What the recorded documents actually say about Westwood Hills at Elbel in South Bend — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
19 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
Minimum house sizes run in three tiers by lot number, from 2,000 square feet on a ranch up to 2,700 on a two-storey for lots 61-65, which also carry a 30 to 50 percent brick front. Lots on Great Blue Heron Lake carry a separate set of lake and pond covenants and the higher $300 dues, and only lake-contiguous lots have full access to the lake - everyone else uses the recreation easement and gazebo on lot 42. Lots here are on private wells and septic systems.
A perimeter fence goes in the rear or side yard only and may not be more than four feet high. If split rail is approved, black-coated chain link may be applied over it where needed. A privacy fence up to six feet is allowed around the patio immediately next to the house and has to match the style of the home. The placement, style and height of every fence goes to the design review committee for written approval, and nothing may be fenced inside an easement without written approval. Retaining walls need the same approval, and one along a lot line with a dangerous drop needs protective landscape screening. Hedges, shrubbery and trees are not restricted by this paragraph.
Tighter than it first looks. Paragraph 10 bars a tool shed, storage shed or outbuilding of any nature outright, and paragraph 12 then says a detached storage building is not permitted unless the design review committee approves it in writing. So a shed here starts from no, and only a written approval moves it.
Recreational and commercial vehicles - campers, trailers, trucks, dune buggies and boats are the ones named - may not be used as a temporary residence or kept in open areas anywhere in the subdivision, on a lot or off it. Semi-tractors and trailers, school buses, modular homes, mobile homes, motor homes and house trailers are prohibited, and living in a motor home here is not allowed.
Only a fully in-ground pool is allowed, and the covenant defines what that means so nobody argues: every bit of the sides has to be in full contact with the earth. Above-ground, on-ground and partly-in-ground pools are all barred, and the covenant says outright that a deck built around one does not rescue it. Detailed plans showing size, placement, materials and fencing need written approval before installation - and the document advises getting that approval before ordering materials. A tennis court needs written approval too, and the committee may require evergreen screening around playground equipment.
Nothing may be built or altered, and the topography or drainage may not be changed, until the design review committee approves the plans in writing - a geothermal heating unit included, and the site plan has to show where the driveway goes. Two full sets of plans go in. The committee also sets where the building sits on the lot, and nothing may be placed anywhere else without its approval. Materials are prescribed: siding is aluminum, vinyl, brick, redwood or cedar lap with no vertical Masonite; every house is faced with brick or stone, roughly 20 to 25 percent of the available surface for a partial front; roof pitch is at least 6 in 12 with a one-foot overhang; and every side of the house has at least one window unless the committee grants a variance.
One satellite dish of no more than one meter across is allowed per homesite. It may not go in the front or side yard, it has to go where it is least visible from the street or the common property if that is feasible, and both its placement and its size need the design review committee's approval before it goes up; the committee may require screening. Outside above-ground television, AM, FM and short-wave antennas of any type are barred.
Solar panels are addressed directly, which is rare in this county: the installation and its location have to be approved in writing by the developer before construction.
There is a real tree clause here. Owners agree to keep the wooded character of the subdivision and to save as many trees as they can, and no tree more than sixteen inches across may be removed unless it is actually necessary for construction. Yards have to be seeded, sodded or planted and landscaped within 120 days of the house being finished or occupied, weather permitting, and at least four trees of eight feet and four-inch caliper go in with that first landscaping unless the committee waives it. Wild flowers may be used only as a minor accent. Screen planting over thirty-six inches is barred in front of the building line, within thirty feet of the rear line on a pond lot, and anywhere on a shoreline or back yard that would block the pond view for other owners.
The front of the mailbox goes two feet back from the edge of the pavement. Where there is a stone or paved shoulder it may line up with the edge of the shoulder, but never closer than two feet to the pavement. A brick mailbox goes one foot behind the concrete curb, or wherever the county right-of-way standard puts it if that is stricter. The county is not responsible for damage to a mailbox in the right-of-way.
Dogs, cats and other household pets are allowed as long as none is kept, bred or maintained commercially and none becomes a neighbourhood nuisance or hazard, and no dog may run at large. Unusually for a platted subdivision, the covenant adds that horses would be permitted subject to county code.
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 go along the driveway, no closer to the road than forty feet. The backboard may not face the road, it has to be kept in neat repair, and a post may not be left standing without a backboard on it.
One sign of no more than five square feet advertising the home for sale or rent is allowed, plus a builder's or developer's sign during the construction and sales period. One to know before listing a vacant lot: no sign may be put on a vacant lot advertising it or its asking price for resale unless the design review committee approves it in writing - the covenant points owners at magazines, newspapers, direct mail and the MLS instead.
No vehicle of any type may be parked on a street in the subdivision, except temporary parking for an owner's guests. Driveways must be at least twelve feet wide and built of asphalt at least three inches thick, brick, or concrete at least four inches; stone and cinder are not allowed and a circular drive is at least eight feet wide. The gutter line of the road may not be filled or wedged with asphalt. Every homesite on a through street or on Primrose Road also carries a concrete sidewalk the owner builds and maintains, including keeping it clear of ice and snow.
A home occupation is allowed if it is carried on entirely inside the house by a member of the immediate family living there, stays clearly secondary to living there, and uses no mechanical or electrical equipment. There can be no sign or display visible from outside, nothing sold on the premises, and nobody employed from outside the immediate family. A barber shop, styling salon, beauty parlour, tea room, fortune-telling parlour, animal hospital or any form of animal care such as dog trimming is named and excluded.
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 may be used for the storage of old lumber, cars, materials or debris. If an owner lets the lot go, or leaves a dead tree standing, the developer or the association may have the work done and take a lien on the lot for the cost.
Fuel storage tanks are not allowed at all here, and the covenant names large bulk LP propane tanks used to heat the house or garage as prohibited. Trash and garbage have to be kept in sanitary containers, no lot may be used as a dumping ground for rubbish or brush, and grass clippings are named in the debris that may not be stored. Firewood may be stored if it is stacked neatly. A vacant lot has its weeds and brush mowed within the first thirty feet.
No fire may be allowed to burn in any street or roadway in the subdivision. A fire on your own lot is not addressed.
No laundry may be hung outside on any lot in 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 →Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.