Inverness Homeowner's Association
Covenants
DECLARATION OF COVENANTS, CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS
STATE OF FLORIDA
COUNTY OF ESCAMBIA
FIRST MUTUAL SAVINGS ASSOCIATION OF FLORIDA, a Stock Corporation (herein "Declarant"), who together with the owners that join into this Declaration by their execution of the Joinder attached hereto as Page 9 constitute all of the legal and equitable owners of the following described property in Escambia County, Florida, to-wit:
Inverness, a subdivision according to Plat thereof as recorded in Plat Book 12, at Page 67 of the public records of Escambia County, Florida, [and pages 67A and 67B]
does hereby impose the following restrictive covenants on all lots in said subdivision and makes the following declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions covering the above-described property, specifying that this declaration shall constitute a covenant running with the land and that this declaration shall be binding upon the undersigned and upon all persons deraigning title through the undersigned. These restrictions, during their lifetime, shall be for the benefit of and a limitation upon all present, and future owners of any of the lots within Inverness.
1. Definitions:
(a) "Association" shall mean and refer to Inverness Homeowners Association of Pensacola, Inc., a Florida non-profit corporation, its successors and assigns.
(b) "Owner" shall mean and refer to the owner of record, whether one or more persons or entities, of a fee simple title to any lot which is a part of the properties, including contract sellers but excluding those having such interest merely as security for the performance of an obligation.
(c) "Properties" shall mean and refer to that certain real property hereinbefore described.
(d) "Common Area" shall mean all real property (including the improvements thereto) which the Association members have the right to use and enjoy by right of easement and shall include any property shown on the recorded plat of Inverness with the exception of the platted lots, the Detention Pond, and the sanitary and drainage easements.
2. Owner's Easements of Enjoyment. Every owner shall have a right and easement of enjoyment in and to the Common Area which shall be appurtenant to and shall pass with the title to every lot or building site, subject, however, to the right of the Association to dedicate or transfer all or any part of the Common Area to any public agency, authority or utility for such purposes and subject to such conditions as may be agreed to by the members of the Association by vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the membership.
3. Membership and Voting Rights. Every owner of a lot or building site which is subject to assessment shall be a member of the Association. Membership shall be appurtenant to and may not be separated from ownership of any lot or building site which is subject to assessment. When more than one person or entity holds an interest in any lot or building site, all such persons or entities shall be members. The vote for such lot or building site shall be exercised as such persons or entities may determine, but in no event shall more than one vote be cast with respect to any lot or building site. Until the happening of the earlier of the events set forth in paragraph 33 below, there shall be two classes of voting membership, as set forth in said paragraph 33.
4. Covenant for Maintenance Assessments.
(a) Creation of the Lien and Personal Obligation of Assessments. Declarant, for each lot within the Properties, hereby covenants, and each Owner of any lot or building site, by acceptance of the deed therefor, whether or not it shall be so expressed in such deed, is deemed to covenant and agree to pay to the Association: (1) annual assessments or charges, and (2) special assessments for capital improvements, such assessments to be established and collected as hereinafter provided. The annual and special assessments, together with interest, costs and reasonable attorney's fees, shall be a charge on the interest in the land against which such assessment is made. Each such assessment, together with interest, costs and reasonable attorney's fees, shall also be the personal obligation of the person who was the Owner of such property at the time when the assessment fell due. The personal obligation for delinquent assessment shall not pass to his successors in title unless expressly assumed by them.
(b) Purpose of Assessments. The assessments levied by the Association shall be used exclusively to promote the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the Properties and for the improvement and maintenance of the Common Area and specifically for maintenance of the entrance, road right-of-way landscaping, Island landscaping, fencing along Bayou Boulevard, and the cleaning of debris from lots or building sites on which a residential dwelling has not yet been constructed.
(c) Maximum Annual Assessment. Until January 1 of the year immediately following the conveyance of the first lot or building site to an Owner, the maximum annual assessment shall be $48.00 per lot or building site, or $12.00 per quarter per lot or building site, payable quarterly in advance.
(i) From and after January 1 of the year immediately following the conveyance of the first lot to an Owner, the maximum annual assessment may be increased each year not more than 15% above the maximum assessment for the previous year without a vote of the membership.
(ii) From and after January 1 of the year immediately following the conveyance of the first lot to an Owner, the maximum annual assessment may be increased above 15% by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the members who are voting in person or by proxy, at a meeting duly called for this purpose.
(iii) The Board of Directors may fix the annual assessment at an amount not in excess of the maximum assessment.
(d) Special Assessments for Capital Improvements. In addition to the annual assessments authorized above, the Association may levy, in any assessment year, a special assessment applicable to that year only for the purpose of defraying, in whole or in part, the cost of any construction, reconstruction, repair or replacement of a capital improvement upon the Common Area, including fixtures and personal property related thereto, provided that any such assessment shall have the assent of two thirds, (2/3) of the votes of the members who are voting in person or by proxy at a meeting duly called for this purpose.
(e) Notice and Quorum for Any Action Authorized Under this Paragraph. Written notice of any meeting called for the purpose of taking any action authorized hereunder shall be sent to all members not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60) days in advance of the meeting. At the first such meeting called, the presence of members or of proxies entitled to cast thirty-five percent, of all the votes shall constitute a quorum. If the required quorum is not present, another meeting may be called subject to the same notice requirement, and the required quorum at the subsequent meeting shall be one-half (1/2) of the required quorum at the preceding meeting. No such subsequent meeting shall be held more than sixty (60) days following the preceding meeting.
(f) Uniform Rate of Assessment. Both annual and special assessments must be fixed at a uniform rate for all lots or building sites and may be collected on a quarterly basis.
(g) Date of Commencement of Annual Assessment Due Dates. The annual assessments provided for herein shall commence as to all lots or building sites at such time as is fixed by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors shall fix the amount of the annual assessment against each lot or building site at least thirty (30) days in advance of each assessment period. Written notice of the first assessment and each annual assessment thereafter shall be sent to every Owner subject thereto. The due dates shall be established by the Board of Directors. The Association shall, upon demand, and for a reasonable charge, furnish a certificate signed by an officer of the Association setting forth whether the assessments on a specified lot or building site have been paid. A properly executed certificate of the Association as to the status of assessments on a lot or building site is binding upon the Association as of the date of its issuance.
(g) Effect of Non-payment of Assessments: Remedies of the Association. Any assessment payments not paid within thirty (30) days after the due date shall accelerate the due date of the entire assessment and shall bear interest from the due date at the rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum. The Association may bring an action at law against the Owner personally obligated to pay the same, or foreclose the lien against the lot or building site. No Owner may waive or otherwise escape liability for the assessments provided for herein by non-use of the Common Area or abandonment of his lot or building site.
(h) Subordination of the Lien to Mortgages. The lien of the assessments provided for herein shall be subordinate to the lien of any first mortgage. Sale or transfer of the interest in any lot or building site shall not affect the assessment lien. However, the sale or transfer of the interest in any lot or building site pursuant to mortgage foreclosure or any proceeding in lieu thereof, shall extinguish the lien of such assessments as to payments which became due prior to such sale or transfer. No sale or transfer shall relieve such lot or building site from liability for any assessments thereafter becoming due or from the lien thereof.
5. No lot in the subdivision shall be used except for single family residential purposes. No building shall be erected; altered, placed or permitted to remain on any building site other than one detached single family residential dwelling and one detached garage for not more than three cars. A single family dwelling may contain an attached servant's or maid's quarters. No such single family dwelling shall exceed three stories in height.
6. Exclusive of storage rooms, porches, garages, and carports, no one story dwelling shall be erected on any building site having a living area of less than 1600 square feet, and no dwelling with more than one story of living area shall have a first floor living area of less than 1200 square feet and a second story living area of less than 600 square feet. However, the minimum square footage required in this paragraph may be increased at Declarant's option by means of deed restrictions, which restrictions shall not affect any other lot or building site within the subdivision.
7. No residential dwelling shall be constructed on any building site in the subdivision which does not conform to the setback lines drawn on the recorded plat of Inverness. In addition, no dwelling shall be erected on any building site nearer than 30 feet to the front lot line, no nearer to a dwelling site side line than 10% of the dwelling site width measured at the front building setback line, and no nearer than 30 feet to the rear lot line.
8. If one lot and all or a portion of an adjacent lot within the subdivision are utilized for one single family residential purposes, the setback requirements herein shall lie measured from the boundary line of the entire building site or plot being then and there utilized and devoted to the single family residence. Two fractional parts of adjacent lots may be utilized as a single family residential building site or plot, provided that no such building site or plot shall contain fewer square feet than the smallest plotted lot within the subdivision nor have a width, at the building setback line, of the smallest plotted lot within the subdivision.
9. All buildings constructed on any lot within the subdivision shall be constructed in conformity with all applicable building codes and regulations and in conformity with the City of Pensacola building requirements.
10. Every residential dwelling constructed on a lot or building site in the subdivision shall contain or be accompanied by either an attached or detached garage adequate for the parking and/or storing of automobiles, boats, trailers, campers, motorcycles, motorbikes, and all other like vehicles and equipment. No trailer, mobile home, camper, motorbike, motorcycle, motor scooter, boat, boat trailer, housetrailer, truck, tractor or commercial vehicle of any kind, or any other vehicle, machine, equipment or apparatus other than operating passenger automobiles and operating passenger vans (vans are limited to those that are no longer and no wider than American made family automobiles) shall be parked or stored in any driveway or on any lot or building site in the subdivision so as to be visible from the street or to the other residents in the subdivision. All such vehicles, machines, equipment and apparatus shall be parked or stored in a garage or on the rear of the lot or building site and screened by a six foot wooden fence so as not to be visible from the street or adjacent subdivision lots or building sites. No such vehicles, machines, equipment or apparatus shall be parked or stored in the street right-of-way abutting any lot or building site except when such are in actual use.
11. No structure of a temporary character, trailer, basement, tent, shack, garage, barn or other outbuilding shall be used on any lot or building site at any time as a residence, either temporarily or permanently, and except as required during construction of any dwelling, no structure of a temporary character shall be constructed or permitted to remain on any lot or building site.
12. In the event that a detached garage is constructed on any lot or building site, it shall be of a type of construction which shall be architecturally consistent with the main residence to be constructed. A detached garage shall not be constructed or located nearer than 5 feet from either the back or side line of the lot or building site.
13. No residential building, dwelling, or detached garage, or other building or improvement, including, but not limited to, porches, decks, covered patios, boat storage buildings, pools, dressing rooms, walls, fences or hedges, shall be constructed, erected, placed or altered on any lot or building site in the subdivision until the construction plans and specifications and a plan or plot showing the location of the improvements and the landscape plans have been approved in writing by the Architectural Control Committee or Architectural Control Representative.
The Architectural Control Committee shall be composed of representatives of Declarant and a majority of the committee may designate a representative to act for the committee. Upon the death or resignation of a member or members of the committee, the remaining members shall have full authority to designate successor members. Neither the members of the committee nor its designated representatives shall be entitled to any compensation for services performed pursuant to this covenant.
The committee's or representative's approval, or disapproval, as required in these covenants, shall be in writing. In the event that the committee, or its designated representative, fails to approve or disapprove within thirty days after plans and specifications have been submitted, or in any event, if no suit is filed to enjoin the construction within thirty days of commencement, approval will not be required and the related covenants shall be deemed to have been fully complied with or not applicable.
When a building or other structure has been elected or its construction substantially advanced and the building is located on any lot or building site in a manner that constitutes a violation of these covenants and restrictions or the building setback lines shown on the recorded plat, the committee may release the lot or parts of it, from any part of the covenants and restrictions, or setback lines, that are violated, The committee shall not give such a release except for a violation that it determines to be a minor or insubstantial violation in its sole discretion.
At any time after the closing of the sale of at least 100 of the lots or building sites within the subdivision by Declarant, the then record owners of a majority of the lots or building sites in the subdivision shall have the authority to appoint a committee or designate a representative to exercise the power, duties and responsibilities hereinabove set forth and shall have the power through a duly recorded written instrument to withdraw from or restore to the Architectural Control Committee any powers or duties.
14. No fence or wall shall be constructed and no hedge shall be planted nearer the front lot line than the rear of the residential dwelling, and, if a corner lot, nearer the side street line than the side of the residential dwelling. This restriction does not apply to any growing fence or hedge which does not exceed three feet in height. Metal chain link or similar type utility fences are prohibited, provided, however, that tennis court fences, with proper landscaping, may be approved by the Architectural Control Committee or the Architectural Control Representative. There is excepted from this restriction any fences that are required by either FHA or VA to be constructed and maintained around easement areas.
15. No sign of any kind shall be displayed to the public view on any lot or building site in the subdivision except for one sign of not more than five square feet advertising the property for sale or rent, or signs used by a builder to advertise the property during the construction and sales period; provided, however, Declarant may erect a sign not exceeding four feet in height by eight feet in width, as to dimensions of the sign, on any lot which it owns.
16. All mailboxes placed, erected or constructed on any lot or building site in the subdivision shall be set in brick or framed in wood and shall be similar in design and style to the residential dwelling situated on said lot or building site.
17. No clothes lines visible from the street or from adjacent subdivision property, or other items detrimental to the appearance, shall be permitted on any lot or building site. Trash and garbage cans must be shielded from view from the street or adjacent property except during the hours of normal trash or garbage collection.
18. No noxious or offensive activity or trade shall be carried on or maintained on any lot or building site in the subdivision nor shall anything be done thereon that may be or may become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood, nor shall any lot or building site be used for the purpose of carrying on a trade, profession, business or public amusement.
19. No exploration or drilling for oil, gas or other minerals shall be permitted or allowed on any lot or building site in said subdivision and no such lot or building site shall be used or maintained as a dumping ground for rubbish, trash, garbage or other waste.
20. No animals, livestock or poultry of any kind shall be raised, bred or kept on any lot or building site, except that dogs, cats or other household pets may be kept, provided that they are not kept, bred or maintained for any commercial purpose, and provided that they are not permitted to run at large. In no event shall more than two household pets be kept on any lot or building site at any one time.
21. An easement is reserved over and across each lot in the subdivision (except those portions on which a residential dwelling is actually constructed) for the purpose of installing, repairing and maintaining or conveying to proper parties for the installation, repair or maintenance of electric power for the lots in the subdivision, and easements shown or reserved on the recorded plat of the subdivision, if any, are hereby adopted as part of these restrictions.
22. Utility or other drainage easements shall not be fenced in any manner that will prohibit access and use. Drainage easements shall not be obstructed in any way that will alter the natural and normal flow of drainage.
23. No one shall change the natural contours of the land causing undue and harmful flow of surface water drainage to adjoining property owners. In order to facilitate natural surface water drainage, it may be necessary for the developer to contour each building lot to provide a continuous drainage pattern from lot to lot within the subdivision. These drainage patterns shall not be altered. If any greenbelt areas are designated on the plat they shall remain undisturbed and no lot owner or other person or entity shall in any way interfere with the natural greenbelt areas, if any, as designated on the plat.
24. No TV antenna or satellite dish of any kind shall be permitted to be erected or to be located on any lot or building site at any time which is plainly visible from the street. No satellite dish larger than 20 inches in diameter shall be erected or permitted on any lot or building site within the subdivision.
25. With respect to each lot or building site on which a residential dwelling is constructed, it is required that at the time of initial construction, that the front yard be sodded and that the sodding be properly and perpetually maintained.
26. At the time of the construction of any residential dwelling on any lot or building site, each owner and/or builder must maintain an industrial waste container on said lot or building site for use in the disposing of building debris and trash. Each such lot or building site shall be maintained as free of building waste and rubble as is reasonably possible.
27. The owner or owners of each lot or building site in the subdivision shall be financially responsible and liable for the construction of a 4 foot wide concrete sidewalk along and adjacent to all lot lines of their lot or building site that abut a street as shown on the plat of the subdivision. The sidewalk is to be completely constructed within the street right-of-way area as shown on the plat but must abut the lot or site. The sidewalk must be constructed in accordance with plans and specifications to be approved by the Architectural Control Committee in advance of the work. The Architectural Control Committee shall give each owner written notice as to the time when the construction of the sidewalk must be commenced and the time in which the work must be concluded. The notice is to be by certified mail, return receipt requested. If a lot owner does not commence and/or complete the construction of the sidewalk within the time limits set forth by the Architectural Control Committee, then the Architectural Control Committee or its representative or agent is authorized and directed to proceed with or complete the construction of the sidewalk and to bill the lot owner for the Committee's cost for the sidewalk work. In the event that the bill is not paid by the lot owner within 30 days from the date of mailing, by certified mail, return receipt requested, the Architectural Control Committee may proceed with legal action to recover the cost and shall also be entitled to recover such sums as the Court may adjudge to be reasonable fees for services of the Committee's attorney, plus all court costs.
28. All laws of the State of Florida and of the City of Pensacola and the County of Escambia, and all rules and regulations of their administrative and regulatory agencies or bodies now and hereafter in effect with regard to sewage disposal, water supply, and sanitation are incorporated herein and made a part hereof. No individual sewage disposal systems shall be permitted on any lot unless such system is designed, located and constructed in accordance with the requirements and approval of the Board of Health of Escambia County, Florida.
29. Any or all of the restrictions herein contained, except Paragraph 13, may be annulled, amended, or modified at any time by an instrument executed by the then record owners of one-half or more of the plotted lots in the subdivision; provided, however, that no amendment shall place an additional burden or restriction on any lot in the subdivision covered by these covenants unless the owner of record of said lot joins in the amendment.
30. These covenants may be enforced by any lot or building site owner or by the Architectural Control Committee against any person or persons violating or attempting to violate any covenant, either to restrain the violation or to recover damages, and in the event of such enforcement the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover his costs and reasonable attorney's fees from the other party.
31. Invalidation of any of these covenants by judgment or court decree shall in no way affect any of the other provisions which shall remain in full force and effect.
32. These covenants are to run with the land and shall be binding on all parties and all persons claiming under them for a period of thirty years from the date of these covenants, after which time these covenants shall be automatically extended for successive periods of ten years unless an instrument, signed by the then owners of a majority of the lots, agreeing to change these covenants in whole or in part, has been recorded.
33. The Association shall initially have two classes of voting memberships:
Class A. Class A members shall be all Owners, with the exception of the Declarant, and shall be entitled to one vote for each lot owned. When more than one person holds an interest in any lot, all such persons shall be members. The vote for such lot shall be exercised as they determine, but in no event shall more than one vote be cast with respect to any lot.
Class B. Class B member(s) shall be the Declarant and shall be entitled to three (3) votes for each lot owned. The Class B membership shall cease and be converted to Class A membership on the happening of either of the following events, whichever occurs earlier:
(a) When the total votes outstanding in the Class A membership equal the total votes outstanding in the Class B membership, or
(b) On January 1, 1986.
From and after the happening of these events, whichever occurs earlier, the Class B member shall be deemed to be a Class A member entitled to one vote for each lot or building site which is owned by said Class B member. The Declarant shall not exercise its voting rights granted to it under this Article in an unreasonable manner nor in such a way as to cause undue hardship upon any Owner.
34. As long as there is a Class B membership, the following actions will require the prior approval of the Federal Housing Administration or the Veterans Administration: Annexation of additional properties, dedication of Common Area, and amendment of this Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, First Mutual Savings Association of Florida, a Stock Corporation, has executed this declaration this 14th day of January, 1985.
Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of:
FIRST MUTUAL SAVINGS ASSOCIATION OF FLORIDA, a Stock Corporation