What the recorded documents actually say about Woodfield Downs in Granger — 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
THE AMENDED RESTRICTIONS GOVERN, and they are not identical to the developer's original. The clearest change: the original capped a detached structure at 6 by 8 feet, the amendment raised it to 10 by 12. The original also let the developer approve its own builds; the amendment sends everything to the architectural control committee. One section of the amendment did not survive the scan legibly, so the 72-hour vehicle rule and the antenna line are cited to the original restrictions, which the amendment reiterates. The committee's approval guidelines are the association's own working rules rather than a recorded covenant, and they are named wherever they are the source.
Every fence needs the architectural control committee's approval on materials, height, location and sightlines, and four feet is normally the maximum. The committee's own written guidelines are specific: split rail, post-and-top-rail or picket are allowed; privacy fences are not, except around a pool or as a small fence against the house; wood and mesh has to be decay-resistant wood with vinyl-coated mesh and bare wire mesh is out; vinyl fencing is allowed; and a small decorative fence section may be permitted in front of the house as a landscape element. A fence over four feet is allowed around a pool where local code requires it, but only around the pool itself.
A storage shed is allowed with architectural approval and the rules are detailed. One shed per lot, no more than 10 by 12 feet and a single storey, in barn, carriage-house or another style consistent with the main house. It has to be wood, vinyl siding or brick with a shingled roof, and bare or treated wood gets painted or stained to match the house. It goes at the back of the lot, and away from the street on a corner lot. Keeping clear of the easements is the homeowner's job.
Mobile homes, house trailers, boats, boat trailers, motor homes, camping trailers, recreational vehicles, larger commercial trucks and their trailers may not be parked on a lot for more than 72 hours. A lot also may not be used to store boats or cars in a way that makes it look unsightly.
Only in-ground swimming pools are permitted. An above-ground hot tub or spa is allowed if the committee approves the design and location, and the guidelines put it behind the house where it will not obstruct the neighbours. Pool plans, and any pump house or similar structure, go to the committee - a pump house is built to the same standard as a storage shed. A fence over four feet is allowed around the pool where code requires one.
Every residence and structure, and any other construction project, needs the architectural control committee's approval before work starts - a completed approval form plus sketches showing style, location, property lines and size, submitted in duplicate. The committee answers within thirty days, an approved project has to be finished within six months, and the chairman is told when it is done so it can be inspected. Detached structures other than pools have to be wood with a wood or simulated-wood exterior. A deck is built of decay-resistant wood or another substantial material and may not be sized or styled so it obstructs the neighbours. Construction has to begin within a year of buying the lot, and the exterior be finished five months after it starts.
The recorded covenant and the committee's guidelines do not say the same thing, so ask before you mount anything. The covenant says antennas are permitted and satellite dishes are prohibited, full stop. The committee's own written guidelines - last revised in 2002 - allow a dish under 36 inches across, say it should usually be mounted on the ground and out of sight from the street, and let the committee require landscaping or painting to conceal it. Federal rules on over-the-air reception devices also limit how far a private covenant can restrict a dish under one meter on property in your own exclusive use and control.
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 →Grading and seeding or sodding have to be done by the time you move in - or, if the season will not allow it, as soon as practical and no later than June 15 after occupancy. None of it may be done in a way that hinders drainage or the natural flow of surface water, and a drainage swale or road ditch has to be left open and unfilled. Every owner keeps the lawn and the buildings looking attractive.
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 →Domesticated dogs, cats and other ordinary household pets may be kept in the house or garage, as long as none is kept, bred or maintained commercially. Dogs have to be on a leash and kennels are not permitted. A dog exercise area needs approval, and a dog house has to be attractive, soundly built and at the rear of the property. A rear or side yard may be fenced to contain a dog using invisible mesh, vinyl-coated mesh, wood or other approved material, with the materials and design approved first. Poultry, sheep, hogs, horses, cattle and other farm animals may not be kept.
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 →One sign of no more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or rent is allowed. The restriction does not apply to the signs identifying the Woodfield Downs development itself.
Driveways and parking areas have to be hard-surface concrete for their full length and width, in by the time you move in unless weather delays it. Every lot also carries a four-foot concrete sidewalk across its full street frontage, built to the developer's specification as part of the build. Every house has a full-size attached garage for two to three cars. Boats, campers, motor homes and larger commercial trucks may not sit on a lot more than 72 hours.
A home occupation is allowed if it is carried on entirely inside the house by a member or members of the immediate family living there and stays clearly secondary to living there. There can be no sign or display visible from outside, nobody employed from outside the immediate family, and no mechanical or electrical machinery beyond ordinary household equipment. The house itself may not be structurally altered in a way that shows from outside it is being used for anything else. No commercial, business or professional office use may be carried on on a residential lot.
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 to store old lumber, boats, cars, materials or debris that would make it look unsightly.
The bins go out of sight here. Incinerators, garbage cans and barrels have to be either inside a permanent structure or of the concealed type and kept underground, and no ashes or rubbish may be left in public view. Fuel tanks have to be buried or concealed. Burning trash is not allowed - a resident may burn trees or leaves, and nothing else.
The covenant bans trash burning outright, with a carve-out only for a resident burning trees or leaves. It does not address a grill or a fire pit, so ask the board how it reads that line before building one.
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.