store lawn tools, toys or pool equipment, must be of quality construction, kept neat, made to blend with the house, and submitted to the committee for approval before construction starts; the committee can require protective screening around them. On lots backing the river the declaration bars any such structure near the rear line, but it states that distance inconsistently, writing thirty in words and 40 in figures in the same phrase, so confirm the setback with the association before you build.
Recreational vehicles are addressed by where they sit and for how long. Snowmobiles, recreational vehicles, motorcycles and dune buggies may not be parked outside of permitted structures on a lot for longer than 24 hours, which on the face of that wording leaves parking inside a permitted structure open and gives a 24-hour window outside one. Every house here is required to have a full-size attached garage able to hold at least two cars. Separately, a trailer or mobile home may not be used or placed on a lot at all unless it is approved under the detached outbuilding paragraph. The declaration does not mention boats anywhere, so a boat is not directly addressed.
In-ground swimming pools and tennis courts are expressly permitted, subject to architectural control. Above-ground pools are prohibited. The committee must approve the design, appearance and location of any pool or court, and that approval rests partly on its review of the design, location and construction method for any required fencing, along with zoning, development, health and safety standards and anything else the committee requires.
Nothing may be built, placed, kept or altered on a lot, and the natural topography or drainage may not be changed, until the builder and the plans have been approved by the Architectural Control Committee. Plans have to show the floor plan, the exterior type and finish, materials, the outside colors, how the design sits with existing structures, and the location relative to the lot lines. Two complete sets go in; approval or disapproval comes back in writing; no construction may start before written approval, and no change from approved plans is allowed without the committee agreeing in writing first. The committee is the board of directors or people it appoints, and the declaration says its authority lasts twenty years from the recording of the plat for that lot.
A satellite dish is permitted with conditions. The declaration caps it at eighteen inches, written as circumference, and requires it to sit in the perimeter landscape portion of the lot with at least three complementary shrubs or bushes next to it. If the dish cannot get the signal direction it needs from the perimeter landscaping, a clump-style landscaped area has to be created with an artificial rock or another committee-approved cover. The dish may not go on the roof or on any other part of the house or its porches, breezeways or garage if it would be visible from the street or from any other lot in or next to Sylvan Woods. The same paragraph requires all utility service, including cable television, to run underground and stay out of sight. Federal rules on antennas can limit how far an association may enforce restrictions like these, so ask the association how it applies the paragraph today.
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 →Landscaping is reviewed up front and then has to be kept up. As part of getting a house approved, the owner or the builder has to submit two sets of lawn and landscaping plans showing the location and type of trees, shrubs and plants and their size, variety and planned location, and the committee has to approve them in writing before construction of the house and the landscaping begins. If someone other than the developer builds, that builder has to coordinate the lawn and landscaping requirements with the buyer and the committee before closing. Once approved, the owner has to maintain and care for the lawn and landscaping in line with the approved plans. Changing the natural topography or drainage of a lot also needs approval.
Every house has to have a mailbox, and the owner has to keep it in good working order and maintain it so it looks right at all times. For houses on Sylvan Woods Road the declaration says mailboxes go near the paved portion of the road, in a location or locations approved by the Architectural Control Committee, so that mail and parcels can be delivered. The declaration does not specify a style, material or color, so ask the association whether it has set one.
Dogs, cats and other household pets are allowed. Animals, livestock and poultry of any kind may not be raised, bred or kept on a lot, and household pets are the stated exception, on two conditions: they may not be kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose, and they may not be allowed to become a neighborhood nuisance or hazard in any way. The paragraph sets no numeric limit and names no restricted breeds. Elsewhere the declaration treats a detached pet shelter as a structure needing committee approval before it is built, and it bars livestock or other animals at the one pre-existing barn it carves out.
Renting is addressed by lease length. No lease of a house may be entered into for more than one year without the prior approval of the association. The owner stays responsible for all assessments, and by taking the lease the tenant also becomes jointly and severally responsible for assessments that come due during the lease or while the house is being used under it. That over-one-year approval is the only lease rule the declaration states, so if you are weighing a shorter arrangement, that is the paragraph to ask the association about.
The declaration never names a basketball goal, so read this as the nearest rule rather than a direct answer. It does say that the construction and placement of any detached playhouse or play structure, and of structures built to store toys, must be of quality construction, kept neat, made to blend with the house, and submitted to the Architectural Control Committee for approval before construction begins, and that the committee may require protective screening around them. A goal fixed to the house or garage would instead fall under the paragraph requiring committee approval before anything is built or altered on a lot. Ask the association how it treats a goal before you install one.
Signs are limited to a short list. No sign of any kind may be displayed to public view on a lot except one sign of no more than eight square feet advertising the property for sale, or a sign of reasonable size used by a builder during construction and sales. A home occupation may not have any sign or display that shows from the outside that the house is being used for anything other than a residence. The developer kept the right to put up whatever signs it wanted to promote and sell lots, regardless of those limits. Indiana law can protect certain signs independently of a covenant, so ask the association before assuming a political or seasonal sign is covered.
You can park on your own lot, but not on the road. On-street parking on the shared Sylvan Woods Road is expressly prohibited, and the declaration puts a duty on every owner to keep that road open and free for coming and going. Every house is required to have a full-size attached garage capable of holding at least two cars. A lot may not be used for storage of motor vehicles, lumber, firewood, materials, junk, waste, debris or grass clippings. And snowmobiles, recreational vehicles, motorcycles and dune buggies may not sit outside a permitted structure for more than 24 hours. Sylvan Woods Road is a private drive owned by the association, which is why that road rule is enforced by the association rather than by the county.
A home occupation is allowed inside a narrow definition. A lot may not be used for anything other than a single-family residence, except for a use conducted entirely within the house, carried on only by a member of the immediate family living there, that is clearly incidental and secondary to living there and does not change the character of the house. Four conditions go with it: no sign or display showing from the outside that the house is used for anything else, no commodity sold on the lot, nobody employed other than an immediate family member living there, and no mechanical or electrical equipment used. The declaration also names uses that may not qualify in any event, including a barber shop, styling salon, beauty parlor, tea room, fortune-telling parlor, animal hospital, and any form of animal care or treatment business such as dog trimming. The committee may grant an exception for good cause, which the declaration says includes showing the heavier use will not interfere with or harm the value of the other lots. The owner of the one pre-existing barn is separately barred from running any business out of it.
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 has to be contained and timed. A lot may not be used or kept as a dumping ground for rubbish. Trash, garbage and other waste may not be kept except in sanitary containers. Incinerators and any other equipment for storing or disposing of that material have to be kept clean and sanitary and kept indoors except for pickup, and nothing may be set outside for pickup earlier than twelve hours before the expected pickup time. A separate paragraph bars using a lot to store waste, debris or grass clippings.
The declaration never mentions a grill, either to allow one or to ban one, so this is the fires paragraph rather than a direct answer. That paragraph says no fires, burn pits or other kinds of incineration device may operate or be placed on any street or roadway in the subdivision, or within any lot or any common area. It then carves out an exception: properly established, maintained and controlled campfire pits for social functions, as opposed to incineration or burning, are expressly permitted, including facilities built on the common areas. So the ban is aimed at burning and incineration while social fire is expressly allowed, and a contained cooking grill sits in between and is not named either way. A gas grill may also be read differently from a charcoal one. Ask the association how it reads the paragraph before you rely on it.
Hanging laundry outside is prohibited. The declaration says no regular or repeated hanging of laundry, rugs or other items outside the house on any lot is permitted. It does not name a clothesline as a piece of equipment and it does not set up any approval route, so there is no stated way to get permission. Note that the wording reaches regular or repeated hanging rather than a single occasion, so ask the association how it enforces this today.
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.