Covenants

History

All the properties on Kennebec Drive, Trotting Trail, Lariat Lane, and Kyleway Drive are bound by one or the other of the following protective covenants. Some of the properties on Kepley are also bound by these covenants. The language is almost identical in the two documents, but four lots had already been sold to individual owners when the developers, J. D. and Mabel Powell, who still owned all the other lots, filed the covenants in 1972, so the covenants were signed by the single owner/developer in the case of one document, and by the four new owners in the case of the other one.

In 2018 and early 2019, as the covenants approached the date of their original expiration, a group of residents of The Downs began to plan for how to deal with them. After considerable discussion by email and in neighborhood meetings, a consensus emerged that an attorney would be retained to draw up an extension of the original covenants until Jan. 1, 2050. The Declaration of Extension documents were filed in November 2019. They were signed by roughly four-fifths of Downs property owners at the time.

The Documents

The Downs Neighborhood Protective Covenants, with their respective Extension Declarations, in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, as they appear filed at the Durham County Office of Register of Deeds. (The consolidated "variorum" text below is more readable than the 1972 documents.)

• Covenants that apply to almost all lots in The Downs (PDF - 149KB) Extension Declaration (PDF - 1033 KB)
• Covenants that apply to original lots numbered 2, 3, 6, and 19 only (PDF - 282KB) Extension Declaration (PDF - 167 KB)

The Text

In the text below the slight variation in wording between the two versions of the Covenants, designated Version A and Version B, is indicated by prefacing the textual variant with "A:" or "B:", separated by a slash and enclosed within braces, thus: "{A: xxx / B: yyy}."

TRIANGLE TOWNSHIP
Durham County, N.C.
{A: Lots 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 / B: Lots 2, 3, 6, 19}, as recorded in Book of Maps 67, Page 84, Durham County Registry and known as Kingswood East as per map and survey by Smith and Smith, Surveyors, Apex, North Carolina dated April, 1971.

The intent of these covenants is to assure that all of the property owners and residents in this planned area will have maximum privacy, be able to utilize the land efficiently, and will be allowed to enjoy to the fullest the natural beauty of the countryside.

1. A building area or unit is defined as an area of land not less than two acres.


2. No building unit shall be used except for residential purposes. No structure shall be erected or allowed to remain on any building unit except one detached single family dwelling not exceeding two and one-half stories in height, which may be used and occupied as a residence for a single family, together with an apartment to be occupied by members of the same family, or domestic servants. There may also be located upon said building unit a private garage which may include quarters for servants of the occupants of dwelling and for storage facilities.


3. No building shall be located on any building unit which has a ground floor area of the main structure, exclusive of open porches and garages, of less than 1600± square feet for a dwelling of {A: less than one story / B: one story}, and 1000 square feet on first floor for a dwelling of more than one story.


4. No building shall be located nearer than 75 feet to the front line, or nearer than 75 feet to a side street line. No building shall be located nearer than 50 feet to an interior lot line. For the purpose of this covenant eaves, steps, and open porches shall not be considered as a part of the building, provided, however, that this shall not be construed to permit any portion of a building on a building unit to encroach upon another building unit.


5. No obnoxious or offensive activity shall be carried on upon any building unit, nor shall anything be done thereon which may be or become any annoyance to the neighborhood.


6. No animals, livestock, or poultry--except horses, ponies, and household pets--shall be raised, bred, or kept on any building unit.


7. No structure for the keeping of animals shall be constructed on any unit of less than four acres and any out building shall be located at least 200 feet from right-of-way line of the public street or road and 100 feet from an adjacent property line. No out building shall be located between the dwelling and the street or public road.


8. No structure of a temporary character, trailer, basement, tent, shack, garage, barn or other out building shall be used on any building unit at any time as a residence either temporarily or permanently.


9. No building unit shall be used or maintained as a dumping ground for rubbish, and no junk automobiles shall be allowed upon said property. Trash, garbage, or other waste shall not be kept except in sanitary containers.


10. All individual water supply systems, and sewer disposal systems shall be constructed and equipped in accordance with layouts approved by the Durham County Health Department or other agency having jurisdiction.


11. No building shall be constructed or used whereby imitation siding or other inferior materials are visible from the exterior of said structure.


12. Landscaping of areas not used for structures shall be done in a manner to preserve the natural forest or improve on the existing natural beauty, and prevent soil erosion. Only areas for lawns, gardens, pools, and play yards shall be cleared.


13. An easement is reserved over {A: 10 feet / B: 10'} along the property side lines and front lines for utility installation and maintenance or for drainage purposes.

These restrictions or any changes herein, made as herein provided, are to run with the land and shall be binding on all parties and persons claiming under them until {A: January 1, 2029, A.D. / B: January 1, 2020, A.D.}, at which time the said covenants and restrictions shall terminate. However, the restrictions herein contained may be extended in whole or in part for any definite additional period of time by a written declaration of the owners of two thirds of the lots within the area restricted hereby, and provided such declaration is recorded in the Office of the Register of Deeds for Durham County, North Carolina, {A: within / B: with} six months prior to January 1, 2020, A.D.

Enforcement shall be by proceedings at law or in equity against any persons violating or attempting to violate any covenants either to restrain violation or to recover damages.

Invalidation of any one of these covenants by judgment or court order shall in no way affect any of the other provisions which shall remain in full force and effect.

{A: J. D. Powell (SEAL)

Mabel M. Powell (SEAL)

/

B: Lloyd J. Osterman (SEAL) Linda P. Osterman (SEAL)

William R. Young M.D. (SEAL) Emily C. Young (SEAL)

Lewis M. Roberts M.D. (SEAL) Betty S. Roberts (SEAL)

Bill C. Wright M.D. (SEAL) Shirlene W. Wright (SEAL)}

Benefits Of The Covenants

The Covenants have served their purpose in several incidents.

• 1975    Lot 26 next to the Joiners was purchased to provide an easement for a road going from Kennebec through lot 26 to a large 34-acre lot which was purchased for a proposed development behind the Joiners, Buchanans and Moore/Kunst properties. When clear-cutting began in 1981, this action was blocked by enforcing the Covenants to prevent the use of the lot as a roadway rather than a single family residence and to prevent the lot from being clear-cut. More details in a neighbor's recollection and the Release and Agreement.



• 1998    Lot 26 was then purchased with the intent of building a barn and livestock facility (with no residence). This action was blocked by the Covenants to prevent the use of the lot as a farm. Details in a neighbor's recollection and the Civil Complaint.



• 1999    An existing home site had a large detached dog kennel built along the road in violation of the Covenants' set-back requirements and the dogs also became a noise and pollution nuisance. After we discussed the Covenants with the owner, the owner chose to move to a larger and more suitable location. More details in a neighbor's recollection and a letter to the owner from the neighbors.



• 2007    Lot 26 was most recently purchased with the intent of moving an existing house which had been split for two separate transports to the lot and to maintain a road from outside the Downs through the lot to Kennebec Drive. The county viewed the split house as two structures which were not permitted. The court responded to our concerns by issuing an injunction. The court refused to issue the necessary permits, thus stopping all work on the house. The house remains as a shell, without permits for foundation, electrical, plumbing, HVAC or septic system. Twenty junk cars were brought onto the property. Auto repair work overflowed from an auto repair shop on the dam onto 7808 Kennebec in the Downs. The numerous violations of the Covenants have yet to be resolved successfully, despite the sympathy of Durham County officials.