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Timberline Trace B

What the recorded documents actually say about Timberline Trace B in Granger — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.

11 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.

Before you rely on this page

Timberline Trace has more than one recorded section and they are not identical - this page reads Section B and Section B Phase 1 together, and the paragraph numbers differ slightly between the two, which is why the citations name the section. Timberline Trace A has its own page. Minimum house sizes here run 1,200 square feet for a one-storey, 1,000 for a one-and-a-half or bi-level, and 720 for a two-storey - unusually small for the county, and worth checking against your own section.

What you can build and change

Conditional

Fences

A fence forward of the minimum building setback line is allowed only if it is no more than four feet high AND it is an ornamental fence of the kind normally put on a residential lot. The covenant spells out what that excludes: chain link, solid fences and privacy fences. Behind the setback line the covenant does not set a rule.

Section B Phase 1, Paragraph 7
Conditional

Sheds & outbuildings

A lot may carry one accessory building suitable for use in a residential area, in addition to the house and the garage. The size limits are specific: an accessory building may not exceed 200 square feet, or 8 feet at the eaves and 10 feet at the ridge. A private garage may not exceed 660 square feet, or 9 feet at the eaves and 18 at the ridge if detached. Everything has to be built of new materials, to a quality at least as good as the houses already there, and no trailer, tent, shack, garage or outbuilding may be lived in.

Section B Phase 1, Paragraphs 5, 8 and 10
Conditional

RVs, boats & trailers

Boats, motor homes, trailers and other recreational vehicles may not be stored anywhere nearer the front lot line than the minimum building setback line shown on the plat. Behind that line the covenant does not restrict them.

Section B Phase 1, Paragraph 10
Conditional

Swimming pools & hot tubs

An above-ground pool is allowed only if it is completely screened from the neighbouring lots by architectural or landscape screening, and the association has to approve that screening.

Section B Paragraph 15
Conditional

Exterior changes & additions

No building may be put up, placed or altered until the plans, specifications and a site plan showing where the structure goes are approved on quality of workmanship and materials, how the design sits with the houses already there, and placement against the topography, finished grade and the existing trees. Approval or refusal comes in writing - and if nothing comes back within thirty days, or no written stop notice arrives before the work is finished, approval is not required. A lot carries one detached single-family house of no more than two storeys, a garage for up to three cars, and one accessory building.

Section B Phase 1, Paragraphs 6 and 5
Conditional

Satellite dishes & antennas

Every TV and CB tower antenna has to be approved by the Timberline Trace Homeowners Association. The covenant was written before satellite dishes were common and does not mention them; federal rules on over-the-air reception devices also protect a dish under one meter on property in your own exclusive use and control, so ask the association how it treats one.

Section B Paragraph 12
Not stated

Solar panels

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 →
Conditional

Landscaping, trees & gardens

Driveways and front sidewalks have to be fully paved, and the lot graded and seeded or sodded in front of the front building line within six months of moving in. Placement of the house is reviewed against the existing trees.

Section B Phase 1, Paragraphs 13 and 6
Not stated

Mailboxes

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 →

How you can live here

Conditional

Pets

Dogs, cats and other household pets may be kept, as long as none is kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose. Animals and livestock may not be raised or kept.

Section B Phase 1, Paragraph 12
Not stated

Renting your home

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 →
Not stated

Basketball hoops

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 →
Not stated

Yard signs

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 →
Conditional

Street parking

Driveways and front sidewalks have to be fully paved. A boat, motor home, trailer or other recreational vehicle may not be stored nearer the front lot line than the minimum building setback line.

Section B Phase 1, Paragraphs 13 and 10
Conditional

Running a business from home

A numbered lot may be used only for residential purposes, and no noxious or offensive trade or activity may be carried on that becomes an annoyance or nuisance to the neighbourhood. The covenant does not otherwise address working from home.

Section B Phase 1, Paragraphs 5 and 15
Not stated

Short-term rentals (Airbnb)

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 →
Not stated

Vehicle repair in the driveway

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 →
Conditional

Trash & recycling containers

Fuel tanks used on a lot have to be buried below grade. The association may enforce the restrictions about accumulations of rubbish, weeds and trash.

Section B Phase 1, Paragraph 11, with the homeowners association paragraph
Not stated

Grilling & outdoor cooking

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 →
Not stated

Clotheslines

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 →
Not stated

Flags & flagpoles

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 →
Not stated

Window coverings & decorations

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 →

Where these answers come from

The documentProtective Restrictions, Covenants, Limitations and Easements for Timberline Trace, Section B and Section B Phase 1, St. Joseph County, Indiana, with the association's code of by-laws
Recorded asSection B Phase 1, recorded at Plat Book 50
Instrument 7808133
Covenants ran to 1986-04-15, then extend automatically in ten-year terms unless a majority of owners record an instrument changing them
How it was readThe recorded copy on file is a scan of paper with no digital text, so it was read by optical character recognition. That can misread individual words, which is why nothing on this page is presented as a direct quote.
Checked againstthree separate scans of the covenants came down on different listings, along with the association's by-laws, and the covenant paragraphs read the same across them
The associationTimberline Trace Homeowners Association. Every lot owner is a member with one vote per lot. It funds and manages the park areas and the street lighting, meets at least once a year to elect officers, adopts its own by-laws and may levy dues and annual assessments for the street lighting and the common areas. Assessments are levied equally on every lot in every section of Timberline Trace. Unpaid dues become a lien on the lot, subordinate to a first mortgage, and the association may also enforce the rules about accumulated rubbish, weeds and trash. The covenant gives no dollar cap.

Ask us about Timberline Trace B

Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.

We’ll get you an answer — usually the same day.