[The Design Review Entity is the Association’s Architectural Control Committee.]
WHEREAS, Centex/Taylor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, is the Declarant pursuant to a certain Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, Easements and Restrictions for GlenRiddle Community Association, Inc. (the “Declaration”, which term, shall include any and all subsequent corrections, modifications and supplements thereof as may be recorded among the Land Records of Worcester County, Maryland).
WHEREAS, pursuant to Article 10 of the Declaration, the Declarant is authorized to promulgate as Community Codes, rules, regulations, standards and guidelines governing the Community.
WHEREAS, Article 10 of the Declaration provides that Community Codes shall have the same force and effect and binding nature as the covenants, conditions, easements and restrictions contained within the Declaration and applicable to all property within the Community.
WHEREAS, the Declarant desires to establish certain use restrictions with respect to the Property for the benefit of the Community and its residents.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Declarant hereby adopts the following Community Code which, as may be modified or amended from time to time, shall be binding on all parties having any right, titles or interest in all or any portion of the Community, their respective heirs, personal representatives, successors, transferees and assigns, as well as occupants, guests and invitees, and shall inure to the benefit of each Owner thereof.
Unless otherwise defined herein, capitalized terms used herein shall have the same meanings as are set forth for them in the Declaration.
1. Permitted Uses.
The Living Units shall be used for residential purposes exclusively, and no building shall be erected, filtered, placed or permitted to remain on any Living Unit other than one used as a dwelling, except the use of a dwelling unit for a “no-impact home-based business”, as defined in §1 IB-111.1 of the Maryland Homeowners Association Act, shall be permitted, provided that: (i) before any Living Unit may be used for a no-impact home-based business the Owner and/or resident of such Living Unit shall notify the Association, in writing, at least thirty (30) days prior to the opening of the no-impact home-based business; and (ii) in no event shall the Community Property be used by or in connection with any permitted no-impact home based business. Nothing contained in this Community Code, or elsewhere in the Governing Documents, shall be construed to prohibit the Declarant and its respective designees from the use of any Living Unit, Community Property, or improvement thereon, for promotional or display purposes, or as “model homes”, a sales, leasing, management and/or construction office, or the like, and the Declarant shall have an easement for access to all such facilities. The right of the Declarant and its designees to maintain and carry on such activities shall include specifically the right to utilize the Community Property and any facilities situated thereon as model and sales offices for the duration of the Declarant’s Rights and Obligations Period.
2. Prohibited Uses and Nuisances.
Except for the activities of the Declarant and its respective designees during the construction or development of the Community, or except with the prior written authorization of the Board of Directors of the Association, and subject to any conditions as may be imposed by such authorization, or as may be necessary in connection with reasonable and necessary repairs or maintenance to any Living Unit or the Community Property:
(a) No noxious or offensive trade or activity shall be allowed on or within any Living Unit or any other part of the Community, nor shall anything be done therein or thereon which may be or become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood or other residents. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no high-wattage or glaring lighting shall be allowed to emanate from any Living Unit and no speaker, horn, whistle, siren, bell, amplifier or other sound device, except such devices as may be used exclusively for security purposes, shall be located, installed or maintained upon the exterior of any dwelling or upon the exterior of any other improvements constructed upon any Living Unit.
(b) The maintenance, keeping, boarding or raising of animals, livestock, or poultry of any kind, regardless of number, shall be and is hereby prohibited within any Living Unit or within any dwelling, or other part of the Community, except that this shall not prohibit the keeping of not more than a reasonable number of domestic pets provided such domestic pets are not kept, bred or maintained for commercial purposes and, provided further, that such domestic pets are not a source of annoyance or nuisance to the Community or other residents, The Board of Directors or the Covenants Committee, shall have the authority, after a hearing, to determine whether a particular pet is a nuisance or a source of annoyance to the Community or other residents, and such determination shall be conclusive. Pets shall be attended at all times and shall be registered, licensed and inoculated as may from time to time be required by law. Pets shall not be permitted upon the Community Property unless accompanied by a responsible person and unless they are carried or leashed. The person accompanying any pet is responsible for the
removal and disposal of any solid waste products deposited by the pet on Community Property or Living Units.
(c ) No burning of any trash and no accumulation or storage of litter, lumber, scrap metals, refuse, bulk materials, waste, new or used budding materials, or trash of any other kind shall be permitted on any Living Unit or other part of the Community.
(d) Except for parking within garages or other areas approved in writing by the Board of Directors or the Covenants Committee, no junk vehicle, commercial vehicle or vehicle displaying commercial information (including vans used for commercial purposes), truck (as defined by the Maryland Department of Motor Vehicles and/or by common usage and practice except for light pick-up trucks of three-quarter ¾ ton capacity or less used for noncommercial purposes), unlicensed or inoperable motor vehicle (which shall include, without limitation, any vehicle which would not pass applicable state inspection criteria), trailer, camp truck, recreational vehicle, bus, horse trailer, boat or other similar vehicles, machinery or equipment of any kind or character (except for such equipment or machinery as may be reasonable, customary and usual in connection with the maintenance and repair of any Living Unit and the improvements thereon and except for such equipment or machinery as the Association may require in connection with the maintenance and operation of the Community Property) shall be kept upon the Property or upon the public or private streets within or adjacent to the Property, nor (except for bona fide emergencies) shall the repair or extraordinary maintenance of automobiles or other vehicles be carried out thereon. Sport utility vehicles, vans, or similar vehicles designed primarily as passenger vehicles and which are not used for commercial purposes are not prohibited.
(e) Trash, garbage and recycling containers shall not be permitted to remain in public view except on days of collection and after 6:00 p.m. on days prior to collection. Trash shall be stored in closed durable containers. Except on days of collection or after 6:00 p.m. on days prior to collection, all trash, garbage and recycling containers shall be kept in the garages or rear yards of the Living Units, and shall be screened from public view at all times.
(f) No Living Unit shall be divided or subdivided and no portion of any Living Unit (other than the entire Living Unit) shall be transferred or conveyed for any purpose without the prior approval of the Board of Directors or Covenants Committee. The provisions of this subparagraph shall not apply to the Declarant and, further, the provisions hereof shall not be construed to prohibit the granting of any easement or right-of-way to any municipality, political subdivision, public utility or other public body or authority, or to the Association, the Declarant or any other person for any purpose.
(g) No tree, hedge or other landscape feature shall be planted or maintained in a location which obstructs sight-lines for vehicular traffic on public streets or private streets and roadways.
(h) No atrium, tent, trailer, shack, barn, pen, kennel, stable, storage shed, or temporary structure of any kind may be erected, used or maintained on any Living Unit without the prior written approval of the Board of Directors or the Association’s Design Review Entity.
(i) No decorative lawn ornament, fence, or dog house which is visible from the street or another Living Unit may be erected, used or maintained on any Living Unit without the prior written approval of the Board of Directors or the Association’s Design Review Entity.
(j) Except for entrance signs, directional signs, signs for traffic control or safely, community “theme areas” and such promotional sign or signs as may be maintained by the Declarant or the Association, and except as permitted by the Maryland Homeowners Association Act, no signs or advertising devices of any character shaft be erected, posted or displayed upon, in or about any Living Unit without the prior approval of the Design Review Entity. The Board of Directors may, through the adoption of a Community Code or otherwise, establish criteria for acceptable use of signage within the Community, including, but not limited to, prohibitions and limitations applicable to real estate signs for the sale or rental of Living Units. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, only standardized “For Sale” sign holders shall be used for the sale or rental of Living Units. The Association shall make such sign holders available to Owners and may charge a reasonable fee for the use of such sign holders.
(k) Except for hoses and the like which are reasonably necessary in collection with normal lawn maintenance, no hose, water pipe, sewer pipe, gas pipe, drainage pipe, television cable or other similar transmission line shall be installed or maintained upon any Living Unit above the surface of the ground, unless such installation is approved in writing by the Design Review Entity, or is required by the servicer or provider of any utility, including, without limitation, power, water, sewer, gas and cable television.
(l) No play equipment, including, without limitation, basketball backboards, basketball hoops and other equipment associated with either adult or juvenile recreation, shall be erected upon a Living Unit or attached in any manner to a Living Unit without the prior written approval of the Design Review Entity. If approved in accordance with this subparagraph, such play equipment must be properly maintained at all times.
(m) Vegetable gardens shall be maintained only within the rear yard of any Living Unit, shall be maintained in a neat and attractive manner and shall be screened from public view.
(n) Lawn furniture may be used on front porches or in the rear yards of Living Units only, unless otherwise approved by the Design Review Entity. Children’s play equipment may only be erected and maintained in the rear yards of Living Unite with the prior approval of the Design
Review Entity.
(o ) No Owner shall make any private, exclusive or proprietary use of any of the Community Property except with the specific approval of the Board of Directors and then only on a temporary basis, and no Owner shall engage or direct any employee of the Association on any private business of the Owner during the hours such employee is employed by the Association, nor shall any Owner direct, supervise or in any manner attempt to assert control over any employee of the Association.
(p) Bed sheets, plastic sheets, table cloths, towels, newspapers, or other similar window treatments shall not be hung or placed in or on any window within a Living Unit.
(q) Children’s play and similar equipment shall not be allowed to remain overnight within the Community Property.
(r ) No drying or airing of any clothing, bedding or similar materials shall be permitted outdoors within the Property, and clothes-hanging devices such as lines, reels, poles and frames are prohibited. Further, drying or airing of clothing within any Living Unit that is visible from outside the Living Unit is prohibited.
(s) Except as approved in writing by the Design Review Entity, no portion of a garage or outbuilding designed for the storage of automobiles shall at any time be used for human habitation, temporarily, or permanently, nor shall any structure of a temporary character be used for human habitation, and no portion of a garage or outbuilding designed for the storage of automobiles may be altered, modified or changed in any manner which would inhibit or in any way limit its function as a parking area for vehicles. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any property owned by the Declarant or a Participating Builder upon which is situated a Living Unit in which the garage has been modified to serve as living area shall be exempt from this subparagraph and any grantee of the Declarant or a Participating Builder and such grantee’s successors and assigns, shall also be exempt until such time as the garage is restored. or a garage is constructed on such Living Unit.
(t) All yard sprinkler and irrigation systems shall be subject to the approval of the Design Review Entity.
(u) Unless approved by the Design Review Entity, no trees shall be removed from within the Community, except for diseased or dead trees, trees requiring removal to promote the growth of other trees, for safety reasons, or trees planted and maintained in violation of the Design Guidelines or Governing Documents.
(v) Except as may be permitted by the Design Review Entity, no window air conditioning units may be installed in any Living Unit.
3. Exemptions.
None of the restrictions contained in this Community Code shall be applicable to (i) improvements constructed by or to the activities of the Declarant and its employees, agents, contractors, designees and assigns, in its development and marketing activities within the Property; or (ii) to the Association, its employees, agents, contractors, designees and assigns in connection with the proper maintenance, repair, replacement and improvement of the Community Property or Community Areas.
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