What the recorded documents actually say about Winding Brook Park G in Mishawaka — fences, sheds, pools, pets, parking and the rest — with the part of the document each answer comes from.
1 homes have sold here in the last four years, which is why this neighborhood was compiled early.
Before you rely on this page
ONE DECLARATION COVERS SECTIONS G AND H, AND ONLY THOSE. Section G is lots 283 through 295; Section H is lots 296 through 301 and 302 through 334. The other Winding Brook Park sections - B, C, D, E, F and Section 1 - are separate plats and are not governed by this document, so do not read this page for a home in one of those. Two rules inside it also vary by section and by lot, and both are stated on this page where they apply: the minimum house size is larger in H than in G and larger again on lots 301 through 318 and 327 through 330, and the requirement to plant two front-yard trees does NOT apply to lots 305 through 307, 309 through 319 or 327 through 330. Check your lot number.
A fence needs the Design Review Board's prior written approval, and one kind is ruled out whatever the Board thinks: chain link is never permitted here. There is also a separate corner-lot limit - on a corner, no fence that blocks sight lines between two and six feet above the roadway may stand inside the triangle formed by the two street lines and a line joining them twenty-five feet back, and the same applies on any lot within ten feet of where a driveway meets the street.
No structure of a temporary character, trailer, basement, tent, shack, garage, barn or other outbuilding may be moved onto, assembled or constructed on any lot, or used on any lot at any time for any use. The one exception written into the covenant is a gazebo, which may be permitted but needs the Design Review Board's prior written approval.
No recreational or commercial vehicles - campers, trailers, trucks or boats are named - may be kept in open areas in this subdivision, and the clause reaches open areas whether they are on your lot or off it.
No above-ground swimming pool may be constructed or maintained on any lot. An in-ground pool is not mentioned, which does not make it free: nothing may be built or placed on a lot, and the topography and drainage may not be altered, until the Design Review Board has approved the plans in writing.
Nothing may be erected, constructed, placed, maintained or altered on a lot, and the natural topography or drainage may not be changed, until the Design Review Board has approved the construction plans. What those plans must show is unusually specific: floor plan, quality of construction, materials, the outside colours, how the external design sits with the houses already there, the mailbox design, the landscape and outdoor lighting plans, and elevations. Three complete sets go in; two stay with the developer and one comes back to the builder. Approval or refusal is in writing, nothing may be built that does not comply fully with the approved plans, and no deviation is allowed without the Board's prior written consent. The approved drawings also have to go in with the building-permit application - the covenant says no permit may be issued without them.
No outside above-ground television, AM, FM or short-wave radio antenna, and no satellite dish, may be erected or maintained on any lot or structure in this subdivision. The ban is flat - there is no size exception and no approval route written into it. Note that federal rules have since limited how far a covenant like this can be enforced against a small dish, so ask before assuming either way.
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 →This covenant asks more of a front yard than most. Every effort has to be made to preserve as many trees as is reasonably practicable, and TWO new trees must be planted in the front yard of each lot at the owner's expense - each at least three and a half inches across at the base and no less than fifteen feet tall when planted. That tree obligation does not apply to lots 305 through 307, 309 through 319, or 327 through 330. New planting is to complement the existing natural landscape, and all landscaping must be kept in a well-manicured condition at all times. On a corner lot, no hedge or shrub planting may block sight lines between two and six feet above the roadway inside the twenty-five-foot corner triangle, and no tree may remain there unless its foliage line is kept high enough to keep the view clear.
The mailbox is not left to the owner: mailbox design is one of the items the construction plans submitted to the Design Review Board must show, so it is approved along with the house.
Dogs, cats and other household pets are allowed. No animals, livestock or poultry of any kind may be raised, bred or kept on a lot otherwise, and no pet may be kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose.
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 hoop is not named, but the clause it would be judged against is: metal swing sets, and similar metal apparatus, may not be constructed or maintained on any lot. A pole-mounted hoop is close enough to that wording that it is worth asking the Design Review Board before buying one, and any permanent installation needs the Board's written approval in any case.
No sign of any kind may be displayed to public view on a lot, with two exceptions: one sign of no more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or rent, and a builder's signs during the construction and sales period. The developer kept a right to put up whatever signs it wanted to promote sales in the development.
Vehicles may only be parked on the paved part of the lot - never on the grass or any landscaped part, at any time. Every home must have a full-size attached garage holding at least two cars and no more than three. Recreational and commercial vehicles, including campers, trailers, trucks and boats, may not be kept in open areas at all.
No lot may be used except for residential purposes, and no building other than one single-family dwelling of up to two and a half storeys plus an attached garage for no more than three cars may stand on it. The covenant writes no home-occupation exception of the kind many neighborhoods include, so anything beyond quiet work inside the house is a question for the Design Review Board.
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 →No lot may be used or maintained as a dumping ground, and trash, garbage and other waste must be kept in sanitary containers; any incinerator or other storage or disposal equipment has to be kept clean and sanitary. Separately, and this catches people out: no burning of waste, leaves, trees or other debris is permitted anywhere in this 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 →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.