The Retreat neighborhood is a covenant controlled community subject to the Master Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions for Banning Lewis Ranch (the "Master Declaration"). The Master Declaration document was created and filed with the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder's Office on March 05, 2007. All 584 homes in the Retreat are also subject to the Amended and Restated Supplemental Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Age Restrictions for the Retreat at Banning Lewis Ranch (the "supplemental Declaration"). The Supplemental Declaration document was created and filed with the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder's Office on September 09, 2020.
Article 4 of the Master Declaration contains the restrictive covenants applicable to all 584 home Lots within the Retreat.
Section 5.1 of the Master Declaration and the Design Guidelines list the modifications and improvements to home lots that require the pre-approval of the DRC. For more information regarding obtaining approval from the DRC for proposed projects, click HERE.
Section 4.1(b) of the Declaration states, Each home Lot "...shall maintain all landscaping on such Owner's Lot in a neat, clean, safe and attractive condition, including periodic and horticulturally
correct pruning, removal of weeds and debris, and replacement of dead plants."
The top nine most commonly noted violations within the neighborhood are as follows:
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.
Owners are responsible for maintaining their Lots in a manner that reasonably complies with the covenants and restrictions contained within the Master Declaration and Supplemental Declaration. The Board holds Landlord 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 Landlords and their renters or their property management companies.
The Board expects Owners, who use the lots as their primary residence, to be 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 Master Declaration, Supplemental Declaration and the Design Guidelines.
The District's Board, through its management company, performs neighborhood inspections approximately twice per month. For all Lots in violation of the covenants and/or Design Guidelines (as noted during neighborhood inspections), the District will send out letters notifying the owners of the nature of the violation and the date on which the violation 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:
| Notice | Schedule |
|---|---|
| First Observation of a Property Violation | Courtesy notice (sent regular mail and via email if provided by homeowner) 10 day deadline to correct the issue |
| Second Observation of the Same Property Violation | Second courtesy notice and fine warning (sent certified mail and via email if provided by homeowner) 30 day deadline to correct the issue |
| Third Observation of the Same Property Violation | Notice of $50 fine (sent regular mail and via email if provided by homeowner) 30 day deadline to correct the issue |
| Fourth Observation of the Same Property Violation | Notice of $100 fine and warning that District may file a covenant lien and initiate legal action (sent regular mail and via email if provided by homeowner) 30 day deadline to correct the issue |
| Fifth and Subsequent Observations of the Same Property Violation | Notice that District has filed a covenant lien and initiated legal action (No additional fines levied by the District) (sent regular mail and via email if provided by homeowner) |
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.
After a third notice regarding the same open property maintenance violation, the District may turn over a home Lot any time to the District’s legal counsel to initiate legal action against the owner of the home Lot (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).
Homeowners who receive violation notices may request a hearing before the District's 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 District Manager.
Homeowners may conduct a vote in accordance with the *Master* Declaration Document to change the terms and conditions contained in the Master Declaration. In accordance with Section 16.5 of the Master Declaration, approval from 67% (or xxx) of the xxx lot owners in the Banning Lewis Community must be obtained to pass any proposed changes to the Master Declaration.
Homeowners may conduct a vote in accordance with the *Supplemental* Declaration to change the terms and conditions contained in the Supplemental Declaration. In accordance with Section 16.5 of the Master Declaration, approval from 67% (or 392) of the 584 Lot owners in the Retreat AND approval from District 1 must be obtained to pass any proposed changes to the Supplemental Declaration.
The information contained on this webpage is incomplete and only intended to be a summary of certain key provisions of the District Board's Covenant Enforcement Policies and Procedures and the District Board's Collection Policies and Procedures. Homeowners are responsible for carefully reviewing the District Board'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.