Covenant and Master Plan Violations - Introduction
May 27, 2021 19:27:39 GMT -7
dorothykeeler likes this
Post by Poor Richard on May 27, 2021 19:27:39 GMT -7
Covenant and Master Plan Violations
All Glastonbury landowners agree to follow the Restated Covenants when they purchase land that is under the geographic legal jurisdiction of the Glastonbury Landowner's Association (GLA). However not all parcels in Glastonbury fall into that category. As a general rule, if you receive an assessment bill, you must follow the Restated Covenants.
Glastonbury also has a Master Plan which some landowners must follow. Why are only some landowners required to follow the Master Plan? Montana passed a bill called SB 300 in December of 2019. The bill became law and is in full effect in 2021.
The bill reads "Section 1. Homeowners’ association restrictions — real property rights. (1) (a) A homeowners’ association may not enter into, amend, or enforce a covenant, condition, or restriction in such a way that imposes more onerous restrictions on the types of use of a member’s real property than those restrictions that existed when the member acquired the member’s interest in the real property, unless the member who owns the affected real property expressly agrees in writing at the time of the adoption or amendment of the covenant, condition, or restriction".
The new law, SB 300, states that whatever rights the HOA gave you when you bought property cannot be taken away. The effect on Glastonbury is dramatic. Anyone who currently owns land in Glastonbury and owned that land before February 2007, when the Master Plan was adopted, does not have to abide by the Master Plan. Only the Covenants that were in effect at the time of you purchasing property apply to you. Pre-2007 landowners only need to meet the terms expressed in the 1997 Restated Covenants for land use. SB 300 creates different rules for different landowners. Property rights date to the time when you purchased your parcel. Thinking this through...you can see that if the GLA Board passed a new land use rule such as requiring a physical street address sign on every parcel, that rule would only apply to landowners that purchased their property AFTER the new GLA rule went into effect.
Over the two plus decades the GLA has been in existence, many landowners have chosen not to follow the Covenants and Master Plan. Interestingly many of the violators also served on the GLA Board of Directors previous to their violations. Below we will document some of the Covenant violations on a case by case basis and with photos if possible. We will let you know if the GLA Board took action (rarely) and what happened as a result.
Glastonbury also has a Master Plan which some landowners must follow. Why are only some landowners required to follow the Master Plan? Montana passed a bill called SB 300 in December of 2019. The bill became law and is in full effect in 2021.
The bill reads "Section 1. Homeowners’ association restrictions — real property rights. (1) (a) A homeowners’ association may not enter into, amend, or enforce a covenant, condition, or restriction in such a way that imposes more onerous restrictions on the types of use of a member’s real property than those restrictions that existed when the member acquired the member’s interest in the real property, unless the member who owns the affected real property expressly agrees in writing at the time of the adoption or amendment of the covenant, condition, or restriction".
The new law, SB 300, states that whatever rights the HOA gave you when you bought property cannot be taken away. The effect on Glastonbury is dramatic. Anyone who currently owns land in Glastonbury and owned that land before February 2007, when the Master Plan was adopted, does not have to abide by the Master Plan. Only the Covenants that were in effect at the time of you purchasing property apply to you. Pre-2007 landowners only need to meet the terms expressed in the 1997 Restated Covenants for land use. SB 300 creates different rules for different landowners. Property rights date to the time when you purchased your parcel. Thinking this through...you can see that if the GLA Board passed a new land use rule such as requiring a physical street address sign on every parcel, that rule would only apply to landowners that purchased their property AFTER the new GLA rule went into effect.
Over the two plus decades the GLA has been in existence, many landowners have chosen not to follow the Covenants and Master Plan. Interestingly many of the violators also served on the GLA Board of Directors previous to their violations. Below we will document some of the Covenant violations on a case by case basis and with photos if possible. We will let you know if the GLA Board took action (rarely) and what happened as a result.
