The inconsistent and illogical nature of Ivy Hill’s neighborhood restrictions breeds confusion. This convoluted system empowers the Ivy Hill Homeowners Association and its Architectural Committee to exploit ambiguity, resulting in unequal application of rules and decisions that lack transparency and a consistent basis.

While the different neighborhoods are covered by different restrictions, this post aims to help understand what the general Ivy Hill restrictions mean.

I am not a lawyer, and I don’t play a lawyer on TV. This post will consist of my own interpretations of the Ivy Hill restrictions.

Paragraph 5 is my favorite.

1. Lots shown on the plat are to be used for residential purposes only. No further subdivision of any lot shown on the plat shall be made without the prior written approval of the Architectural Committee.

Essentially, this means the land marked on the neighborhood map (the “plat”) can only be used for building houses or other places where people live. You can’t put a business, a factory, or anything other than a residence there.

Additionally, you can’t take a single house lot and divide it into smaller lots to build more houses without getting permission first. The Architectural Committee is a group that oversees these kinds of changes. You have to ask them, and they have to give you written approval, before you can split a lot.

2. No structure shall be erected, placed or permitted to remain on any of the foregoing lots other than one detached single-family dwelling, not to exceed two and one half stories in height at the elevation facing the street, and a private garage. An efficiency apartment of not more than 3 rooms may also be constructed as part and parcel of any dwelling hereby permitted to be constructed on such property, which said apartment may be used and occupied by domestic servants or guests of the person or persons entitled to possession of said main dwelling, provided specifically, however, that such
apartment shall not be rented. No such efficiency apartment shall be constructed unless the main dwelling has first been constructed or unless
they are constructed at the same time.

You can only build one standalone house for a single family on each lot. The house can’t be taller than two and a half stories when you look at it from the street. You’re also allowed to build a garage.

You can build a small, three-room apartment inside or attached to your main house. This apartment is only for people like live-in helpers or visiting guests. Importantly, you are absolutely not allowed to rent it out to someone who is not a guest or domestic servant.

You can’t build that little apartment before you build the main house. You have to build the main house first, or build them both at the same time.

3. Except with the prior written approval of the Architectural Committee hereinafter referred to, no building of any kind including garages shall be located on any lot less than 40 feet from any street line and no building shall be located less than 15 feet from any side lot line or less than 70 feet from the maintenance easement line of any lake or the property line of any golf course property or less than 50 feet from any rear lot line.

This means that generally, you can’t build any building, including your garage, closer than 40 feet to the edge of the street. However, if you get written permission from the Architectural Committee, you might be able to.

You also must leave at least 15 feet of space between any building and the edge of your property on the sides.

If your property is next to a lake or a golf course, you have to keep buildings at least 70 feet away from the edge of the lake’s maintenance area or the golf course’s property line.

And finally, you must keep any building at least 50 feet away from the back edge of your property.

In short, this paragraph is all about setting minimum distances for buildings from property lines, streets, lakes, and golf courses, unless the Architectural Committee says otherwise.

4. No residential structure that has a living area of less than 2250 square feet of heated area for two story and split-level structures and 2000 square feet of heated area for one story structures exclusive of all porches, basements, and garages shall be erected or placed on any lot.

If you’re building a two-story house or a split-level house (where the floors are staggered), the inside living space that’s heated has to be at least 2,250 square feet. Think of it as the area where you’d put furniture and walk around, and it has to be kept warm.

If you’re building a one-story house, the heated living space has to be at least 2,000 square feet.

This is important! The size of porches, basements, and garages doesn’t count towards that minimum square footage. Only the actual living space that’s heated matters.

5. No building, fence, outside lighting, screen plating, or other improvement shall be erected, altered, or placed on any lot unless building plans, specifications, and site plans showing the location of such improvements have been submitted in advance in writing to and approved in writing by the Architectural Committee as to conformity and harmony of exterior design and exterior materials with existing structures in the area and as to location with respect to topography, lakes, golf courses, and neighboring structures, subject nevertheless, to the proviso that in the event no suit to enjoin the erection of a building or the altering of existing buildings has been commenced prior to the completion of the work, such approval will not be required and this covenant will be deemed to have been fully satisfied.

Basically, if you want to build anything (a house, a fence, put up lights, etc.) or change anything on your property, you have to give the Architectural Committee detailed plans in writing before you start. They have to approve your plans in writing.

The Committee will check if your planned changes look good with the other houses and things around them. They want to make sure everything fits together nicely.

They’ll also check if where you want to build or change things makes sense with the land, any lakes or golf courses nearby, and your neighbors’ houses.

The last part is a bit of a legal twist, and also my favorite part. If you build or change something without getting approval, and no one sues you to stop you before you finish, then you’re off the hook. The rule is considered to be followed, even if you didn’t follow it at first.

In simpler terms: “Get permission before you build or change anything, to make sure it looks good and fits in. But, if you do it without permission and no one sues you until it’s done, then it’s okay.”

6. No noxious or offensive activity shall be carried on within this subdivision, nor shall anything be done thereon which shall constitute a nuisance to the adjoining landowners. No signs or billboards shall be erected or maintained on any lot unless approved in advance by the Architectural Committee. No trade materials or inventories may be stored upon the premises and no trucks, boats, or tractors may be stored or regularly parked on the premises except in a garage or well screened enclosures. All trash and garbage must be kept in underground receptacles unless within the utility yard referred to in Paragraph 12 hereof. No business activity or trade of any kind whatsoever shall be carried on upon any building site.

This means you can’t do anything that’s really annoying or harmful, or that bothers your neighbors. Think of it as “be a good neighbor” rule.

You can’t put up any big signs or billboards unless the Architectural Committee says it’s okay beforehand.

You can’t store business supplies or big vehicles like trucks, boats, or tractors in your yard. You have to keep them in a garage or behind a fence or something that hides them from view.

Your trash cans have to be buried underground, unless they’re in a special area mentioned in rule number 12. Does anyone in the neighborhood bury their trash cans underground?

You can’t run a business out of your house. This neighborhood is for living, not for working. I don’t agree with this, because so many people work from home, but the rules are the rules, and these rules say you can’t work from home.

7. No trailer, basement (unless said basement is part of a residence erected at the same time), tent, shack, barn or other outbuilding shall be erected or placed on any property covered by these covenants, except as specifically permitted herein.

This rule basically says you can’t put any of these temporary or non-standard structures on your property:

• Trailers (like camping trailers or mobile homes)
• Basements (unless you build them at the same time as your house)
• Tents
• Shacks
• Barns
• Other outbuildings (like sheds or storage buildings)

The phrase “except as specifically permitted herein” means that if another rule in this set of rules does allow one of these things, then it’s okay. But generally, they’re not allowed.

Remember paragraph 5? Paragraph 5 says that you can put one of these buildings on your property, even without permission from the Architectural Committee, as long as you complete the work before you are sued.

8. No animals or poultry of any kind, other than house pets, shall be kept or maintained on any lot. Horseback riding or horse drawn vehicles shall be confined to paved roads and golf course maintenance roads.

This means you can only have normal house pets (like dogs and cats). You can’t have farm animals (like chickens, cows, pigs, etc.) or other wild animals.

If you’re riding a horse or using a horse-drawn carriage, you can only do it on the paved roads in the neighborhood or on the golf course maintenance roads. You can’t ride them through people’s yards or other areas.

9. No fence, wall, hedge, or mass planting shall be permitted to extend beyond the minimum building setback line established herein or within 70 feet of any golf course or lake except by the advance written approval of the Architectural Committee.

Remember those setback rules we talked about earlier? This means you can’t put up a fence, wall, big row of bushes (hedge), or a bunch of plants together (mass planting) any closer to the street than the minimum distance your house is supposed to be.

Also, you can’t put these things within 70 feet of a golf course or lake.

But, if you get permission in writing from the Architectural Committee before you put them up, then you can.

10. Adequate off-street parking shall be provided by the owner of each lot for the parking of the automobile or automobiles of such owner and his household and owners of lots shown on said plat shall not park their automobiles on the streets in this subdivision.

This means every homeowner has to have enough parking space on their own property (like in a driveway or garage) for their cars and the cars of the people who live with them. And importantly, you’re not allowed to park your cars on the street within the neighborhood.

11. Each owner shall keep his property in this subdivision and the lake bank adjacent thereto, if any, free of tall grass, undergrowth, dead trees, trash and rubbish and property maintained so as to present a pleasing appearance, maintain the proper contour of the lake bank, and prevent erosion.

This means you have to keep your yard tidy. No tall weeds, no overgrown bushes, no dead trees, and no trash or garbage lying around. If your property touches the lake, you have to keep the lake bank clean too.

If you have a lake bank, you have to make sure it’s shaped right and that it doesn’t wash away. This is to protect the lake and your property.

12. Each residential structure shall have attached thereto one or more utility yards. At least one such utility yard shall be constructed at the same time the main residence is constructed unless provision is made for the housing of the items set forth below either in the main residence or garage. Each utility yard shall be walled or fenced, and the entrance thereto shall be screened, using materials and with a height and design approved by the Architectural Committee. The following buildings, structures, and objects may be erected and maintained and allowed to remain on a building site only if the same are located wholly within the main residence or wholly within a utility yard: pens, yards and houses for pets, above ground storage of construction materials, wood, coal, oil and other fuels, clothes racks and lines, clothes washing and drying equipment, laundry rooms, tool shops and workshops, garbage and trash cans, boats and boat trailers and receptacles (other than the underground receptacles referred to in Paragraph 6 hereof) and above ground exterior air-conditioning and heating equipment and other mechanical equipment and any other structures or objects determined by the Architectural Committee to be of an unsightly nature or appearance.

Every house needs to have a utility yard. Think of it as a place to keep things you don’t want out in the open.

You have to build the utility yard when you build your house, unless you can fit all the things listed below inside your house or garage.

The utility yard has to have a wall or fence around it, and the entrance has to be hidden. The materials, height, and design of the wall/fence have to be approved by the Architectural Committee.

This is the list of things that have to be hidden:

• Pens, yards and houses for pets: Pet cages or houses.
• Above ground storage of construction materials, wood, coal, oil and other fuels: Anything you’re using to build something, or fuel like wood or oil.
• Clothes racks and lines, clothes washing and drying equipment, laundry rooms: Laundry stuff.
• Tool shops and workshops: Places where you work with tools or on projects.
• Garbage and trash cans: Your regular trash cans (except the underground ones mentioned before).
• Boats and boat trailers: Boats and trailers.
• Receptacles (other than the underground receptacles referred to in Paragraph 6 hereof): Extra containers.
• Above ground exterior air-conditioning and heating equipment and other mechanical equipment: Outside AC units and other machines.
• Any other structures or objects determined by the Architectural Committee to be of an unsightly nature or appearance: Anything else the Committee thinks looks bad.

13. All telephone, electric, and other utility lines and connections between the main utility lines and residence and other buildings located on each building site shall be concealed and located underground so as not to be visible.

This means all the wires and cables for your phone, electricity, and any other utilities (like cable TV or internet) that run from the main lines to your house or other buildings on your property have to be buried underground. You can’t have them hanging in the air where they can be seen.

14. Allen W. Harvey and Fern W. Harvey, for themselves and their successors and assigns, hereby reserve, and are given a perpetual easement, privilege and right for utility purposes, on, in and under a five (5) foot strip along the rear line of each building site and on, in and under a five (S) foot strip along the interior side lot line of each subdivision lot; and on, in and under a fifteen (15) foot strip along the shore line of any lake shown on said plat.

This means that Allen W. Harvey and Fern W. Harvey (and anyone who takes over their rights) have a permanent right to use certain parts of your property for utilities. Specifically, they have the right to use a five-foot wide strip of land along the back of your property and a five-foot wide strip along the sides of your property. This is for things like running utility lines. If your property is next to a lake, they also have the right to use a fifteen-foot wide strip of land along the lake’s shoreline.

15. These restrictions are to run with the land and shall be binding until January 1, 1990, at which time said restrictions shall automatically be extended for successive periods of ten (10) years unless by instrument duly signed and acknowledged by the owners of property constituting not less than 75% of the lots shown on all the recorded plats of the Ivy Hill Subdivision Complex and duly recorded in the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court of Bedford County, Virginia, said restrictions are terminated in whole or in part. By instrument duly signed and acknowledged by the owners of all lots shown on the aforesaid plats and recorded in the aforesaid Clerk’s Office, these restrictions may be at any time amended subject to the proviso that the amendment of any provision with respect to the membership, responsibility, powers or duties of the Architectural Committee may be amended only by instrument duly recorded, signed, and acknowledged by the owners of all lots in the Ivy Hill Subdivision complex and subject to restrictions pertaining to such Architectural Committee.

This means these rules apply to the land itself, not just the current owners. They were originally set to expire on January 1, 1990. But, they automatically get renewed for another 10 years every 10 years after that.

However, if at least 75% of the homeowners in the whole Ivy Hill area sign a legal document (that’s properly recorded), they can change or get rid of these rules.

All the homeowners together can change the rules at any time. But, if the rule they want to change is about the Architectural Committee (who they are, what they do, etc.), then they all have to agree and sign a legal document to make that change.

In short: these rules are long-lasting, but they can be changed or eliminated with enough homeowner agreement, especially if it relates to the Architectural committee.

16. The Architectural Committee, hereinabove from time to time mentioned, shall consist of five (5) persons appointed annually on the first day of June by Allen W. Harvey and Fern W. Harvey, their successors or assigns, to serve for one (1) year or until their successors shall have been duly appointed. Any vacancy occurring in the membership of said Committee may be filled for the balance of the unexpired term by majority vote of the remaining members of the Committee. One member of such Committee shall be a qualified architect and not less than three members of such Committee shall be homeowners in the Ivy Hill Subdivision, Complex. Said Committee shall select one of its members as Chairman, keep written minutes of its proceedings, and have the right to establish reasonable by-laws, rules and regulations for carrying on its business. Any matter submitted in writing to all members of the Architectural Committee with written request for approval by said Committee which is neither approved nor disapproved within thirty (30) days after such submission shall be deemed to have been approved.

The Architectural Committee may, by unanimous written consent, designate one (1) of its members to act for it with respect to such matters as said Committee may see fit, but such designation shall be subject to termination at any time by the Committee upon request of any member thereof. No Committee member shall be entitled to compensation for serving as such.

The Architectural Committee is made up of five people. They are chosen every year on June 1st by Allen W. Harvey and Fern W. Harvey (or whoever takes over their role). They serve for one year, or until new people are chosen.

If someone leaves the Committee before their year is up, the remaining members can choose someone to fill their spot for the rest of that year.

One member of the Committee has to be a professional architect. At least three members have to be homeowners in the Ivy Hill neighborhood.

The Committee chooses a leader (Chairman), keeps written records of their meetings, and can make their own rules for how they operate.

If you give the Committee something in writing and ask them to approve it, and they don’t say yes or no within 30 days, it’s automatically considered approved.

The entire Architectural Committee can, if they all agree in writing, choose one of their members to handle certain tasks or decisions for the whole group. However, any member of the Committee can ask to end that person’s special role at any time, and then the whole Committee would go back to making all decisions together.

The people on the Architectural Committee don’t get paid for their work. They’re volunteers.

17. These restrictions shall be enforceable at law or equity by Allen W. Harvey and Fern W. Harvey, their successors or assigns, as well as by the owner or owners of any lots in the Ivy Hill Subdivision Complex. Invalidation of any of these restrictions or any part thereof by judgement or Court Order or otherwise, shall not affect any other provision hereof which shall remain in full force and effect.

This means that Allen and Fern Harvey (or anyone who legally takes over their rights, like their children or a company they sell the rights to) have the power to go to court and make sure these rules are followed.

This also means that any homeowner in the Ivy Hill Subdivision can also take legal action to enforce these rules. So, if your neighbor breaks a rule, you can take them to court. This part is important. The Ivy Hill Homeowners Association has no special power to take people to court. Anyone who lives in Ivy Hill can sue anyone else for violating these restrictions.

If a judge decides that one of the rules (or part of a rule) is illegal or unenforceable, it only affects that specific rule. All the other rules in the document still apply.

18. Allen W. Harvey and Fern W. Harvey, the owners of Ivy Hill Farm, are developing said farm as a high-quality residential area and the plat with which these reservations and restrictions are recorded is a part of the first area to be developed. It is contemplated that the development will be in segments over a period of years with additional plats being put to record from time to time. The term “Ivy Hill Subdivision Complex” as used herein refers to the developed area within Ivy Hill Farm at the time in question. These restrictions shall be applicable only to the property shown on the plat with which these reservations and restrictions are recorded and shall not be applicable to adjacent property unless expressly made so applicable by a further deed of dedication. Recognizing that it may be necessary or desirable to apply different reservations and restrictions to other areas as the development progresses, Allen W. Harvey and Fern W. Harvey expressly reserve the right to apply different reservations and restrictions to other areas of the Ivy Hill Subdivision Complex as the development progresses.

This means the Harveys are turning their farm into a nice neighborhood where people can live.

This set of rules applies to the first section of the neighborhood they’re building, which is shown on a specific map (the “plat”).

They plan to build the neighborhood in stages over many years, with each stage having its own map.

“Ivy Hill Subdivision Complex” just means whatever part of the neighborhood is built at any given time.

The rules in this document only apply to the lots on the map that’s recorded with these rules. They don’t apply to any other land nearby, unless the Harveys specifically say so in another legal document.

The Harveys are keeping the option open to have different rules for future sections of the neighborhood. They realize that what works for the first part might not work for later parts.