Home • Article 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • Amendment 1 2
ARTICLE VI
ARCHITECTURAL STANDARDS
SECTION 1. PURPOSE. In order to establish and preserve a harmonious and aesthetically pleasing design for the Subdivision and to protect and promote the value of the Subdivision, the Lots in the Subdivision shall be subject to the restrictions set forth in this Article VI.
SECTION 2. ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW COMMITTEE. There is hereby established The Lakewood Crossing, Section One Architectural Review Committee (herein called the "Architectural Review Committee"), which shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all original construction on the Lots in the Subdivision and over modifications, additions, or alterations made on or to the residences and other improvements within the Subdivision. The Architectural Review Committee shall (i) adopt the Construction Guidelines for the construction of improvements in the Subdivision and the Landscaping Guidelines, and (ii) establish application and review procedures for plans and specifications. The Architectural Review Committee shall make the Construction Guidelines available to Owners who seek to construct improvements or modify improvements on a Lot and who shall conduct their operations strictly in accordance therewith.
The Architectural Review Committee shall initially consist of a minimum of one (1) or a maximum of three (3) individuals designated by the Declarant. Until the date on which it has sold all of its Lots within the Subdivision, the Declarant shall have the right to appoint all members of the Architectural Review Committee, as well as the right to remove any member. There shall be no surrender of this right prior to that time, except by a written instrument executed by Declarant and recorded in the real property records of Harris County, Texas. Upon the expiration of such right, the Architectural Review Committee shall thereafter consist of three (3) individuals, all of whom shall be appointed by and may be removed by the Board of Directors. The Architectural Review Committee is authorized, but not obligated, to retain the services of consulting architects, landscape architects, urban designers, engineers, inspectors, and/or attorneys in order to advise and assist the Architectural Review Committee in performing its functions set forth herein.
SECTION 3. ARCHITECTURAL APPROVAL. No construction of improvements, or modifications, additions, or alterations to existing improvements, shall be commenced or maintained on a Lot, including, without limitation, the construction or installation of sidewalks, driveways, parking lots, mail boxes, decks, patios, courtyards, swimming pools, tennis courts, greenhouses, playhouses, awnings, walls, fences, exterior lights, garages, guest or servants' quarters, or other outbuildings, nor shall any exterior addition to or change or alteration therein be made (including, without limitation, painting or staining of any exterior surface), unless and until two (2) copies of the plans and specifications and related data (including, if required by the Architectural Review Committee, a survey showing the location of trees of six (6) inches in diameter at a height of four (4) feet above ground and other significant vegetation on such Lot) showing the nature, color, type, shape, height, materials, and location of the same shall have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Architectural Review Committee as to the compliance of such plans and specifications with the Construction Guidelines, including the harmony of external design, location, and appearance in relation to surrounding structures and topography. one copy of such plans, specifications, and related data so submitted shall be retained in the records of the Architectural Review Committee, and the other copy shall be returned to the Owner marked "approved," "approved with conditions as noted," or "disapproved." The Architectural Review Committee may establish a reasonable fee sufficient to cover the expense of reviewing plans and related data and to compensate any consulting architects, landscape architects, urban designers, inspectors, or attorneys retained in accordance with the terms hereof.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, no permission or approval shall be required to paint in accordance with an originally-approved color scheme, or to rebuild in accordance with originally-approved plans and specifications. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to limit the right of an Owner to remodel the interior of his improvements, or to paint the interior of the improvements on his property any color desired. The Architectural Review Committee shall have the sole discretion to determine whether plans and specifications submitted for approval are acceptable to the Association. Disapproval of plans and specifications may be based by the Architectural Review Committee upon any ground which is consistent with the objects and purposes of this Declaration as determined by the Architectural Review Committee from time to time, including purely aesthetic considerations, so long as such grounds are not arbitrary or capricious.
SECTION 4. LANDSCAPING APPROVAL. To preserve the aesthetic appearance of the the Subdivision, no landscaping, grading, excavation, or filling of any nature whatsoever shall be implemented and installed on a Lot in the Subdivision by any Owner unless and until the plans therefor have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Architectural Review Committee. In the installation of landscaping and maintenance of his Lot, each Owner shall comply with the Landscaping Guidelines.
SECTION 5. APPROVAL NOT A GUARANTEE OR VARIANCE. The review and approval of plans pursuant to this Article is made on the basis of aesthetic considerations only and no approval of plans and specifications and no publication of the Construction Guidelines shall be construed as representing or implying that such plans, specifications, or guidelines will, if followed, result in properly designed improvements. Such approvals and design guidelines shall in no event be construed as representing or guaranteeing that any improvements built in accordance therewith will be built in a good and workmanlike manner. Neither Declarant, the Association, the Architectural Review Committee, nor any of their respective officers, partners, directors or members, shall be responsible or liable in damages or otherwise to any Person who submits plans for approval by reason of mistake of judgment, negligence or nonfeasance arising out of the approval or disapproval of any plans or specifications, any loss or damage arising from the noncompliance of such plans and specifications with any governmental ordinances and regulations, nor any defects in construction undertaken pursuant to such plans and specifications. The purpose of such reviews primarily seeks to conform the aesthetic appearances of development within the Properties.
In addition, the approval of plans pursuant to this Article shall not be deemed to be a variance from the specific restrictions of this Declaration or the Construction Guidelines. All variances must be issued in accordance with the provisions of Section 8 of this Article.
SECTION 6. RIGHT TO INSPECT. Any member of the Board of Directors, the Architectural Review Committee, or their representatives shall have the right, but not the obligation during reasonable hours to enter upon and inspect any Lot to determine whether or not the improvements on such Lot are being constructed in accordance with approved plans and specifications. Such Person or Persons shall not be deemed guilty of trespass by reason of such entry. In the event the Board or the Architectural Review Committee shall determine that improvements are not being constructed in accordance with approved plans and specifications, the Board or the Architectural Review Committee shall be entitled to enjoin further construction and to require the removal or correction of any work in place which does not comply with approved plans and specifications. In addition to any other remedies available to the Association, the Board may record in the appropriate land records a notice of violation naming the violating Owner.
SECTION 7. NO WAIVER OF FUTURE APPROVALS. The approval or disapproval by the Architectural Review Committee of any plans and specifications for any work done or proposed, or in connection with any other matter requiring the approval and consent of the Architectural Review Committee hereunder, shall not be deemed to constitute a waiver of any right to withhold approval or consent as to any similar plans and specifications, drawings, or matters whatever subsequently or additionally submitted for approval or consent.
SECTION 8. VARIANCES. The Architectural Review Committee may grant variances from compliance with certain restrictions of this Declaration and from the Construction Guidelines when circumstances such as topography, natural obstructions, hardship, or aesthetic or environmental considerations require, but only in accordance with duly adopted rules and regulations. Such variances may only be granted, however, when unique circumstances dictate and no variance shall be effective unless in writing or stop the Architectural Review Committee from denying a variance in other circumstances. For purposes of this Section, the inability to obtain approval of any governmental agency, the issuance of any permit, or the terms of any financing, shall not be considered a hardship warranting a variance.