What the recorded documents actually say about Weaver Woods in Goshen — 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
These answers come from the Declaration of Reservations and Restrictive Covenants for Weaver Woods Subdivision, made by Weaver Woods, LLC as developer, signed in August 2004 and recorded with the Elkhart County Recorder on August 16, 2004 as instrument 2004-27695. The subdivision plat is recorded in Plat Book 29, page 57, as document 2004-27315. This is the only governing instrument in the county file for this neighborhood; no amendment and no restated version turned up.
It covers the whole subdivision, and it divides the lots into two kinds. Lots 1 through 59 and 74 through 100 are single-family: one dwelling, no more than two and a half stories, at least 1,000 square feet on the ground floor for a one-story house or 1,600 square feet for a two-story or split level, with an attached two-car garage of at least 400 square feet unless waived in writing. Lots 60 through 73 are duplex lots, each side at least 900 square feet with at least a one-car garage, and those lots may not be split or further subdivided. Check which kind of lot a particular address sits on, because several answers below read differently for a duplex.
One thing matters more than any single rule here. Nearly every approval in this document was the developer's to give, and the covenants say the developer's architectural-control authority expires fifteen years after recording, which ran out in August 2019. They also say the developer's involvement in land use and building types ends at the same fifteen-year mark, while every other restriction stays in full force. The document does not say who inherits the approval role, and two paragraphs refer to approval by a Committee that is never defined anywhere in the text. So where an answer below says approval is required, the limits themselves still stand, but who grants the approval today is a question only the homeowners association can answer. Ask them before you plan a fence, a shed, a pool or any exterior change.
The covenants ran until January 1, 2020 and then extend automatically for successive ten-year periods unless owners holding at least 75 percent of the lots vote to change them, so they are still in force. A separate paragraph let the developer amend them during the first five years with 75 percent owner approval; that window closed in 2009. Dues figures in this page are the 2004 numbers written into the document and are more than twenty years old, so get the current amount from the association. And one practical note the covenants make themselves: owners are told to expect normal farming practices in the adjoining farm area and agree to take no recourse against them.
A fence is allowed, with real limits on height, material and where it sits. In front of the rear building line of the house, only a decorative fence up to 2 feet 6 inches tall is permitted, and chain link or wire fence is specifically forbidden there. Behind the house, a fence may be up to 6 feet. The covenants name rail and vinyl as examples of the type and quality the subdivision wanted. No fence may be built until the plans for it have been approved. A pool fence is a separate requirement, set at six feet and opaque. One caution that applies to every approval in this document: the covenants gave that approval power to the developer and said it expires fifteen years after recording, which ran out in August 2019, and they do not say who inherits it. The height and material limits stay in force regardless. Ask the homeowners association who reviews a fence today, and get the answer before you build.
A detached shed or accessory building is permitted, with specific limits. It may be no larger than 12 feet by 16 feet, must sit as close to the rear property line as possible, must be of the same design and material as the house with an exterior color compatible with it, must be built from new materials, and must be kept in attractive and neat condition. Construction has to be finished within 90 days of the starting date. It must also comply with local zoning and use ordinances, and plans had to be submitted and approved before construction. A pool house is the one exception to the rear-line rule: it goes inside the fenced area around the pool. Note a tension in the document a buyer should raise with the association: a separate paragraph says no trailer, mobile home, basement, tent, garage, barn, shack or other outbuilding may be used on a lot as a residence or otherwise, which reads more broadly than the accessory-building paragraph that plainly allows storage sheds. The approval authority named here was the developer's and the covenants say it expired fifteen years after recording, in August 2019, without naming a successor.
A boat, boat trailer, travel trailer, pickup camper, truck camper, motorized dwelling or tent trailer may be kept on a lot only inside an enclosed garage, with one exception the covenants state outright: it may sit on the lot for up to 48 hours for loading and unloading. Cases and boxes used to carry recreational equipment are covered by the same rule whether or not the equipment is in them. None of it may be used for living, sleeping or housekeeping while parked or stored on a lot. A separate paragraph sends towable trailers, motor homes, dune buggies, lawn mowers, ATVs and bicycles into an accessory building for storage. So the practical question for a buyer with a camper is whether the garage actually fits it, because the covenants leave no driveway option beyond the 48-hour window.
A swimming pool is permitted, on two conditions the covenants state plainly. It must have the appropriate approval from the County Building Department, and every pool must be fenced with a six-foot-high opaque fence, so a chain link or see-through fence does not satisfy it. A pool house is allowed and must sit inside the fenced area around the pool, and it falls under the accessory-building rules for design, materials and color. Tennis courts, by contrast, are not permitted at all. Nothing in the document distinguishes an above-ground pool from an in-ground one.
No building or other structure may be erected, constructed, placed, maintained or altered on a lot, and the natural topography and drainage may not be altered, until construction plans have been approved. The plans had to show the floor plan, the quality and type of construction materials, exterior siding materials and colors, how the external design sits with neighboring structures, and the location relative to lot lines, topography and finished grade. Two complete sets went to the developer, one came back with a written decision, and the developer could require changes such as roof pitch, trim details or added porches. Nothing that departs from approved plans may be built, and no deviation is permitted without prior written consent. Here is what a buyer most needs to know: the covenants say the developer's architectural control expired fifteen years after recording, which ran out in August 2019, and they do not name anyone who takes it over. Two paragraphs refer to approval by a Committee that the document never defines. So who reviews an exterior change today is a question for the homeowners association, not something this document answers.
Satellite dishes are addressed directly. A dish up to two feet in diameter is allowed in the back yard only, and it must be appropriately landscaped. The document does not provide for a dish on the front of the house, on a side yard, or larger than two feet. Any other outdoor antenna, and where it goes, had to be approved. A separate paragraph bars wood utility poles anywhere on a lot for any purpose, and names the placement of radio, shortwave or television antennae among the purposes it rules out. All utility service including cable television runs underground and is not to be visible. Since the approval authority the document names was the developer's and it expired fifteen years after recording, ask the homeowners association how it handles a dish or antenna request now.
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 →The lawn has a deadline and a standard. The sides, front and rear of each lot must be planted with grass seed, sod or ground cover within 120 days after the house is completed or first occupied, whichever comes first, unless otherwise approved. Every lot must be kept mowed, trimmed and free of debris at all times, whether it has a house on it or not. No trees or shrubs may be planted in rights of way, drainage areas or setback areas, and no grading, planting, sodding or surface covering may be applied between the front lot line and the edge of the street in any way that reduces storm drainage; anyone who alters the drainage is personally liable for the resulting damage and can be billed for having it put back. Each owner maintains the drainage system on their own lot. Excavated or top soil may not be removed from the subdivision without approval, and excess soil goes to low lying areas. No more than 40 percent of a lot may be covered by improvements, hard surface driveway and accessory buildings combined, which is the real constraint on a large patio or a wide drive. Storage of firewood, grass clippings and leaves in the open is separately prohibited.
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. Livestock and poultry are not, and no animal of any kind may be raised, bred or kept for commercial purposes. There is a hard cap worth noting: boarding or housing more than two pets of the same species is strictly prohibited, so three dogs is outside what the covenants permit even though they do not cap household pets overall. A pet must be confined to the owner's lot or on a leash when walking, and letting a pet off the lot unleashed is strictly prohibited. All pet waste must be picked up and properly disposed of. No pet may become a neighborhood nuisance or hazard. The covenants set no breed restriction and no deposit.
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 →A basketball goal is addressed by name, and the rule is about what it is mounted on. A hoop or backboard may not be attached to any structure other than a metal post designed for that purpose, placed in an appropriate location. So a backboard bolted to the house or to the garage is outside what the covenants allow, while a proper pole-mounted goal is contemplated. A separate paragraph bars wood utility poles on any lot for any purpose and names the installation of a basketball backboard among the purposes it rules out, which is the same point from the other direction: the post has to be metal, not wood. The covenants do not set a height, a color, or a limit on where on the lot the post may stand beyond being appropriately located.
Signs are tightly limited. No sign of any kind may be displayed to public view on a lot, with one exception for owners: a single sign of not more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or for rent. A builder could use a sign of any dimension during the construction and sales period, and the developer reserved the right to put up its own promotional signs. Only one sign is permitted at the subdivision entrance showing homes for sale, and it must be a generic sign. Separately, a garage sale is limited to one per year and three days, and may be identified with a sign for the duration of the sale. Nothing in the document addresses political, contractor, security or holiday signage by name, though outside holiday decorations are permitted within reason and were subject to the developer's discretion to monitor or limit them.
The headline rule is short: no vehicle may be parked off the driveway, on lawns, or on lots. Every automobile and other motorized or non-motorized vehicle must be licensed and street legal, and anything not in use and not licensed may not be parked on the property except inside a completely enclosed building. An inoperative vehicle may not remain on the premises longer than 48 hours. Machinery, discarded or dismantled vehicles or trucks or parts of them, towable trailers and motor homes, dune buggies, lawn mowers, ATVs and bicycles are all to be stored inside an accessory building. Recreational equipment such as boats and campers is covered by its own rule requiring an enclosed garage. Each lot was required to have a concrete driveway at least 18 feet wide and 4 inches thick, with any circular drive at least 8 feet wide, so the paved parking a buyer sees is the parking the covenants contemplate. Nothing addresses street parking or overnight guest parking.
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 →The covenants reach vehicle repair through what they say about dismantled vehicles and parts. Machinery, discarded or dismantled vehicles or trucks, and parts of them, must be stored within an accessory building, so a partly taken-apart car or a pile of parts may not sit in the open. An inoperative vehicle may not remain on the premises longer than 48 hours, which is the practical limit on a repair that leaves a car undriveable in view. Anything not licensed and not in use may only be parked inside a completely enclosed building. Routine work that keeps the vehicle licensed, operable and whole, such as changing oil in the driveway, is not addressed either way. Nothing in the document mentions commercial or for-hire repair work on a lot.
Trash, garbage and other waste must be kept only in sanitary containers, and all equipment used to store or dispose of it must be kept clean and sanitary. Burning trash or garbage on the property is prohibited, and a separate paragraph makes that explicit for burning indoors as well as out, whether or not an incinerator is used. No lot may be used as a dumping ground. The document defines waste broadly, including discarded household furniture, appliances, building materials, tools, toys, and automotive and other mechanical parts, and it requires those stored inside the house or in an enclosed accessory building such as a garage, garden shed or storage building; exterior storage of them is specifically prohibited. Firewood kept outdoors must be neatly ranked. A separate nuisance paragraph bars storing old lumber, scrap metal, old cars, firewood, material or debris including grass clippings and leaves. The association may enforce the rules on accumulations of rubbish, weeds and trash. Nothing sets a day or a time for putting containers at the curb.
The covenants never mention a grill, a barbecue or a fire pit. What they prohibit is burning trash and garbage: one paragraph bars burning household trash or garbage whether indoors or out and whether or not an incinerator is used, and the garbage section repeats that burning trash or garbage on the property is prohibited. Neither reaches a contained cooking fire on its face. Two other details point the same way: the covenants require firewood stored outdoors for wood burning stoves, fireplaces and campfires to be neatly ranked, which treats a campfire as an ordinary use rather than a banned one, and they require spark arresters on all fireplace chimneys. So charcoal and gas cooking are not addressed either way, and a homeowner should confirm current practice with the association and check the local open-burning ordinance, which the covenants do not displace.
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.