CHARTER AND COVENANTS of Oakbourne Estates

 

Charter of Oakbourne Homeowners Association 

The residents of Oakbourne Estates have united to form and they do, by these presents, hereby form and organize themselves, as well as all such other persons who may hereafter join or become associated with Diem, into an association for the objects and purposes set out below: 

 

Article 1. The name of the association shall be OAKBOURNE ESTATES ASSOCIATION. 

 

Article 2: The objects and purposes for which Oakbourne Estates Association is organized shall be to serve the common interests of the residents of Oakbourne Estates and to enhance their enjoyment of their property, and the subdivision by combining into this Association. 

 

Article 3: The address of Oakbourne Estates Association shall be 102 Randy Circle, Lafayette, LA 70501. 

 

Article 4: The members of Oakbourne Estates Association shall meet on the third Wednesday of the months of January, April, July and October of each year. Any business of interest to the members of the Association shall be entertained at said meeting. In order to conduct business of the Association a quorum of 20% of the Association, whether present or represented by proxy, shall be required. A majority of voting power present shall be required to take any action at any meeting of the Association. 

 

Article 5: The business and affairs of Oakbourne Estates Association shall be managed by a Board of Directors consisting of seven (7) individuals elected annually by the membership at its first meeting of the year. 

 

Article 6: The Board of Directors shall annually elect from the Board a president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer, which shall constitute the executive committee. The duties of the several officers shall be as follows: 

 

               (1) President: The president shall be the chief executive officer of the Association and  shall preside at all meetings of the stockholders and directors. He shall have general management of the business of the Association. 

 

 

               (2) Vice-President: In the absence of the president his duties shall devolve upon the vice-president. In the absence of the secretary-treasurer, his duties shall devolve upon the vice-president in his capacity as assistant treasurer. 

 

               (3) Secretary-Treasurer: The secretary-treasurer shall have charge of all funds of the corporation and of its disbursements under the directions of the Board of Directors. He shall keep a record of all monies received and paid out, making a report of same to the Board of Directors and members at each regular meeting thereof. 

 

Article 7: The Board of Directors may appoint such committees as it deems necessary. This Charter of Oakbourne Estates Association is adopted effective on 21st day of July, 1993. 

 

 

 

 

                 Signed and Witnessed on July 21, 1993 

 

  

 

                         Wilson W. Patterson, President 

 

  

 

Retyped on January 14, 2011 for posting on internet. 

 

  

Reservation, Restriction and Covenants in Oakbourne Estates 

 

               Oakbourne Estates, Inc. is Lafayette's newest and most elegant Residential Subdivision. Located on the banks of the Vermillion River and adjacent to the Oakbourne Country Club, among beautiful rolling hills, and splendid oaks and pecan trees, lie the 469 acres, which will comprise OAKBOURNE ESTATES. 

 

               Complete in every respect, including school sites, park and recreational areas, apartment building sites and restricted commercial activities, OAKBOURNE ESTATES should create an atmosphere of both pleasant and elegant suburban living. 

 

               OAKBOURNE ESTATES has been carved out of the original Oakbourne Plantation containing over a thousand acres and previously owned by Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Nickerson, one of Lafayette's distinguished families.   

 

               The developers of OAKBOURNE ESTATES, in an effort to create the finest residential Subdivision in Lafayette, have had installed concrete street paving, underground wiring, electric street lighting system, City sewage, City water, and all other City conveniences. 

 

               The developers of OAKBOURNE ESTATES, in order to secure and maintain a uniform plan for improvement of this Subdivision have herewith established the following covenants and restrictions controlling the nature and the use thereof, which restrictions shall be considered Covenants running with the land in perpetuity except as hereinafter qualified, binding on its heirs and their assigns. OAKBOURNE ESTATES, Inc. reserves the right to enforce the observance of these building restrictions, and to prosecute any violations, or attempts to violate the said restrictions. 

 

GENERAL RESTRICTIONS 

 

               1. All the numbered lots in the OAKBOURNE ESTATES, except Lots Nos. One (1) and Two Hundred Twenty Six (226) which may be used commercially and are not subject to the restrictions hereinafter set forth, shall be used exclusively for residential purposes, however the appeared reserves the right to erect and maintain temporary office buildings upon any suitable location, said office buildings to be occupied and used only by the agents, employed for purpose of showing and selling lots in the subdivision, building houses on said property, or carrying on general development work in connection with said property. 

 

               2. The area designated on said plat of survey as apartment building site and bounded Northerly by East Simcoe Street, Southerly by Vermillion River, Easterly by Oakbourne Country Club, Inc., and Westerly by W. B. Vennard, et al, is not subject to the restrictions herein set forth. 

  

               3. No structures shall be erected, altered, placed or permitted to remain on any residential building lot, other than one detached, single family dwelling not to exceed two and one-half stories in height, and a private garage and other out buildings incidental to residential use of the plot. 

 

            4. No building shall be located nearer to the front line than 60 feet, or nearer than 15 feet to any side property line, on Lots Two (2) through Twenty-two (22). On all of the remaining numbered lots no building shall be located nearer to the front line than 50 feet, nor nearer than 15 feet to any side property line. No building except a detached garage or other out building located 80 feet or more from the front lot line shall be located nearer than 5 feet to any side lot line.  

 

           5. Each dwelling is to be built on a lot or lots of ground as laid out in the subdivision plan reflected on the plat, or map hereinabove incorporated. No dwelling is to be placed on a lot having a lesser area than that shown on the particular lot as laid out in the subdivision plan on which the dwelling is so located. All dwellings must face on the street on which lots face, as shown by arrow on the official plat of said subdivision. However, one (1) dwelling may be built on two (2) or more lots. 

 

           6. No noxious or offensive trade or activity shall be carried on upon any lot, nor shall anything be done thereon which may be, or become an annoyance or nuisance to the neighborhood. 

 

          7. No trailer, basement, tent, shack, barn or other out buildings erected in the subdivision at any time be used as a residence, temporarily, or permanently, or shall any structure of a temporary character be used as a residence. No building or structure erected elsewhere shall be moved onto a building site in this subdivision. 

 

         8. The construction of all buildings and any kind and description erected anywhere in said subdivision shall be painted or stained when completed, except those portions constructed of masonry, or brick. No composition, rolled roof or iron roofing, asbestos siding or imitation brick siding shall be allowed on any of the buildings to be erected on the lots in the subdivision. 

 

               9. No outside toilet or lavatory shall be erected or used on any lot in the subdivision. A temporary privy may be erected, maintained or used during the construction of a house on the same lot. Such privy shall be removed as soon as the house is completed. 

 

               10. No temporary buildings of any character shall be erected in the said subdivision, nor shall subsidiary buildings such as garage apartments, either temporary or permanent, be erected in said subdivision. 

 

               11. All fences, walls, or hedges must be neat and attractive, and no fences, walls, or high hedges shall be placed between the street and the front building line herein established. 

 

               12. No horses, cows, cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits, or other animals, fowl, pigeons, game birds, or poultry shall be kept, raised or permitted on any lot in this subdivision, except that cats and dogs in reasonable numbers may be kept, provided that they are not bred or raised for commercial purposes or permitted to roam at night. 

 

               13. The floor area of any dwelling constructed in OAKBOURNE ESTATES on lots numbered Two (2) through Twenty-two (22) shall not be less than 2200 square feet for a one-story house, and 2500 square feet for a dwelling containing more than one story. The floor area of any dwelling constructed on lots Twenty-three (23) through Forty-three (43) in OAKBOURNE ESTATES shall not be less than 2000 square feet, for a one-story dwelling and 2200 square feet for a dwelling containing more than one story. The floor area of any dwelling constructed on the remaining numbered lots of OAKBOURNE ESTATES shall not be less than 1800 square feet for a one-story house, nor less than 2000 square feet for a dwelling with more than one story. The before mentioned square footage figures pertain to the main dwelling area, exclusive of porches, garages, carports or other out buildings. 

 

               14. On corner lots which face other than in the same direction as the lot abutting its rear line, no fence or hedge shall be built or planted nearer than twenty-five (25) feet from the side street line. 

 

               15. No trash, ashes, other refuse shall be thrown or dumped on any vacant lot in OAKBOURNE ESTATES. 

 

               16. The owners of all vacant lots in OAKBOURNE ESTATES shall keep them clean and mowed at all times. 

 

               17. No derrick or other structures designed for use in boring, mining or quarrying for oil, natural gas or other minerals shall ever be erected, maintained or permitted on any lot in this subdivision. 

 

               18. These covenants are to run with the land, and shall be binding on all parties, and all persons coming under them for a period of twenty-five (25) years from the date hereof, at which time said covenants shall be automatically extended for successive periods of (10) years, unless by a vote of a majority of the then owners of the lots, it is agreed to change said covenant to the whole or in part.   

 

               19. If any parties hereto any of them, or their heirs or assigns, shall violate, or attempt to violate any of the covenants, it shall be lawful for any person or persons owning any real property, situated in said subdivision, to prosecute any proceedings at law, or in equity against the person or persons violating or attempting to violate any such covenants and either to prevent him from such violation or to recover damages or other dues for such violation. 

 

               20. In the event any of these covenants are declared to be invalid by a judgment or an order of any court, such judgment or order shall not in any way affect any of the other provisions that shall remain in full force and effect. 

 

  

 

                Robert L. Brown, Vice President 

 

                Barbara Gerami, Secretary - Treasurer 

 

Retyped on January 14, 2011 for posting on internet. 

 

  

 

AMENDMENT TO RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS OF OAKBOURNE ESTATES SUBDIVISION 

 

An additional restriction, to be numbered as paragraph 21, to follow immediately after Paragraph Number 20, is hereby added to read as follows: 

 

 

            21. No camper trailers, recreational vehicles, buses or other vehicles larger than those designed for normal passenger use ("Restricted Vehicles") shall be parked, kept or stored on the residential lots of OAKBOURNE ESTATES in a manner that detracts from the aesthetic values of the subdivision. No Restricted Vehicle shall be parked, kept or stored on any residential  lot in OAKBOURNE ESTATES nearer than 50 feet to the front lot line or nearer than 15 feet to the rear lot line or any side lot line. 

 

Note 1: This amendment was added to the covenants on October 1, 2003 (File # 03-052692, Lafayette Parish Clerk of Court Records) 

 

Note 2: Campers at three locations:

 

        (a) Guidry at 404 Vennard, 

        (b) Romero at 101 Rimwood 

        (c) Cook at 106 Rimwood                      

 

were grandfathered at the time of this amendment.

 

BOARD POLICIES AND INTERPRETATIONS OF THE CHARTER AND COVENANTS OF THE OAKBOURNE ESTATES ASSOCIATION - Adopted by the Board of Directors on March 27, 2013 

 

 

1. Article 5 of the Charter, dated July 21, 1993, states "The business and affairs of Oakbourne Estates Association shall be managed by a Board of Directors consisting of seven (7) individuals elected annually by the membership at its first meeting of the year."

 

Policy change - General Membership Meeting - January 

15, 2013

1. Due to the ever increasing time demands placed on the private lives of the membership and the changing demographics of the neighbohood, the Board decided its size should be  increased to 11 full fledged voting members.

 

This was submitted, and approved, at the January 15, 2013, General 

Membership    Meeting and 11 members were duly elected to the Board of Directors.

 

2. There is no paragraph in the Charter  regarding membership for 

those families that are renting a home in Oakbourne Estates. It was the consensus of the Board that it would not be a "neighborly act" to exclude these families from Oakbourne activities. 

Therefore:  Policy implemented Board of Director's Meeting - February 20, 2013:

a. Upon the payment of the appropriate membership fees the resident of the home shall be the sole person eligible to become a member of the Association and be allowed to participate in the activities of the 

Association.           

b. Should this person attend a General Membership meeting this person would be allowed  to cast a vote relative to routine matters of the Association.            

c. Should there be a vote taken to amend the Restrictions and Covenants Article 18 of the Covenants shall be followed. This Article states that the owner of the property  shall be the only one authorized to cast the vote. 

 

AMENDMENTS TO RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS OF OAKBOURNE ESTATES SUBDIVISION

 

During the period of August 23 through November 30, 2013, all property owners in Oakbourne Estates Subdivision had the opportunity to vote upon amendments 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 listed below. All were affirmed and the results were verified on December 2-4, 2013. The appropriate documents were filed with the Lafayette Parish Clerk of Courts on December 30, 2013 - Doc. ID 03723421001 - and were thus added to these covenants as of that date.

 

22. In order to maintain the property values of our subdivision, owners shall mow and edge the lawn on their lot(s), whether vacant or not, as necessary to maintain the grass height below six (6) inches. Should the majority of the grass and/or weeds on any lot, occupied or not, within Oakbourne Estates exceeds 6 inches in height the lot owner shall be advised of this violation. If this violation is not remedied within a ten (10) day period a professional insured lawn service shall be retained by the Oakbourne Estates Homeowners Association, Inc. (the "Association") to return the lot into a complying condition. Any fees incurred for such service shall be reimbursed  by the lot owner within 30 days of notification of the amount due. If the lot owner fails to make reimbursement, the Association may file a lien or privilege to secure the amount due under applicable law

 

23. It is expected that all homes would have adequate hard surface parking for the resident's vehicles and that parking on the grass should not be necessary. Long term parking on the grass creates a poor aesthetic appearance to the neighborhood and will be considered a covenant violation. However, it is also understood that on special occasions it may be necessary to temporarily (short term) park on the grass and this will be acceptable if the Board is advised in advance.

 

24. Tarpaulins of any kind shall be used only as a temporary (30 days)  solution to resolve a structural problem. Should a special circumstance occur that a longer period be required it must be approved by the Oakbourne Estates Homeowner's Association, Inc. Board of Directors. Fabric covers shall not be used to cover any vehicles at any time.

 

25. No boats, trailers, or equipment of any kind (other than normal-sized passenger vehicles) shall be parked, kept or stored on the residential lots of Oakbourne Estates Subdivision unless hidden from view and parked farther than 50 feet from the front lot line and farther than 15 feet from the rear lot line and any side line.

 

26. The only decorative metal window awnings/treatment or metal tops/roofs allowed will be for yard and/or pool building roofs. All must be copper or have muted earth tone paints to blend with the neighborhood. No shiny or reflective metal is allowed.

 

27. Oakbourne Estates Homeowner's Association, Inc. is authorized and empowered to enforce these restrictions and covenants. Should it become necessary to file a suit for such purpose, any owner or resident who is found by the Court to have been in violation of any restriction or covenant shall be required to reimburse Oakbourne Estates Homeowner's Association, Inc's reasonable attorney fees, court costs, and expenses incurred in connection with any action for such enforcement.