Brief Outline of the Protective Covenants

The Protective Covenants for Pinewood Manor is a legal document that is attached to the Warranty Deeds of all the homes in Pinewood Manor. An Architectural Control Committee is established to oversee certain parts of the Covenants. In addition, the Covenants contain 18 paragraphs that can be grouped into 4 general categories:

• Rules concerned with the placement of buildings within ones lot.

• Rules that cover what can and cannot be done with or on one’s property.

• Rules that are associated with an approval from the Architectural Control Committee (ACC), i.e. Removing a tree over 4” in diameter, adding an addition to one’s home, etc.

• Rules that pertain to the covenants themselves (i.e. How long are the covenants valid, what about enforcement, etc.).

The following briefly describe what is contained in the 18 paragraphs (The full text of the Covenants have been included at the end for those interested):

1. Describes what kind of house can be built

2. Describes where the house can be placed on the lot

3. Telephone and power lines from the pole to the house must be underground

4. Describes lot size and subdivision

5. No businesses, no dumping, no annoying activity

6. No living in temporary structures

7. No signs, except house for sale signs

8. No animals kept on ones property, with the exception of pets

9. No additions to house or property (i.e. fence) without consent of ACC

10. Tree removal requires consent of ACC

11. No trees with long spreading roots near sewage system

12. No soil removal

13. Sewage systems in compliance with the ACC

14. Covenants excluded for parks, shopping centers, etc.

15. Establish a 10 ft. easement at the rear of all lots for utility access

16. Describes how long these covenants are in effect, and how they can be changed

17. Covers enforcement

18. Concerning legal judgments against the covenants

The three questions that seem to be most asked are:

• Are the Covenants still in effect?

• Can the Covenants be changed?

• What (if anything) should be done with them?

Questions and Recommendations

Are the Covenants still in effect?

This is covered in paragraph #16 of the Covenants. By our read, the answer to the question is yes. The Covenants originally ran for a period of 25 years from the time that they were filed with the town (June 1, 1959). They are then renewed for a period of 10 years and then another ten years and so on.

Can the Covenants be changed?

According to the Covenants, the answer is yes. Changing the Covenants requires a majority of the lot owners to sign and file any proposed change.

What should be done?

If you asked 10 people how they would change the Covenants, you would most likely get 10 different answers. Therefore, it does not make a lot of sense for us to make any specific recommendations. Instead, what we feel is most important is to place more of the control of the Covenants in the hands of the majority of the people living in Pinewood Manor. One small step in this direction would be to transfer the authority currently residing with the Architectural Control Committee to the Pinewood Manor Home Owners’ Association. To accomplish this, one would need to take the current Covenants and replace ACC with Pinewood Manor Home Owners Association, have this revised version of the Covenants signed by a majority of the current homeowners, and then file this new document with the Town Offices. After this initial step is taken, discussion can and should be held on the specific changes that homeowners wish to see in the Covenants.

Protective Covenants

(Retyped from a copy obtained from the town offices)

Pinewood Manor Development

Essex, Vermont

Owned by Pinewood Manor, Inc.

In order to establish and maintain a real estate development in a neighborhood that will afford a maximum of protection to homeowners, investors, developers, and the Town of Essex in general, Pinewood Manor, Inc., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Vermont, do hereby declare the following protective covenants on the following land:

All the land conveyed to Pinewood Manor, Inc., by Warranty Deed dated April 3, 1958, of record in Volume 60 at Pages 448-449 of the Town of Essex Land Records.

Architectural Control Committee: This committee shall be appointed by the Board of Directors of Pinewood Manor, Inc., and shall be self-perpetuating and shall have the power to name a new member thereof upon the occurrence of any vacancy among its membership. A majority of the committee may designate a representative to act for it.

1. That no building shall be erected, maintained of placed upon any lot except on detached single family dwelling unit not exceeding two stories in height and a private garage for no more than three vehicles.

2. That no building shall be erected or placed upon said premises nearer than fifteen (15) feet to any side lot line nor nearer than forty (40) feet to a front lot line nor nearer than thirty (30) feet to a rear lot line. Corner lots shall be deemed to have two (2) front lot lines. In the event that two or more adjoining lots as shown upon said plan, or portions thereof, shall be combined to be used as one lot for the purpose of erecting a single set of buildings, then the provisions concerning setback lines from the street or streets and the location of such building, with respect to other boundary lines shall apply to the lot resulting from such combination.

3. That all telephone and power lines between buildings and utility poles shall be underground.

4. That no lot shall be divided or subdivided nor shall a street or waterline be allowed to cross any lot, after acquisition from Pinewood Manor, Inc., unless done with the approval of the Architectural Control Committee, nor shall any lot have a width at the front lot line of less than ninety-five (95) feet nor have an area of less than twenty-two thousand (22,000) square feet.

5. That no retail or wholesale shop or store, except as allowed by Paragraph #14 below, shall be erected nor any business or industry or any noxious or offensive trade be carried on upon said premises, nor shall any lot be used as a dumping ground, nor shall any thing be done thereon which may be or become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood.

6. That no tents, shacks, barns, trailers, garages, unfinished basements, or other outbuildings shall be occupied as living quarters on said premises.

7. That no signs, signboards or advertising structures of any kind shall be erected or placed on any lot except signs required to advertise the property during the construction and/or sales of renting period.

8. That no birds, livestock or animals of any kind whatsoever except household pets shall be kept, housed or permitted to remain upon any lot.

9. That no building, fence, wall or other structure shall be commenced, erected, maintained or placed on any lot, nor shall any addition or external alteration be made, until the design and location or alterations have been approved in writing, by the architectural Control Committee. This Committee shall have the right to refuse to approve any such plans or location thereof if in their opinion such plans or location do not conform with the provisions of this instrument. They shall have the further right passing upon such plans and location to take into consideration quality and/or workmanship, suitability of the proposed building, and the harmony thereof with the adjacent or neighboring property. However, in the event that such Committee fails to approve or disapprove such design and location with thirty (30) days after submission of the plans to it, then such approval will not be required providing the value of the completed dwelling, exclusive of the lot, is no less than fifteen thousand (15,000) dollars based upon cost levels prevailing on the date the herein contained covenants are recorded, and providing that the ground floor area of the dwelling, exclusive of open porches and of garages, occupies an area of not less than nine hundred (900) square feet for a one story dwelling and seven hundred (700) square feet for a one and one-half or two story dwelling.

10. That no trees of over four (4) inches on the stump shall be removed from any lot at any time without the written approval of a member of the above Committee.

11. That no trees with long spreading roots, which could interfere with the sewage system, shall be planted near such a system.

12. That no soil aggregate shall be removed by anyone other than Pinewood Manor, Inc. from the development at any time and if an excess of soil is present on any lot it shall be carried to an area within the development as directed by a member the above Committee.

13. That the individual sewage distribution systems shall comply with the minimum requirements as established by the Architectural Control Committee.

14. These covenants do not apply to lots with the covered area which may be reserved by Pinewood Manor, Inc. for public improvements, such as parks, schools, fire stations, shopping centers and the like.

15. Easements of ten (10) feet in width along the rear lot lines are hereby served for installation and maintenance of utilities.

16. The above covenants are to run with the land and shall be binding on all parties claming such land for a period of twenty-five (25) years from the date of recording of these covenants, after which time said covenants shall be extended for successive periods of ten (10) years at a time unless an instrument singed by a majority of the then owners of the lots has been recorded, agreeing to change said covenants in whole or in part. In the event it is felt necessary to alter the above covenants within the above twenty-five (25) years such an alteration can only be made by the above corporation providing it has full consent of all the then property owners in the development.

17. Enforcement shall be by proceedings at law or in equity against any person or persons violation or attempting to violate any covenants either to restrain violation or to recover damages.

18. Invalidation of any one of these covenants by judgment or court order shall in no way affect any of the other provisions, which shall remain in full force and effect.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we hereunto set our hands and seals this 1st day of June, A.D. 1959