What the recorded documents actually say about Westwood Knolls @ Blackthorn in South Bend — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
8 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
THE 2006 FIRST AMENDMENT AMENDS THE ORIGINAL RESTRICTIONS IN THEIR ENTIRETY, so the 2003 document 0323149 is not the answer on its own. Two rules here are worth reading before you buy: the committee may prohibit fencing altogether on particular lots at its sole discretion, and a detached storage building is not allowed anywhere except the one- or two-acre parcel east of lots 10 and 11. The sign paragraph is also broader than the county norm - it names political signs - and the window carve-out is the exception.
The placement, style, colour, material and height of every fence go to the committee for written approval before anything is installed, and nothing may be fenced inside an easement without written approval. The committee also keeps the right, at its sole discretion, to prohibit fencing entirely on particular lots - the only thing it may not bar that way is an underground electric pet containment system. Retaining walls need the same approval, and one along a lot line with a dangerous drop needs protective landscape screening.
Detached storage buildings are not permitted. The covenant carves out exactly one place where they are - the one- or two-acre parcel of land contiguous to the east of lots 10 and 11 - and even there the committee approves the location, style, colour, size and materials.
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 property, on a lot or off it.
Only a fully in-ground pool is allowed, and the covenant defines the term so there is no argument: every bit of the sides has to be in contact with the earth. Above-ground, on-ground and partly-in-ground pools are all barred. Detailed plans showing size, placement, materials and the fencing or pool-cover materials need written approval before installation, the barrier has to meet state and local rules, and the committee decides what type of barrier is acceptable.
Nothing may be built, placed, maintained or altered, and the natural topography or drainage may not be changed, until the committee approves the plans - including the landscaping plan for the home site - and its decision is final and entirely within its discretion. The developer also reserves the exclusive right to approve the builders until every lot is sold. Materials are prescribed: porches have to be concrete, wooden porches are not permitted without a written variance, and a chimney on an exterior wall above the roofline needs masonry veneer.
One satellite dish of no more than one meter across is allowed per home site. It may not go in the front or the 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 committee's approval before it goes up; the committee may also require screening. Outside above-ground television, AM, FM and short-wave antennas of any type are barred.
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 →Every mailbox has to be of a style, type and material the committee has approved.
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. An underground electric pet containment system is the one form of containment the committee may not prohibit.
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 basketball court and no basketball post with a mounted backboard is permitted unless the committee approves it in writing. Playground areas and equipment need approval too, and the committee may require evergreen screening around approved playground equipment.
Worth knowing before you list, and before an election. No sign of any kind may be displayed to public view on a lot or a home - and the covenant names political signs and signs supporting or opposing a candidate specifically - except one sign of no more than five square feet advertising the home for sale or rent. A sign or notice may be displayed inside the windows of the house. No sign may go on a vacant lot advertising it or its asking price for resale.
The number of cars parked in the driveway may not exceed the number of garage doors on the house, except for a guest parking temporarily. No vehicle of any type may be parked on a street in the property, again except temporarily for a guest. Driveways are at least twelve feet wide and no more than thirty feet at the curb, brick or concrete - stone and cinder are not allowed - and a circular drive is at least eight feet.
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 and the usual list are 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 →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 →Fuel storage tanks of any kind are prohibited, and the covenant names large bulk LP propane tanks used to heat the house or garage. No lot may be used as a dumping ground for rubbish or brush, trash goes in sanitary containers, and no lot may store old lumber, cars, materials or debris - grass clippings included. Firewood may be stored if it is stacked neatly.
No fire may be allowed to burn in any street or roadway in the property. A fire on your own lot is not addressed.
No laundry may hang outside on any lot in the property.
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 →Unusually for this county, the covenant says expressly that a sign or notice may be displayed inside the windows of the dwelling - which is the one place the otherwise very broad sign ban does not reach.
Tell us the question and we will get you the answer from the recorded documents.