Covenant Enforcement

The Platte River Ranch neighborhood is a covenant controlled community subject to the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (the Declaration). The Declaration document was created by the Developer of the Platte River Ranch SFH neighborhood on September 22, 1998 and filed in the Adams County Clerk and Recorder's Office on September 25, 1998. All 479 single family home lots were annexed by the Developer into the Platte River Ranch SFH covenant-controlled community.  (Annexation documents for each lot have also been filed with the Adams County Clerk and Recorder's Office.) Each lot is subject to the covenants, conditions and restrictions provided in the Declaration. Article 3 (General Restrictions Applicable to Common Interest Community) and Article 4 (Architectural Approval) contain the specific restrictions applicable to each lot.         RESTRICTIONS AND PROHIBITIONS APPLICABLE TO LOTS Article 3 of the Declaration Document contains the restrictive covenants for the Platte River Ranch neighborhood. LOT MODIFICATIONS REQUIRING PRE-APPROVAL Section 3 and 4 of the Declaration Document and the architectural Guidelines lists the modifications or 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 Board has oversight authority over the DRC. (The DRC reports to and receives is power from the Association's Board.)

The DRC’s primary responsibilities include the following:

1. Review and approve (or deny) written architectural requests submitted by homeowners;
2. Maintain the architectural Guidelines and Standards for the neighborhood;
3. Monitor homeowner lots to ensure compliance with the Architectural Guidelines and Standards

Covenant violation guidebook

Homeowners are subject to complying with the following maintenance requirement provided in section 3.1 of the Declaration document:

“No property within the Common Interest Community shall be permitted to fall into disrepair and all property within the Common Interest Community, including any Improvements, shall be kept and maintained in a clean, attractive, and slightly condition. Maintenance, repair, and upkeep of each Lot shall be the responsibility of the Owner of the Lot.”

The Design Review Committee must exercise a great deal of judgment to determine what constitutes a lot that is maintained in a “clean, attractive and slightly condition.” Lots that are not maintained in a “clean, attractive and slightly condition” are in violation of this lot maintenance requirement. To better define and communicate its expectations regarding “clean, attractive and slightly” conditions, the Board developed a Covenant Violation Guidebook that establishes standards for lot maintenance. The Board encourages homeowners to review this guidebook so they can better understand the standards established by the District regarding lot maintenance.  A copy of the Covenant Violation Guidebook can be downloaded from the District Document Library webpage on this site.

The Covenant Violation Guidebook provides guidance on issues such as:

1. What constitutes excessive weeds in rockbeds and planters
2. What constitutes excessive oil stains in a driveway
3. What constitutes adequate care of the lawn
4. What constitutes adequate maintenance of flowerbeds and planters

Common Lot Maintenance Violations

The top ten most commonly noted violations within the neighborhood continue to be as follows:

1. Turf disrepair (i.e. bare dirt areas in the lawn)
   • Most common causes of turf disrepair include (a) inoperable sprinkler systems, (b) sprinkler heads not providing adequate turf coverage and (c) driving/parking cars over turf areas (especially turf areas bordering driveways).
2. Excessive weeds in the rockbeds and planters
3. Excessive weeds in the lawn
4. Damaged fences/gates
5. Excessive weeds in the driveway and/or sidewalk section separators
6. Failure to move trash cans to the backyard or garage
7. Excessive oil stains in the driveway
8. Trees with low overhanging branches over the sidewalk or street
9. Inadequately maintained flower beds and planters
10. Inadequate watering of front yard landscaping

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 District Board will hold 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 Owners and their renters or their property management companies.

Owner Responsibilities

The Board will hold Owners, who use the lots as their primary residence, 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 Architectural Design Guidelines and the Board’s interpretations of the various covenants and restrictions as provided in the Board’s Covenant Violation Guidebook.

Enforcement Process

The District Board instructs the District management company to perform neighborhood inspections approximately every two weeks. 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:

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).

Black-out Period & Reset Conditions for Yard Maintenance

Per the District Board's covenant enforcement policy, yard maintenance deficiencies are subject to violation notices between May 1^st and October 31^st each year. For the 6-month period between November 1^st and April 30^th, violation notices will not be issued for such deficiencies. Yard maintenance-related violations that remain open and uncorrected as of October 31^st will be carried forward and treated as a continuous violation when such deficiencies are subject to inspection beginning after May 1^st.

Hearing

Homeowners who receive violation notices may request a hearing before the 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 Board or District Manager.

Changes to or Termination of the Platte River Ranch Declaration Document

Homeowners may conduct a vote in accordance with the Declaration Document to change or terminate the covenant-controlled community. In accordance with the Colorado Common Interest Ownership Act (Section 33.3 of the Colorado Revised Statutes) and Article 10 of the Declaration Document, approval from 67% (or 320) of the 479 lot owners within the Platte River Ranch SFH neighborhood must be obtained to pass any proposed changes to or termination of the Declaration Document. Such election must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration document and the bylaws of the Homeowners' Association.

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.