Covenant Enforcement
The West Line Village neighborhood is a covenant controlled community subject to the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (the Declaration). The Declaration document was created and filed in the Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder's Office on September 29, 2017. All 182 townhome lots were annexed into the West Line Village covenant-controlled community.
Each lot is subject to the covenants, conditions and restrictions provided in the Declaration.
Restrictions and Prohibitions Applicable to Lots
Article 7 of the Declaration Document contains the restrictive covenants applicable to all 182 single-family home Lots.
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LOT MODIFICATIONS REQUIRING PRE-APPROVAL
Article 4 of the Declaration Document and the Design Guidelines and Standards lists the modifications and improvements to lots that require the pre-approval of the Design Review Committee.
DESIGN REVIEW COMMITTEE (DRC)
The Design Review Committee (DRC) is comprised of homeowners who volunteer their time serving on the Committee. The DRC Chairperson is appointed by the District's board of directors and other members of the DRC are appointed by the DRC. Although positions on the DRC are not elected positions, the District's Board has oversight authority over the DRC. (The DRC reports to and receives its authority from the District's Board.)
The DRC’s primary responsibilities include the following:
- Review and approve (or deny) written design request forms submitted by homeowners;
- Maintain the Design Guidelines and Standards for the neighborhood;
- Monitor homeowner lots to ensure compliance with the Design Guidelines and Standards
Lot Maintenance
Section 7.11 of the Declaration states, “Each Lot shall at all times be kept, maintained, repaired and replaced in a good, clean and sightly condition by the Owners thereof.”
The District board must exercise a great deal of judgment to determine what constitutes a lot that is maintained in a “clean and sightly condition.” Lots that are not maintained in a “clean and sightly condition” are in violation of this lot maintenance requirement. To better define and communicate its expectations regarding “clean, safe, attractive and slightly” conditions, the Board has adopted detailed rules regarding the minimum maintenance requirements for townhome lots.
Common Lot Maintenance Violations
The top five most commonly noted violations within the neighborhood are as follows:
- Failure to store away trash cans
- Excessive weeds in the front or back of the Lot
- Failure to repair damaged garage doors
- Back yardlett used as a storage area
- Window covering that do not comply with the Design Guidelines
Homeowners who are mindful of regularly monitoring and correcting these types of violations on their lots are much less likely to receive violation notices from the District.
Rental Properties
Owners are responsible for maintaining their Lots in a manner that reasonably complies with the covenants and restrictions contained within the Declaration Document. The Board holds Landlord Owners, who rent or lease their homes, responsible for the reasonable maintenance of their lots—regardless of any contractual maintenance arrangements that may exist between Landlords and their renters or their property management companies.
Owner Responsibilities
The Board expects Owners, who use the lots as their primary residence, to be responsible for the reasonable maintenance of their Lots—regardless of the Owners’ business, vacation or other schedules that may cause the Owners to be away from their lots for extended periods of time. Also, Owners are responsible for being familiar with the covenants and restrictions contained within the Declaration Document and the Design Guidelines.
Enforcement Process
The District's Board, through its management company, performs neighborhood inspections approximately twice per month. For all lot violations noted during neighborhood inspections, the District will send out letters notifying the owners of the nature of the violation and the date on which it was observed. In addition, homeowners are subject to fines when recurring violations of the same type are identified on their lots.
The notice and fine schedule for covenant enforcement is as follows:
First Observation
of a Property Violation
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Courtesy notice
(sent regular mail and via email if provided by homeowner)
10 day deadline to correct the issue
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Second Observation
of the Same Property Violation
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Second courtesy notice and fine warning
(sent certified mail and via email if provided by homeowner)
30 day deadline to correct the issue
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Third Observation
of the Same Property Violation
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Notice of $50 fine
(sent regular mail and via email if provided by homeowner)
30 day deadline to correct the issue
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Fourth Observation
of the Same Property Violation
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Notice of $100 fine and warning that District may file a covenant lien and initiate legal action
(sent regular mail and via email if provided by homeowner)
30 day deadline to correct the issue
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Fifth and Subsequent Observations
of the Same Property Violation
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Notice that District has filed a covenant lien and initiated legal action
(No additional fines levied by the District)
(sent regular mail and via email if provided by homeowner)
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Please note that State laws passed in 2022 require (1) at least one notice be sent via certified mail before the District can begin levying fines on properties for a particular outstanding violation and (2) homeowners be allowed 30 days to comply with any notice before a fine can be levied by the District.
Fines are not assessed on a homeowner’s account until after the homeowner has an opportunity for a hearing (see below). If the homeowner does not request a hearing within ten (10) days of date of the written notice, the related fine may be assessed on the homeowner’s account.
LEGAL FEES
After a third notice regarding the same open property maintenance violation, the District may turn over a property any time to the District’s legal counsel to initiate legal action against the homeowner (including filing a covenant lien and obtaining a judgment in court). In addition to addressing any judgement that may be obtained by the District against a homeowner, the homeowner must reimburse the District for any legal fees the District incurs related to the enforcement of a violation (in addition to paying any violation fines assessed by the District).
Hearing
Homeowners who receive violation notices may request a hearing before the District's board to present evidence, testimony and present witnesses to support their case. Homeowners must submit their request for a hearing within 10 days of the date of the notice.
A request for a hearing can be submitted via email or via regular mail to the District Manager.
Changes to the parkside village Declaration Document
Homeowners may conduct a vote in accordance with the Declaration Document to change the covenant-controlled community. In accordance with Section 12.4 of the Declaration Document, approval from 67% (or 122) of the 182 Lot owners within West Line Village must be obtained to pass any proposed changes to the Declaration Document.
DISCLAIMER - ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The information contained on this page is incomplete and only intended to be a summary of certain key provisions of the District's Covenant Enforcement Policies and Procedures and the District's Collection Policies and Procedures. Homeowners are responsible for carefully reviewing the District's policies and procedures (posted in the public document library on this website) to understand the District's and homeowners' respective responsibilities and rights regarding the enforcement of covenants, conditions, restrictions, rules applicable to the use and enjoyment of their properties.