Understand Charleston Place One Topic at a Time

It becomes part of the title to every property in the community and establishes homeowner rights, Association powers, Board duties, architectural standards, maintenance obligations, assessments, and amendment procedures. In Charleston Place, the original Declaration recorded in 1994 serves as the foundation for community governance and property rights.

These covenants may help preserve the appearance, value, and character of the community. Because they affect every property owner, they should be applied consistently, enforced fairly, and amended only through the procedures established in the Declaration and applicable Missouri law.

Owner amendments generally require a properly called meeting, the required homeowner vote, Board certification, and recording. Developer amendments are addressed separately in Article XIII, Section 2 and depend on the scope and limitations of the authority reserved in the Declaration.

These rights depend on the Declaration, Bylaws, Missouri nonprofit-corporation law, and the circumstances involved. Homeowners may also ask how amendments were adopted, whether required procedures were followed, and how a change may affect their property rights.

Board responsibilities may include finances, common-property maintenance, enforcement, committee appointments, recordkeeping, and administration. Directors of a Missouri nonprofit corporation generally must act in good faith, with ordinary prudence, and in a manner reasonably believed to be in the Association's best interests.

The original 1994 Declaration reserves certain development-related and amendment powers. Those provisions must be read together with their stated purposes and limitations, including restrictions affecting voting rights, mortgage-holder interests, and certain common-property rights. The scope of disputed authority ultimately depends on the governing documents and applicable law.

Powers Commonly Reserved to a Developer

• Complete development of the subdivision.
• Exercise rights specifically reserved in the Declaration.
• Make amendments when the Declaration expressly authorizes Developer amendments.
• Protect development rights during any applicable development period.

What the Developer Generally Cannot Do

• Exercise powers beyond those reserved in the Declaration.
• Disregard express limitations contained in the Declaration.
• Eliminate approvals the Declaration expressly requires.
• Change voting rights except as authorized by the Declaration.
• Impair protected owner or lender rights where approval is required.
• Ignore amendment procedures required by the governing documents.
• Continue exercising a reserved power after that power has expired or terminated, if the Declaration imposes such a limit.

Responsibilities Commonly Assigned to the Board

• Administer and enforce recorded restrictions.
• Maintain common property and Association assets.
• Collect assessments and manage Association finances.
• Conduct Association business and maintain records.
• Adopt rules when authorized by the governing documents.

What the Board Generally Cannot Do

• Create new restrictive covenants unless authorized by the Declaration.
• Amend recorded restrictions outside the Declaration's amendment procedures.
• Adopt rules that conflict with the Declaration.
• Exercise powers beyond those granted by the governing documents or applicable law.
• Disregard notice, voting, approval, certification, or recordkeeping procedures that apply.
• Treat an internal policy as though it were a recorded property restriction.

Prospective Enforcement

Prospective enforcement generally means a new rule applies only after it becomes effective. This is the most common approach because property owners receive notice of the new requirements before undertaking future construction, improvements, or activities.

Examples may include future home additions, fences, accessory structures, landscaping, or other improvements constructed after an amendment becomes effective.

Retroactive Enforcement

Retroactive enforcement generally means attempting to apply a newly adopted rule to structures, improvements, uses, or conduct that already existed before the amendment became effective.

Because retroactive application may affect completed improvements or previously existing property rights, the governing documents and amendment language are especially important. Whether retroactive enforcement is permitted depends on the Declaration, the amendment itself, any transition language, and applicable law.

How to Evaluate Which Applies

• Does the Declaration authorize the type of amendment involved?
• Does the amendment expressly state that it applies to existing conditions?
• Does it include a transition period or grandfather provision?
• Would applying it to existing conditions affect previously established rights?
• Do applicable statutes or court decisions limit retroactive application?

Grandfathering Existing Conditions

Some amendments expressly allow structures, improvements, or uses that lawfully existed before the amendment became effective to continue even though similar future improvements must comply with the new rule. These are commonly called grandfather clauses or nonconforming use provisions.

Whether grandfather protection exists depends on the wording of the recorded amendment and the governing documents.

Vested Property Rights

In some situations, property owners may acquire vested property rights based on rights that existed under the governing documents and applicable law when an improvement or use was lawfully established.

Whether vested rights exist depends on the specific facts, the Declaration, applicable statutes, and court decisions. Not every existing structure or use automatically becomes vested, and not every amendment affects previously established rights in the same way.

Common HOA Examples

• Existing sheds or accessory structures.
• Existing fences, pools, or driveways.
• Existing landscaping or screening.
• Existing architectural improvements.
• Existing property uses that were lawful before an amendment.

What Grandfathering Means

A grandfather clause generally protects an existing structure, improvement, or use from a later-adopted restriction. The existing condition may be allowed to remain even though a similar future project would have to comply with the newer rule.

How Grandfather Protection May Arise

• The amendment expressly states that existing conditions may continue.
• The governing documents contain a transition or nonconforming-use provision.
• The amendment applies only to future construction, improvements, or uses.
• Applicable law protects certain existing lawful conditions from later restrictions.

Possible Limits on Grandfathering

• Major replacement, expansion, relocation, or reconstruction may trigger current requirements.
• Abandoning or discontinuing a protected use may affect continued protection.
• A grandfather clause may contain time limits, maintenance requirements, or other conditions.
• An existing condition may still be subject to nuisance, safety, maintenance, or other valid rules.

Common Examples

• An existing fence that was permitted before height limits changed.
• An existing shed or accessory structure built before new placement rules.
• An existing pool, driveway, or landscaping feature predating an amendment.
• An existing property use that was lawful before a new restriction was adopted.

What a Vested Right Is

A vested right is an existing right that may receive protection from later changes, depending on the facts, governing documents, and applicable law. The concept focuses on whether the right was already established rather than merely expected.

Factors That May Be Considered

• Whether the structure, improvement, or use was lawful when established.
• Whether required approvals had been obtained or were deemed satisfied.
• Whether substantial work, expense, or reliance occurred before the rule changed.
• Whether the Declaration or amendment expressly preserves or limits existing rights.
• Whether applying the later rule would materially impair an already established property interest.

What Does Not Automatically Create a Vested Right

• A future plan that was never approved or started.
• A mere expectation that the rules would never change.
• An unlawful structure, improvement, or use.
• A condition that did not satisfy applicable requirements when created.

Relationship to Grandfathering

Grandfathering usually comes from language allowing an existing condition to continue. Vested rights may involve a broader legal question about whether an already established property right can be impaired by a later change. The two concepts can overlap, but they are not identical.

Understanding the Declaration, Bylaws, amendments, and applicable law helps homeowners participate in community governance, evaluate proposed changes, and better understand how decisions may affect their property.

1. United States Constitution
2. Missouri Constitution
3. Missouri State Laws
4. Recorded Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions
5. Properly Adopted and Recorded Amendments
6. Articles of Incorporation
7. Association Bylaws
8. Board Rules and Regulations
9. Committee Policies and Administrative Procedures

The Declaration is the primary community document governing property rights and restrictions. The Bylaws govern internal operations, while Board and committee procedures should remain consistent with higher-ranking authority.