Maplewood Community Association

These covenants regulate the environment within which you and your neighbors enjoy living.  Are there things you would like to see enforced?  Are there things you would like to see taken from the existing covenants?  We vote on May 18th.  Be sure your ideas are heard before then!

I do not have the flyer in front of me, and therefore am paraphrasing but one mentioned was  a recommendation that trash containers be kept on the side of ones house.
As we have lived for years next to a neighbor who has always kept their trash bins and dead branches, yard waste, old cabinets, broken down desks, etc. on the side of their house/garage, completely visible to our front porch/yard and any and all visitors, would it be possible it read something likes this:

"It is recommended that trash and recycle containers, and yard refuse be kept away from all public view, preferably behind the house or anyplace not visible to the public."  

I know this doesn't carry the effect of law, but at least it wouldn't be condoning the mess on the sides of some peoples houses.

How about provide said convenants to the residents so that we know what they are? I've lived in Maplewood Park since 1996 and have yet to receive a copy. I've asked several times for them and have never received them. And as for the trash containers, I live on a corner lot, the Fort Wayne advisement that came with the large containers states that as long as they can't be seen from the front of the house they aren't in violation. The large containers are hard enough to store, then to put more regulations on WHERE to store them seems to be getting a little A.N.A.L. If our association needs to enforce a law, how about when our neighbors should be quiet. I have several around me over the last few years that feel it's ok to do construction or play basketball after 11PM. Or let their dogs or cats run free to do their business in my yard.  Both of which are more of a "crime" IMO than a large bulky trash can that isn't hurting anything.

I think posting the covenants online somewhere would be a good idea. Apparently they are with the closing docs when you close for a mortgage, but who keeps those around. The fact of the matter is that Covenants are really hard to enforce, which is why I mentioned that it be recommended they be put out of sight, which for most people would be a backyard.  I dont think there is any mention of it being a "crime", and not sure why you put that in quotes. And it is  true a "large bulky trash can" isn't hurting anything, but it does effect the aesthetics of a neighborhood, which in turn have a direct effect on your home values. What if you pulled into our addition and everyone had trash containers in front of their houses? Trashy, is one word i would think of. ( pun intended) An example of how enforcable these Covenants are, it was mentioned once that there is an original Covenant, and which everyone signed who bought a property here, that states that cars should not be parked on the street. How could that be enforced? It can't, because streets are public and you are allowed to park on them. So I think of these Covenents as more of ways to make  the addition looking nice and therefore make it an attractive place that people would want to live, and buy property in, and therefore maintain some value.

As to your noise complaints, there are city sound ordinances that are enforcable by law. Maybe those could be posted in the flyer.