Chelsea Row Owners Association · Board Working Paper

The rulebook, audited

Our Rules and Regulations were last revised in November 2011. Texas HOA law has been rewritten three times since. Here is every rule we have, in plain English, with an honest verdict on each one.

15Rules on the books
2011Last revised
3Legislative sessions since
46Lots at Chelsea Row
Why now

A rulebook doesn't age well on its own

Our rules were written for a version of Texas law that no longer exists, and for a version of Chelsea Row where nobody worked from home, nobody drove an electric car, and nobody had a doorbell camera.

Since our rules were last revised, the Texas Legislature has met in 2021, 2023, and 2025. Each session changed what an HOA can and cannot do. Some of our rules now point at statutes that have been repealed and moved. At least two of them tell owners something that is no longer true. One of them exposes the Association to real financial liability.

None of this is anyone's fault. Rules drift. But drift compounds, and the cost shows up at the worst possible moment — when we actually try to enforce something and discover we can't.

The thing that actually matters

Texas law gives our Board a valuable protection. Under Tex. Prop. Code §202.004(a), when the Board exercises discretion about a restriction, that decision is presumed reasonable — unless a court finds it was arbitrary, capricious, or discriminatory.

Selective enforcement is exactly how an association loses that presumption. And every rule we keep on the books but don't enforce makes selective enforcement easier to prove. A rule nobody follows isn't harmless. It's evidence.

Who decides

The Board adopts rules. Owners aren't voting on this.

This needs saying clearly, because we got the amendment process wrong once already this year and it's worth not repeating.

Our three governing documents each change differently:

So why publish this to owners at all? Because rules people don't understand are rules people don't follow, and rules adopted in a back room are rules people resent. The Board wants owner reaction before it votes. That reaction is input, and we take it seriously — but calling it a vote would be inventing an authority that doesn't exist, and we've learned where that leads.

What we're asking of you: read this. Tell us where we're wrong. Tell us which rules you'd miss and which you've quietly ignored for years. Then the Board votes, and whatever passes gets recorded with Travis County and becomes real.

Scorecard

Where the 15 rules landed

Click any verdict to filter the review below. Most of our rules are fine. A handful are broken in ways that matter.

Showing all 15 current rules.
Our philosophy

What makes a good rule for 46 townhouses

Before getting into specifics, here's the standard we applied. Reasonable people can disagree with it — that's what the discussion is for.

Fewer rules, actually enforced

Chelsea Row is 46 homes. Everyone knows everyone. A long rulebook that gets enforced selectively is worse than a short one that gets enforced consistently — legally worse, because it strips the Board of its presumption of reasonableness, and socially worse, because nothing poisons a small community faster than "why me and not them."

Rules should target effects on neighbors, not preferences

The legitimate reason to have a rule is that one owner's choice lands on another owner. Noise, parking, structural integrity, shared walls, shared roofs, safety. When a rule reaches past that into taste or private conduct with no external effect, it stops being governance and starts being surveillance.

Objective standards beat Board discretion

"Quiet hours are 10pm to 7am" is a rule. "The Board decides what's annoying" is a mood. The first one an owner can follow; the second one they can only lose. Objective standards protect owners and the Board — they're much harder to attack as arbitrary.

If state law protects it, say so in our rules

Texas protects a growing list of things HOAs can't prohibit: solar, rain barrels, composting, drought-resistant landscaping, flags, religious displays, firearms, generators, kids' lemonade stands. When our rules stay silent on these, owners assume they're banned and the Board risks enforcing something unenforceable. Writing the protections into our own rules costs nothing and prevents the exact fight nobody wants.

Every rule should name the problem it solves

If we can't articulate the harm, we don't need the rule. This is the test that retires the most rules, and it's the one worth applying honestly.

Rule by rule

All 15, in plain English

Each rule below shows the actual text from our 2011 document, unedited. Some of it reads worse than any summary would — that's the point.

Fix
Declaration
§8.1 & §8.5

R1Operating a business

What our rules say nowNo business can be operated within any building at Chelsea Row – this is restricted to a residential use only. Use of a Unit for a "child care service" business is prohibited.

In plain English: You can't run a business from your home. Home daycare is specifically banned.

The problemRead literally, this rule is violated every single day by nearly every owner in the community. Answering a work email is conducting business in a building. A rule that everyone breaks is a rule that can only ever be enforced selectively — which is precisely the thing that strips the Board of its legal protection under §202.004(a) and generates lasting resentment.
What the law saysTexas has no statute protecting home businesses, so a residential-use covenant is generally enforceable. But two carve-outs bind us anyway: §202.020 forbids prohibiting a child's lemonade stand, and §202.003(b) plus Human Resources Code Ch. 123 means a "community home" for people with disabilities cannot be restricted by deed restriction at all. The daycare ban itself appears to remain lawful — Chapter 42 daycare homes are a different category and aren't protected.
RecommendationRewrite to target external effects, not private work. Permit home occupations that generate no client traffic, no exterior signage, no employees reporting to the residence, no commercial vehicles, and nothing audible or visible from outside. Keep the daycare prohibition. Add the community-home and lemonade-stand carve-outs. This is the single most important rule on the list to fix.
Keep
Declaration
§8.6

R2Visual controls — trash, clotheslines, storage

What our rules say nowAll clotheslines, equipment, storage, etc. (rugs & towels) must be concealed within the patio from the view of neighbors and the street. The garbage carts must be kept inside the garage or patio area except during the hours permitted for collection: from 6:00pm the evening before collection day to 11:59pm the day of collection. All garbage must be bagged and placed inside the garbage carts. The blue 90-gallon recycling carts may be stored outside next to the rear wall of the unit, with the lid fully closed and the cart secure in an upright position.

In plain English: Keep your stuff in the patio. Trash cart in the garage or patio except on collection day. Recycling cart can live against the back wall.

AssessmentThis is a good rule and a model for the rest. It's specific, objective, addresses a real shared concern in a dense townhouse community, and any owner can read it and know exactly what to do. No discretion, no ambiguity.
RecommendationKeep essentially as-is. One gap: Austin now runs curbside composting, and the rule only addresses trash and recycling carts. Add green compost carts to the same standard as the blue recycling carts. Also worth confirming the collection windows still match the current City of Austin schedule.
Fix
Declaration
§8.9

R3Satellite dishes & antennas

What our rules say nowThe Architectural Control Committee (ACC) must approve antennas or satellite dishes before installation. Submit form to Management Company. Forms are available by calling PS Property Management Co. at 512-251-6122.

In plain English: Get ACC approval before you install a dish or antenna. (Note the rule still lists our previous management company's phone number.)

What the law saysThis likely violates federal law. The FCC's Over-the-Air Reception Devices rule 47 C.F.R. §1.4000 preempts HOA restrictions that impair installation of satellite dishes under one meter, TV antennas, and certain fixed-wireless antennas on property within the owner's exclusive use or control. The FCC has expressly held that a prior-approval requirement is prohibited because it causes unreasonable delay — it upheld exactly that finding against a community association's appeal in In re Victor Frankfurt (2003). A simple notification process is allowed. An approval gate is not. And when a restriction is challenged, the burden of proving it's valid falls on us, not the owner.
The wrinkleOur situation is genuinely unusual. Each owner holds their lot in fee simple under Declaration §8.2, so an owner arguably owns their own roof — but the Association maintains it under §6.1 and carries the leak risk. Whether the roof counts as "exclusive use or control" for OTARD purposes is a real question and not one we should answer ourselves.
RecommendationRewrite as a notification rule, not an approval rule, for OTARD-protected devices. Preserve approval authority for common areas and for anything outside OTARD's scope. Get this specific rule in front of our attorney — the roof question is the kind of thing where a wrong guess is expensive. Also, update the phone number.
Keep
Declaration
§8.10

R4Vehicle storage

What our rules say nowNo storage of boats, trailers, campers, or unused or inoperable vehicles is allowed in parking spaces or driveways.

In plain English: No boats, trailers, campers, or dead cars parked out front.

AssessmentClean and enforceable. Mirrors Declaration §8.10 directly. Addresses a real concern — we have limited parking and it shouldn't become storage.
RecommendationKeep. One small tightening: define "unused or inoperable" objectively rather than leaving it to the eye of the beholder. Something like "not capable of being lawfully operated, or not moved in 30 consecutive days" gives everyone the same standard.
Fix
Declaration
§8.11

R5Annoyances

What our rules say nowAny activities that can be considered an annoyance must be restrained. The Board of Directors shall have the sole and exclusive discretion to determine what constitutes an annoyance.

In plain English: Don't be annoying. The Board decides what annoying means.

The problemThis is the most legally exposed rule in the document, and the least neighborly. It gives owners no notice of what's actually prohibited — you can't comply with a rule whose content is decided after the fact. And "sole and exclusive discretion" over an undefined term is close to a written invitation for an arbitrary-and-capricious claim. Ironically, the Declaration §8.11 it's based on is better drafted: it uses an objective standard, "neighbors of ordinary sensibilities."
What the law says§202.004(a) does presume our discretion is reasonable — that's a real protection. But the presumption is rebuttable, and a rule this open-ended is the easiest possible target. We're spending our strongest legal shield on our weakest-drafted rule.
RecommendationReplace with objective standards. Quiet hours (10pm–7am is the Austin norm). Named categories: persistent barking, amplified sound audible at the property line, noxious odors, accumulated debris. Keep a residual catch-all, but tie it to the Declaration's "ordinary sensibilities" language rather than to Board discretion. This gives owners something to follow and gives the Board something defensible.
Fix
Declaration
§5.1, §8.7

R6Landscaping & modifications

What our rules say nowNo shrubs, trees, or structures will be added to the exterior townhome or its area, this includes doghouses, lighting, or any other attachments without prior written ACC approval, the owner must file the paperwork with the Management Company. Owners are liable for consequential damages caused by modification or additions. Unauthorized removal of landscaping features will result in an assessment to cover the cost of replacement.

In plain English: Don't add or remove anything outside without ACC approval first.

What the law says — this one is urgentChelsea Row has 46 lots. §209.00505 applies to associations with more than 40. That means: Board members, their spouses, and anyone living in a Board member's household may not serve on the ACC. Every ACC denial must go out in writing with the basis stated in reasonable detail and any changes that would earn approval. Owners get an appeal to the Board, which must hold a hearing within 30 days with 10 days' notice. And as of September 1, 2025, §209.00506 (added by SB 711) requires us to solicit ACC candidates — 10 days' notice of a vacancy, and volunteers who came forward get selected first.
Where we probably standDeclaration §5.1 permits either the Board or a committee of three-plus appointees to act as architectural authority. If our Board has been serving as the ACC — which is common for a community our size — we are out of compliance, and have been since 2021. The Board should establish where we actually stand before adopting anything else.
RecommendationKeep the substance; rebuild the process. Add the §209.00505 and §209.00506 machinery in full. Carve out the state-protected items an ACC can't deny (composting, rain barrels, drip irrigation, drought-resistant landscaping — see the Rights section). Stand up a real ACC with a real solicitation, separate from the Board.
Keep
Declaration
§8.5

R7For Rent / For Sale signs

What our rules say nowNo more than one "for rent" or "for sale" sign is allowed on any one lot. The sign must be placed parallel to the street, not more than five feet from the front of the building.

In plain English: One sign, parallel to the street, within five feet of your building.

AssessmentFine. Objective, easy to follow, no legal issue.
RecommendationKeep, with one correction. Declaration §8.5 caps these signs at five square feet, and the rule doesn't mention it — so an owner reading only the rules would think any size is fine. Align the rule with the Declaration.
Fix
Election Code
§259.002

R8Political signs

What our rules say nowThe following restrictions apply to signs advertising a political candidate or ballot item for an election, as described in Chapter 202: [90 days before to 10 days after; one sign per candidate; no larger than four feet by six feet; ground-mounted; no roofing material, siding, paving materials, flora, balloons or lights; not attached to plant material, traffic control devices, vehicles; no painting of architectural surfaces; nothing offensive; no music, streamers, or driver distractions.]

In plain English: You can put up political signs in a window around elections, with size and mounting limits.

What the law saysOur rule cites a statute that no longer exists. Political sign protection lived in Property Code §202.009 until September 2019, when the Legislature moved it to Election Code §259.002. The substance carried over almost unchanged — the 90-day window, one sign per candidate or measure, the 4′×6′ cap, ground mounting — so what our rule says is basically right. What it points at is a dead section.
Why it matters anywayTwo reasons. Citing a repealed statute in a recorded dedicatory instrument is the kind of detail that gets noticed when a rule is challenged, and it makes the whole document look unmaintained. And the rule points to a separate "Chelsea Row Political Sign Display Resolution" that the Board should locate and confirm still exists.
RecommendationUpdate the citation to Election Code §259.002 and verify the substance against the current text. Low effort, and it removes an easy line of attack.
Fix
Declaration §8.10
Occ. Code §2308

R9Parking & towing

What our rules say nowParking is not allowed on Norwegian Wood or Mederas. For emergencies, parking is allowed on Norwegian Wood and Mederas with the emergency flashers on. Temporary guest parking is provided in the six designated parking spaces in the cul-de-sac. Extra parking is allowed on the public streets of Bittern Hollow and Parkfield. All vehicles illegally parked are subject to being towed without notice, and at the owner's expense. (Illegally parked includes, but is not limited to, expired registration or inspection stickers, flat tires, not being parked within the lines of the parking space, etc.)

In plain English: Don't park on our two private streets. Guests use the cul-de-sac. Break the rules and you can be towed with no warning.

Problem one — "towed without notice" is conditional, not automaticUnder Tex. Occ. Code §2308.252, a vehicle can only be towed from a parking facility if compliant signage was posted for the preceding 24 hours and at the time of the tow. The sign specifications in §2308.301–.305 are exacting: a bright red international tow symbol at least four inches high, specific lettering heights, a 24-hour phone number, mounting height requirements. If our signage doesn't meet spec, the tow is unlawful — and under §2308.404 the parking facility owner carries civil liability. That's us, not the tow company.
Problem two — inspection stickers no longer existTexas abolished safety inspections for non-commercial vehicles on January 1, 2025 (HB 3297). There is no safety inspection sticker left to expire. Travis County still requires emissions testing, but our rule as written is enforcing a thing that stopped existing 18 months ago.
Problem three — a judgment callTowing a resident's car from a space they're otherwise entitled to use, because their registration lapsed, is aggressive. Registration is the State's business. In a §2308.452 tow hearing, a justice court asks whether there was probable cause to believe the vehicle was parked in an unauthorized location — expired tags don't obviously get us there. This is the highest-liability rule we have.
RecommendationThree steps, in order. First, audit our tow signage against §2308.301–.305 before we tow anything else — this is the immediate exposure. Second, delete inspection stickers and reconsider registration as a tow trigger. Third, add a 48-hour courtesy notice for non-safety violations while keeping immediate tow authority for fire lanes and blocked access. We should be able to tow the car blocking the hydrant today and the car with a flat tire on Thursday.
Fix
Declaration
§8.4

R10Pets

What our rules say nowAll pets must be leashed and not allowed to roam the property. Pet owners are responsible for cleaning up any outside areas where their pets defecate. The Board of Directors has a right to determine what constitutes a reasonable number of pets per unit. No animals can be raised in Chelsea Row for any commercial purpose.

In plain English: Leash your pets, pick up after them, don't breed animals for money, and the Board decides how many pets is too many.

The gapNothing here addresses service animals or assistance animals. Under the federal Fair Housing Act, an HOA must make reasonable accommodations in its rules, policies, and practices when necessary to give a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling. Pet restrictions — including numeric limits and, in some cases, leash rules — can require accommodation. Enforcing this rule against someone's assistance animal without an accommodation analysis is a Fair Housing complaint waiting to happen.
Second issue"The Board determines what's reasonable" is the annoyance problem again, in miniature. An owner cannot know in advance whether their third cat is allowed.
RecommendationKeep the leash rule, the cleanup rule, and the no-commercial-breeding rule — all good. Add an FHA reasonable-accommodation provision with a clear request process. Replace Board discretion on pet count with an actual number (three is the common standard) plus a documented variance path.
Retire
Declaration
§8.11

R11Recreational devices

What our rules say nowUse of skateboards, skates, rollerblades, scooters, tricycles, and other similar items is not permitted on Mederas and Norwegian Wood.

In plain English: Children may not ride tricycles on our streets.

AssessmentWe are not enforcing this. We are not going to enforce this. Nobody on this Board is going to knock on a door about a four-year-old on a tricycle, and if we did, we'd deserve the reaction we'd get.
Why it's not harmlessAn unenforced rule is not neutral — it's affirmative evidence of selective enforcement, available to any owner who wants to argue that the Board applies its rules unevenly. This rule sits on the books doing no work while quietly weakening every rule around it. It also sets the tone for how owners read the whole document: if Rule 11 bans tricycles, why would anyone assume Rule 9 is serious?
RecommendationDelete it. If there's a genuine safety concern about speed or blind corners on Mederas and Norwegian Wood — and there may be — solve it with signage and a posted speed limit, which addresses the actual hazard. Banning tricycles addresses nothing.
Fix
Declaration
§6.1, §6.2

R12Maintenance & responsibilities

What our rules say nowChelsea Row Homeowners' Association is responsible for providing maintenance for paint, repair, replacement and care of roofs, gutters, down spouts, trees, shrubs, grass, walks, and other exterior improvements, exterior building surfaces (including patio fences/gates) unless abused by residents. Owner is responsible for maintaining glass surfaces, enclosed patio areas, window and door fixtures and hardware, air conditioning equipment, outside faucets, Owner installed landscaping, and Owner installed fencing, storm doors, or windows.

In plain English: The HOA maintains the outside. You maintain your windows, patio, AC, faucets, and anything you installed yourself.

What's changedThe phrase "unless abused by residents" is a loose gesture at what we now call the wear-versus-damage doctrine — the framework three attorneys have confirmed across 35 years, and which the Board formalized in the Roof Policy adopted this May. The rules and the Roof Policy now need to agree, and the Roof Policy is the better document.
Solar needs updatingOur solar provisions were written against the 2011 version of §202.010. HB 431 (2025) added solar roof tiles to the statutory definition of "solar energy device" — meaning tiles now get the same protection as panels, and our rules don't reflect that. The roofing-materials provisions also cite the old section numbering; roofing materials now live at §202.011.
RecommendationDon't restate the maintenance doctrine here — cross-reference the Roof Policy so there's one source of truth and no chance of drift. Update solar for solar roof tiles. Correct the statutory citations. Add standby generators (see What's Missing).
Keep
Declaration
§8.10

R13Vehicle repairs

What our rules say nowNo owner or resident shall conduct major repairs or restorations of any motor vehicle, boat, trailer or other vehicle on property. An owner shall not leave a vehicle on jacks overnight.

In plain English: No engine rebuilds in the driveway. Nothing on jacks overnight.

AssessmentGood rule. Objective, addresses genuine concerns — fluid spills, noise, appearance, and a car on jacks next to where kids walk is a real hazard. "Major" does some quiet work here but the overnight-jacks line gives it a hard edge, and the distinction between changing your oil and rebuilding a transmission is one people can actually apply.
RecommendationKeep as written.
Fix
Declaration
§10.6

R14Leasing

What our rules say nowNo owner shall be permitted to lease his unit for hotel or transient purposes for a period less than thirty (30) days. No owner shall be permitted to lease less than the entire unit. Every lease shall provide that the leases shall be bound by and subject to all of the obligations under the Declaration and ByLaws… Out of state owners shall be required to retain and use the services of a local leasing agent for leasing their units. Each owner (or their leasing agent) must furnish a copy of the current lease agreement to the Association. The maximum number of tenants per unit has been established at six persons for a three-bedroom unit, four persons for a two-bedroom unit, and three persons for a one-bedroom unit. An owner shall be absolutely responsible for all actions of his tenants.

In plain English: No Airbnb. Rent the whole unit or nothing. Occupancy caps by bedroom count. Out-of-state owners must hire a local agent. You're responsible for your tenants.

Mostly good — keep the important partsThe 30-day minimum is our short-term-rental protection and it's the most valuable provision in this rule. Keep it and consider naming STR platforms explicitly so there's no argument. The occupancy caps work out to two people per bedroom, which tracks HUD's long-standing guidance on what's presumptively reasonable — they're defensible.
The part that doesn't hold up"Out of state owners shall be required to retain and use the services of a local leasing agent." What's the legitimate interest? Presumably responsiveness — someone local who answers the phone when a tenant floods a unit. That's reasonable. But the rule ties the burden to where the owner lives rather than to the thing we actually care about. An owner in Round Rock is exempt; an owner in Oklahoma City who's here monthly is not. It imposes a real cost on a class of owners defined by residence, and it's the kind of line-drawing that's hard to defend if challenged.
RecommendationKeep the STR ban, the whole-unit requirement, the occupancy caps, and owner responsibility for tenants. Rewrite the leasing-agent provision to be residence-neutral: any owner who leases must designate a local contact who can respond within 24 hours. That gets the actual benefit without the arbitrary classification. Also verify our lease-information requirements against §209.016, which governs what tenant information an association may demand.
Relax
Declaration
§8.10, §8.11

R15Garage sales

What our rules say nowIndividual Owner/Resident Garage Sales are strictly prohibited. Property wide garage sales are authorized as follows: One property wide garage sale per year is permitted. The Board of Directors will determine the date for the property wide garage sale at least 30 days in advance of the event. If five or more owners wish to participate in a garage sale, they may petition the Board of Directors for special permission to hold a garage sale at a time other than the one authorized in the spring of the year.

In plain English: You may not have a garage sale. The whole community may have one, once a year, on a date the Board picks. Want a different date? Find four neighbors and file a petition.

Name the harmApply the test: what problem does this solve? Presumably traffic and parking on a Saturday. That's a real if modest concern. But the response — a flat prohibition, a Board-designated annual date, and a five-owner petition process to deviate — is wildly out of proportion to a few extra cars for four hours. This rule costs goodwill and buys almost nothing, and the petition mechanism reads as bureaucracy for its own sake in a 46-home community.
Minor conflictThe rule leans on the no-business-activity provisions. But a garage sale isn't a business, and §202.020 already forbids us from prohibiting a child's lemonade stand — so the "no commerce whatsoever" framing is already partly unavailable to us.
RecommendationPermit individual garage sales with proportionate limits: two per year per unit, weekends only, no blocking guest parking, signage down by end of day. Keep the community-wide sale as an option people like. Drop the petition process entirely.
What's missing

Twelve rules we don't have

Six of these aren't optional — state or federal law already binds us whether our rules mention them or not. Staying silent doesn't protect us; it just means owners don't know their rights and the Board risks enforcing something it can't.

Add
Required
§202.008

Water restrictions suspend our landscaping rules

New in 2025 (HB 517). During any residential watering restriction — and for 60 days after it lifts — we must suspend enforcement of any rule requiring owners to plant grass or keep vegetation green. Austin restricts watering routinely. Under the current rules, an owner could be cited for brown grass they were legally forbidden to water. Add an automatic suspension clause.

Add
Required
§202.007

Composting, xeriscaping, and drip irrigation

Our rules cover rain barrels but stop there. §202.007 also protects composting (including leaving grass clippings on the lawn), efficient and drip irrigation systems, and drought-resistant landscaping or water-conserving natural turf. Any covenant prohibiting these is void by statute. We can regulate size, type, shielding, materials, and location, and we can require a plan for review — we cannot prohibit. Given Austin's water situation, owners will ask.

Add
Required
§209.00505/.00506

ACC composition, solicitation, and appeal rights

The single biggest compliance gap. At 46 lots we're over the 40-lot threshold, so Board members and their households can't sit on the ACC, denials need written reasons, owners get a hearing within 30 days, and since September 2025 we have to solicit ACC volunteers with 10 days' notice before filling seats. None of this appears in our rules. It should be a section of its own.

Add
Required
Fair Housing Act

Reasonable accommodations and assistance animals

Federal law requires us to accommodate residents with disabilities — most commonly around assistance animals and pet limits, but also parking, access, and modifications. We need a written request process so owners know how to ask and the Board knows how to respond. Handling these ad hoc is how associations end up in front of HUD.

Add
Required
§202.019

Standby generators

We can regulate them. We can't prohibit them. After Uri, owners want them, and we currently have no written standard — which means the first request gets decided by whoever happens to be on the Board that month. Write the standard now, before there's an applicant with a stake in the answer.

Add
Required
§202.013, §202.021, §202.020

Political gatherings, firearms, lemonade stands

Three separate statutory protections we're silent on. §202.013 (new in 2025, HB 621) — we can't stop an owner from inviting a government official or candidate to speak in a common area, though we can apply the same booking rules as any other gathering. §202.021 — we can't prohibit lawful possession or transport of firearms. §202.020 — we can't prohibit or charge a permit fee for a kid's lemonade stand. Each is one sentence. Each removes a fight.

Add
Required
§202.003(b) · HRC Ch.123

Community homes for people with disabilities

A residence qualifying as a "community home" under Human Resources Code Chapter 123 cannot be restricted by private deed restriction. Our residential-use rule is silent, which means an owner reading it would reasonably conclude such a home is prohibited. It isn't, and we can't make it so. State the carve-out.

Add
Recommended

Security cameras and doorbell cameras

The most predictable future conflict we have, and the one our rules are least equipped for. In a party-wall community with patios eight feet apart, a camera aimed slightly wrong records a neighbor's back door for years. Suggested standard: cameras permitted on your own unit; aimed primarily at your own property and entry; not positioned to record the interior of another unit or the inside of a neighbor's enclosed patio; audio recording subject to Texas law. Write it before we have a dispute, not after — it's much easier to agree on a principle in the abstract.

Add
Recommended

EV charging

Texas gives us no statutory obligation here, unlike California — so we have real latitude, and we should use it deliberately rather than by accident. Our units have garages, which makes this mostly an electrical-permit question. Suggested: permitted with ACC approval; owner pays for installation, permits, and any damage; owner responsible for verifying panel capacity; no cords crossing sidewalks or common areas. Answer it once, in writing.

Add
Recommended

Quiet hours

The objective replacement for the annoyance rule. 10pm–7am, with a decibel-free standard people can actually apply: sound shouldn't be plainly audible inside a neighboring unit with the windows closed. Party walls make this more relevant here than in a detached-home subdivision.

Add
Recommended

Insurance verification cross-reference

The Roof Policy the Board adopted in May requires annual HO-3 proof of insurance uploaded to AppFolio. The Rules and Regulations don't mention it. Any owner who reads only the rules — which is most owners — will never learn about the single most consequential obligation they have. Cross-reference it.

Add
Housekeeping

A rules index, and the resolutions we can't find

Our rules reference at least four separate Board resolutions: the Political Sign Display Resolution, the Homeowner Modifications in the Common Area Resolution (9/02/08), the Vehicle Parking Policy (1990, revised 2008), and the Guest Parking Policy Resolution (7/29/2008). We don't have copies of all of them. The Board should inventory every resolution ever adopted, confirm what's still in force, and publish a single index. You can't rationalize a rulebook you haven't finished finding.

Your rights

Things we can't stop you from doing

Texas law protects a growing list of activities regardless of what any HOA's documents say. Most owners don't know this list exists. Publishing it in our own rules is unusual — and it's the recommendation we feel best about. It costs us nothing we're entitled to and prevents the exact arguments nobody wants to have.

Solar energy devices§202.010 · HB 431 (2025)
Panels and, since 2025, solar roof tiles. We can regulate placement and appearance within statutory limits. We can't prohibit.
Rain barrels & rainwater harvesting§202.007
We can regulate size, type, shielding, materials, and location. Any provision prohibiting them is void.
Composting§202.007
Including leaving grass clippings uncollected. We can regulate the device; we can't ban the practice.
Drought-resistant landscaping§202.007
Xeriscaping and water-conserving natural turf. We can require a plan for review; we can't refuse the concept.
Efficient irrigation§202.007
Underground drip and similar systems.
Brown grass during water restrictions§202.008 · new 2025
Enforcement of any green-vegetation requirement is suspended during watering restrictions and for 60 days after.
Flags§202.012
United States, Texas, and official or replica U.S. Armed Forces flags. We can regulate size, number, poles, lighting, and noise.
Religious displays§202.018
Motivated by sincere religious belief, at your entry door, within the statutory size limits.
Political signsElection Code §259.002
From 90 days before an election through 10 days after. We can require ground mounting, one sign per candidate or measure, and a 4′×6′ cap.
Political gatherings§202.013 · new 2025
You may invite government officials and candidates to speak in our common areas. Normal booking rules apply.
Firearms§202.021
We can't prohibit lawful possession or transport.
Standby generators§202.019
Regulated, not prohibited.
Satellite dishes & antennas47 C.F.R. §1.4000
Federal law. Dishes under one meter and TV antennas on property in your exclusive use. Prior approval requirements are prohibited.
Lemonade stands§202.020
Occasional non-alcoholic beverage sales by anyone under 18. No permit. No fee.
Community homes§202.003(b) · HRC Ch. 123
Homes for people with disabilities cannot be restricted by deed restriction.
Reasonable accommodationsFair Housing Act
Federal. Including assistance animals, regardless of our pet rules.
A hearing before a fine§209.006, §209.007
Written notice, a reasonable chance to cure, and a hearing before the Board on request. Cure it in time and there's no fine.
An appeal of an ACC denial§209.00505
Written reasons for the denial, and a hearing before the Board within 30 days of your request.
Your home, over fines alone§209.009
We cannot foreclose when the debt is only fines, or only attorney's fees tied to fines. Assessments are different.
Association records§209.005
On written request, subject to our records policy and statutory cost limits.
One honest caveat

Backyard chickens came up during our review, because two bills in the 2025 session would have stopped HOAs from banning up to six hens. Neither passed. Both died in committee. Our Declaration §8.4 prohibition on poultry stands — and even if a bill had passed, the versions under consideration applied only to covenants created after September 1, 2025. Ours is from 1986. If this matters to you, the place to raise it is the Legislature in 2027, not this Board.

New structure

Organized how people actually look things up

The current document is 15 rules in no particular order, with the state-law provisions wedged in between them — rain barrels and flags land after Rule 2, solar shows up after Rule 12. Nobody can find anything. Here's the proposed shape.

Part One

How this works

What this document is, how it relates to the Declaration and Bylaws, which one wins in a conflict, and how rules get changed. Two pages that prevent a year of confusion.

Part Two

Your home

Maintenance split, the Roof Policy cross-reference, insurance, architectural review, solar, roofing, generators, EV charging, satellite dishes.

Part Three

Your yard and patio

Landscaping, xeriscaping, composting, rain barrels, irrigation, water restrictions, visual controls, trash, recycling, compost.

Part Four

Vehicles and parking

Where to park, guest spaces, storage, repairs, and exactly what happens before anything gets towed.

Part Five

Living together

Pets and assistance animals, quiet hours, cameras, garage sales, and the nuisance standard that replaces "annoyances."

Part Six

Signs and expression

For sale and for rent, political signs, flags, religious displays, political gatherings.

Part Seven

Leasing

The 30-day minimum, whole-unit requirement, occupancy, local contact, lease documentation, owner responsibility.

Part Eight

Your rights

The list above. State and federal protections that apply no matter what the rest of this document says.

Why Part Eight matters most

Almost no HOA publishes a rights section. We think that's a mistake, and it's the change we'd defend hardest. It tells owners we're not trying to get away with anything. It stops the Board from accidentally enforcing something unenforceable. And it means the first time someone wants to install solar or put up a candidate's sign, they read one page instead of hiring a lawyer.

The decisions

What the Board actually has to settle

Not all of these are close calls. Three are urgent enough that they shouldn't wait for the full rewrite.

  1. Audit the tow signage — do this firstBefore we tow another vehicle. If our signs don't meet the §2308.301–.305 specifications, every tow exposes the Association to civil liability under §2308.404. This costs an afternoon and a tape measure.
  2. Establish whether our ACC is lawfully constitutedAt 46 lots, §209.00505 bars Board members and their households from serving. If the Board has been acting as the ACC, we've been out of compliance since 2021 and every denial we've issued is questionable.
  3. Fix the business ruleWhether we rewrite it to target external effects or leave a rule on the books that every owner violates daily. The status quo is the option with the most legal exposure.
  4. Decide on the annoyance standardObjective quiet hours and named nuisance categories, or keep "the Board decides." This one is genuinely a choice — some boards want the flexibility. We think the flexibility isn't worth what it costs.
  5. Retire the tricycle ruleShould be a thirty-second conversation.
  6. Relax garage salesTwo per year per unit with reasonable limits, or keep the prohibition and the five-owner petition process.
  7. Approve the eight-part restructureIncluding the rights section, which is the most unusual thing in this proposal.
  8. Authorize attorney review before adoptionSpecifically the satellite dish rule against OTARD, the ACC provisions, the leasing changes, and the towing rewrite. Roughly 2–4 hours. See the note below.
On getting a lawyer to look at this

This document was prepared by Board members, not attorneys. The statutory research is current as of July 2026 and cited so anyone can check it — but several findings here are exactly the kind where being confidently wrong is expensive. The satellite dish analysis in particular turns on whether an owner's roof counts as within their "exclusive use or control" under OTARD when the Association maintains it. That's a real question and we shouldn't answer it ourselves.

Our attorney already knows these documents from the 2025 roof opinion, which makes a review of this package relatively cheap — likely 2–4 hours. That's a small price against the cost of adopting a rule we can't enforce, or enforcing one we shouldn't.

What we want from owners

Tell us which rules you'd actually miss. Tell us which ones you didn't know existed. Tell us where we've been enforcing something inconsistently — that's useful information, not an accusation. And if you think we're wrong about the tricycles, say so; a rule with a real constituency is a different conversation than a rule nobody remembers adopting.