Hillview Farms
Neighborhood Association Rules

The Hillview Farms Covenants are listed below for the convenience of its residents. Or they can be downloaded in Microsoft Word Format.

DECLARATION OF RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS
OF HILLVIEW FARMS

JTR, a Tennessee limited liability company (“Declarant”) does hereby submit the real property in Wilson County, Tennessee, described in Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference (the “Property”), and does hereby declare that the property shall by held and conveyed subject to the following terms, covenants, restrictions, and conditions, which are hereby adopted as covenants to run with the land and bind all present and future owners of the property.

ARTICLE I.

Definitions: In the documents, as defined below, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

Section 1.1 Additional Property. The real property described in Exhibit B, attached hereto and by reference made a part hereof.

Section 1.2 ARB. The Architectural Review Board described in Article IX hereof.

Section 1.3 Association. Hillview Farms Owner’s Association, an unincorporated homeowner’s association.

Section 1.4 Board. The board of directors of the Association.

Section 1.5 Bylaws. The bylaws of the Association, as they may be amended from time to time.

Section 1.6 Common Area. Each portion of the Development other than a Lot and portions of the Property that have been conveyed to applicable governmental authorities, such as public streets.

Section 1.7 Common Expenses. The expenses or financial liabilities for the operation of the Property. These include:
a. Expenses of administration, maintenance, repair or replacement of the
Common area;
b. Expenses declared to be Common Expenses by the Documents;
c. Expenses agreed upon as Common Expenses by the Board; and
d. Such reasonable reserves as may be established by the Board, whether held in trust or by the Association, for repair, replacement, or addition to the Common Area or any other real or personal property acquired or held by the Association.

Section 1.8 Declarant JTR, LLC, a Tennessee limited liability company or its successor.

Section 1.9 Declarant’s Rights. The rights reserved by the Declarant under Article
VI of this Declaration.

Section 1.10 Declaration. This document, including any amendments and any Supplemental Declarations that may be recorded as provided in Article VII.

Section 1.11 Director. A member of the Board of Directors.

Section 1.12 Documents. The Declaration, the Plat, the Bylaws, and the Rules as they be amended from time to time. Any exhibit, schedule, or certification accompanying a Document is part of that Document.

Section 1.13 Improvements. Any residence, structure, fixture, or facility existing or to be constructed on the Property.

Section 1.14 Person. An individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, limited liability company, joint venture, government, government subdivision or agency, or other legal or commercial entity.

Section 1.15 Plat. The Plat for Hillview Farms, Phase I, of record in Book 22, page 96/97, Register’s Office for Wilson County, Tennessee, as it may be amended from time to time, together with the plats of any Additional Property that is annexed hereto, as provided in Article VII.

Section 1.16 Property. The land and all Improvements, easements, rights, and appurtenances, which have been submitted to this Declaration.

Section 1.17 Rules. Rules for the use of Lots and Common Area and for the conduct of persons on the Property, adopted by the Board pursuant to this Declaration.

Section 1.18 Security Interest. An interest in real estate or personal property, created by contract or conveyance, which secures payment or performance of an obligation. The term includes a lien created by a mortgage, deed of trust, trust deed, security deed, contract for deed, land sales contract, lease intended as security, assignment of lease or rents intended as security, pledge of an ownership interest in an Association, and any other consensual lien or title retention contract intended as security for an obligation.

Section 1.19 Lot. A portion of the Property designated for separate ownership as shown on the plat.

Section 1.20 Lot Owner. The Declarant or other Person who owns a Lot. A Lot Owner does not include a Person having an interest in a Lot solely as security for an obligation. The Declarant is the initial owner of any Lot created by this Declaration.

ARTICLE II.

Owners Association

Section 2.1 Membership. The record owners or owners of each Lot within the Property shall, by accepting a deed therefore, become a member of the Association and shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the Association and the terms and conditions of this Declaration.

Section 2.2 Voting Rights. Each Lot Owner shall be entitled to cast one (1) vote in the affairs of the Association for each Lot that it owns, except that the Declarant shall be entitled to cast four (4) votes for each Lot that it owns.

Section 2.3 Joint Ownership. If a Lot is owned of record jointly by more than one Person, the rights of membership in the Association arising from such Lot, including the right to vote shall be exercised jointly by the owners of such Lot.

Section 2.4 Leased Lots. If the record owner of a Lot leases it to another Person, the record owner shall nevertheless be entitled to cast the vote attributed to such Lot, unless the record owner provides otherwise by proxy.

Section 2.5 Trustee Ownership. If the record owner of a Lot holds title thereto a trustee, such record owner shall nevertheless have the exclusive rights to cast the vote attributed to such Lot, unless the record owner provides otherwise by proxy.

Section 2.6 Association Meetings: Action without a Meeting. Meetings of the Association shall be held as follows:

a. Annual Meetings. The annual meeting of the Association shall be held on the second
Tuesday of each January, for the purpose of electing Directors and for the transaction of such other business as may be brought before the meeting. Notice of the particular time and place of each annual meeting shall be delivered to or mailed to all members of the Association at least seven (7) days prior to the date of the meeting.

b. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Association may be called for any purpose by the Board or by Lot Owners holding at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the total votes. Notice of the date, time, and place of any special meeting must be mailed or delivered to all members of the Association at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting, and such notice must include a brief description of each matter to be addressed at the meeting. Only matters described in the notice may be considered at special meetings, unless all Lot Owners agree otherwise.

c. Quorum. The Association may hold a meeting only if a quorum is present. A quorum shall be present if fifty-one percent (51%) of the outstanding votes are present either in person or by proxy, but if less than such majority is present at a meeting, a majority of those present may adjourn the meeting from time to time without further notice, if the time and place to which the meeting is adjourned are fixed at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken and if the period of adjournment does not exceed thirty (30) days in any one (1) adjournment.
A proxy authorizing Lot Owner’s representative to vote only on a particular issue or issues being considered at a meeting shall count toward a quorum for consideration of other matters may be properly considered at such meeting.

d. Voting. Fifty-one percent (51%) of the votes present at a meeting of the Association in person or by proxy shall decide any questions brought before the meeting, except for items specifically requiring a different approval percentage under this Declaration.

e. Waiver of Notice. Any member of the Association who appears at a meeting, either in person or by proxy, shall by deemed to have waived notice of the time and place of the meeting. Any member may also waive notice in writing.

f. Voting by Proxy. Any Lot Owner may cast his vote at any Association meeting by written proxy, which may be general or limited and which shall be delivered to the Board at such meeting.

g. Place of Meetings. All meetings of the Association shall be held in Wilson County, Tennessee, at a place to be designated in the notice of meeting.

h. Action without a Meeting. The Association may take any action without a meeting by resolution signed by Lot Owners holding at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the votes.

ARTICLE III.

Board of Directors

Section 3.1 Board of Directors. The affairs of the Association shall be managed by a board.

Section 3.2 Number of Directors: Membership. The Board shall consist of three (3) Directors, unless the Association adopts a resolution establishing a larger Board. Directors shall be natural persons who have attained the age of eighteen (18) years and members of the Association.

Section 3.3 Elections: Term of Office. Directors shall be elected by at least fifty-one percent (51%) of the votes cast (on a noncumulative basis) at a meeting of the Association. Each director shall hold office until the next annual meeting of the Association and until his successor has been elected or until his earlier resignation, removal from office, or death. Directors may be removed from office without cause by a majority of the votes present at a meeting of the Association. Notwithstanding the foregoing, as long as Declarant owns any Lot, Declarant shall have the right to appoint the Directors of the Association.

Section 3.4 Regular Meetings. A regular meeting of the Board shall be held without notice immediately after, and at the same place as, the annual meeting of the Association. The Board may also provide, by resolution, the time and place for the holding of additional regular meetings without additional notice.

Section 3.5 Special Meetings. Special meetings of the Board may be called by not fewer than thirty-four percent (34%) of the Directors. The Director(s) calling a special meeting shall deliver or mail to all other Directors, at least five (5) days before the date of such meeting, notice of the time and place of the meeting and notice of the subjects to be considered. Only matters described in the notice may be considered at special meetings, unless notice of the agenda is waived pursuant to Section 3.9.

Section 3.6 Action without a Meeting. The Board of Directors may take any action without the necessity of a meeting by resolution signed by all of the Directors.

Section 3.7 Quorum. The Directors may hold a meeting only if a quorum is present, but if less than such majority is present at a meeting, a majority of those present may adjourn the meeting from time to time without further notice, if the time and place to which the meeting is adjourned are fixed at the meeting at which the adjournment is taken and if the period of adjournment does not exceed thirty (30) days in any one (1) adjournment. A majority of the Directors in office shall constitute a quorum of the Board of Directors.

Section 3.8 Voting. Each Director shall be entitled to one (1) vote. The vote of a majority of the Directors present at any meeting shall decide any questions brought before the meeting.

Section 3.9 Waiver of Notice. A Director’s attendance at a meeting of the Association shall constitute waiver of notice of the time and place thereof. Notice of the subject(s) to be considered at a special meeting of the Directors may be waived be written waiver at each Director’s option.

Section 3.10 Compensation. Directors shall not be compensated, directly of indirectly, for services rendered in their capacities as Directors unless it is so authorized by the Association.

Section 3.11 Officers. The Board shall appoint a President, Secretary, Treasurer, and such officers as it may decide. The President of the Board, if present, shall preside at all Board meetings and Association meetings. The Treasurer of the Board shall keep the financial records of the Association. The Secretary of the Board shall keep the minutes, send notices of all meetings, and keep other appropriate records of the activities of the Board and the Association.

Section 3.12 Powers and Duties. The Board shall act with reasonable promptness upon any requests made by Lot Owners seeking Board approval pursuant to any provision of this Declaration, shall have the power to perform all actions that may be appropriate in the performance of its duties hereunder, including, but not limited to, the following:
a. Hire attorneys, architects, landscaping, and engineering consultants or other contractors or employees;

b. Obtain insurance;

c. Adopt Rules regarding the use and occupancy of Lots and the Common Area and the activities of occupants;

d. Acquire, hold, encumber, and convey in the Association’s name any right, title, or interest to real property or personal property located on or used in connection with the Common Area.

e. Grant easements for any period of time including permanent easements, and leases, licenses, and concessions for no more than one (1) year, through or over the Common Area;

f. Impose a reasonable charge for late payment of assessments and, after notice and opportunity to cure, levy reasonable fines for violations of this Declaration, Bylaws, and Rules of the Association;

g. Provide for the indemnification of the Association’s officers and Board of Directors and maintain Director’s and officers’ liability insurance;

h. Exercise any other powers conferred by this Declaration or the Bylaws;

i. Exercise any other power that may be exercised in this state by legal entities of the same type as the Association;

j. Exercise any other power necessary and proper for the governance and operation of the Association; and

k. Establish committees of Directors or members of the Association, permanent and standing, to perform any of the above functions under specifically delegated administrative standards, as designated in the resolution establishing the committee. All committee action shall be either approved, modified, or rejected by the Board of Directors.

Section 3.13 Delegation. The Board may delegate any of its duties hereunder committee,
persons or entities as it may select.

Section 3.14 Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Association shall correspond with the calendar year.

ARTICLE IV.

Assessments

Section 4.1 Assessments. The Association, either acting as a whole or through the Board, may assess the Lot Owners as follows:

a. To provide, maintain, and repair (where necessary and to the extent not provided by
public authority), all easements, common areas, subdivision signs, lighting, sidewalks, public rights-of-way, and roads and streets not dedicated to a governmental body within the Property;

b. To provide Lot Owners with garbage and trash collection and disposal, if needed, to supplement that provided by public authority;

c. To install and maintain safety devices, bus stops, park benches, and signs upon any street or walkway within the Property, if needed, to supplement that provided by public authority;

d. To provide Lot Owners with snow removal services, if needed, to supplement that provided by public authority;

e. To provide any other services or perform (or have performed) any other maintenance or repair function for the general benefit of the Lot Owner;

f. To provide funds for the general operation of the Association; and

g. To perform, authorize, and direct any and all acts within the scope of this Declaration.

Section 4.2 Amount and Allocation of Assessments. The total amount of assessments for any
fiscal year shall be allocated among the Lot Owners pro rate according to the number of Lots owned. Joint owners of a Lot shall be jointly and severally liable for assessments relating thereto. Assessments shall be payable in such installments as the Board may approve.

Section 4.3 Budget Adoption and Ratification. Within thirty (30) days after adoption of a proposed budget for the Property, the Board of Directors shall provide a summary of the budget to each Lot Owner, and shall set a date for a meeting of the Lot Owners to consider ratification of the budget not less than fourteen (14) nor more than thirty (30) days after mailing of the summary. Unless at the meeting fifty-one percent (51%) of the votes reject the budget, the budget is ratified. If the proposed budget is rejected, the periodic budget last ratified by the Lot Owners continues until the Lot Owners ratify a budget proposed by the Board of Directors.

Section 4.4 Ratification of Non-budgeted Assessments. If the Board of Directors votes to levy an assessment not included in the current budget, in an amount greater than fifteen percent (15%) of the current annual operating budget, the Board of Directors shall submit such assessment to the Lot Owners for ratification in the same manner as a budget under Section 4.3.

Section 4.5 Certificate of Payment of Assessments. The Association upon written request shall furnish to a Lot Owner a statement in recordable form setting out the amount of unpaid assessments against the Lot. The statement must be furnished within twenty (20) days after the receipt of the request and is binding on the Association, the Board of Directors, and each Lot Owner.

Section 4.6 Commencement of Assessments. Assessments with respect to a Lot shall begin on the first day of the month in which conveyance of such Lot to a Lot Owner other than the Declarant occurs.

Section 4.7 Collection of Assessments. By accepting title to their respective Lots, the Lot Owners shall be deemed to have personally obligated themselves to pay all assessments due on their respective Lot when purchased or accruing thereafter. Any assessment or installment of assessment not paid within thirty (30) days after it due date shall bear interest from the due date at the lower of eighteen percent (18%) per annum or the maximum legal contract rate then permitted by applicable law. The Association, acting through the Board, may initiate legal action against the delinquent Lot Owner to collect past due assessments, plus interest and costs of collection, including reasonable attorneys fees, or the Association may institute proceedings to foreclose the Association’s lien, as set forth below, against the Lot to which the assessment relates, or the Association may seek both of said remedies or any other remedy available by law or equity.

Section 4.8 Creation of Lien. The Association is hereby granted a lien on each Lot to secure the payment of assessments. A lien under this Section is prior to all other liens and encumbrances on a Lot except: (a) a lien and encumbrances recorded before the recordation of the Declaration; (b) a first Security Interest on the Lot recorded before the date on which the assessment sought to be enforced became delinquent; and (c) liens for real estate taxes and other governmental assessments or charges against the Lot. Recording of the Declaration constitutes record notice and perfection of the lien. Further recording of a claim of lien for assessment under this Section is not required.

Section 4.9 Enforcement of Lien. The Association’s lien may be foreclosed as a mortgage or deed of trust on real estate is foreclosed under Tennessee law. Further:
a. In any action by the Association to collect assessment or to foreclose a lien for unpaid assessments, the court may appoint a receiver of the Lot Owner to collect all sums alleged to be due from that Lot Owner prior to or during the pendency of the action.

b. If a holder of a first or second Security Interest in a Lot forecloses that Security Interest, the purchaser at the foreclosure sale is not liable for any unpaid assessments against that Lot which became due before the sale. Any unpaid assessments not satisfied from the proceeds of sale or as a personal obligation of the Lot Owner, may, at the option of the Board of Directors, become Common Expenses collectible from all the Lot Owners, including the purchaser.

c. In the case of a nonjudicial foreclosure, the Association shall give reasonable notice of its action to each lien holder of a Lot whose interest would be affected.

d. Any payments received by the Association in the discharge of a Lot Owner’s obligation may be applied to the oldest balance due.

Section 4.10 Extinguishment of Lien. A lien for an unpaid assessment is extinguished unless
Proceedings to enforce to enforce the lien are instituted within three (3) years after the full amount of the assessment becomes due; provided, that if an Owner of a Lot subject to a lien under this Section files a petition for relief under the United States Bankruptcy Code, the period of time for instituting proceedings to enforce the Association’s lien shall be tolled until thirty (30) days after the automatic stay of proceedings under Section 362 of the Bankruptcy Code is lifted.

Section 4.11 No Waiver of Liability for Assessment. No Lot Owner may exempt himself from liability for payment of the assessment by waiver of the use or enjoyment of the Common Area or by abandonment of the Lot against which the assessments are made.

Section 4.12 Personal Liability of Lot Owners. The Lot Owner of a Lot at the time an assessment or portion thereof is due and payable is personally liable for the assessment. Personal Liability for the assessment shall not pass to a successor in title to the Lot unless he or she agrees to assume the obligation.

ARTICLE V.

Maintenance, Repair, and Replacement

Section 5.1 Common Area. The Association shall maintain, repair, and replace the Common Area.

Section 5.2 Lots. Each Lot Owner shall maintain, repair, and replace, at his or her own expense, all portions of his Lot and all improvements located theron.

Section 5.3 Repairs Resulting From Negligence. Each Lot Owner will reimburse the Association for any damage to any other Lot or to the Common Area caused intentionally, negligently or by his failure to properly maintain, repair, or make replacements to his Lot. The Association will be responsible for damage to Lots caused intentionally, negligently or by its failure to maintain, repair or make replacements to the Common Area.

ARTICLE VI.

Declarant’s Rights

Section 6.1 Reservation of Declarant’s Rights. The Declarant reserves the following rights (the “Declarant’s Rights”):

a. The right to annex the Additional Property, as described in Article VII.

b. The right to construct utility lines, pipes, wires, ducts, conduits and other facilities across the Common Areas for the purpose of furnishing utility and other services to the Additional Property. The Declarant also reserves the right to withdraw and grant easements to public utility companies and to convey improvements within those easements anywhere in the Property not occupied by buildings, for the above mentioned purposes.

If the Declarant grants any such easements, Exhibit A will be amended to include reference to the recorded easement.

c. The right to complete improvements indicated on the Plat.

d. The right to withdraw any of the Property subjected to this Declaration from the terms hereof, so long as Declarant owns at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the Lots subject hereof. Easements may be reserved to such withdrawn land.

e. The right to make the Property subject to a master association and to merge or consolidate the Property with another property of the same form of ownership.

f. The right to maintain any Lot owned by the Declarant or any portion of the Common Area as a model Lot or sales office or management office.

g. The right to perform repairs and construction work, and to store materials in secure areas, in Lots and in Common Area, and the further right to control all such work and repairs, and the right of access thereto, until its completion. All work may be performed by the Declarant without the consent or approval of the Board. The Declarant has such an easement through the Common Area as may be reasonably necessary for the purpose of discharging the Declarant’s obligations or exercising Declarant Rights. Such easement includes the right to convey utility and drainage easements to public utilities, municipalities, the State, riparian owners or upland owners to fulfill the plan of development for the Property.

h. The right to post signs and displays in the Common Area to promote sales of Lots, and to conduct general sales activities, in a manner as will not unreasonably disturb the rights of Lot Owners.

i. The right to retain all personal property and equipment used in the sales, management, construction, and maintenance of the premises that has not been represented as property of the Association. The Declarant reserves the right to remove from the Property, any and all goods and improvements used in Property, marketing and construction, whether or not they have become fixtures.

Section 6.2 Declarant Control of the Association. There shall be a period of Declarant control of
the Association, during which a Declarant, or persons designated by the Declarant, may appoint and remove the officers and members of the Board. The period of Declarant control shall terminate upon the earliest of:

a. Sixty (60) days after conveyance of twenty-five percent (25%) of the Lots to Lot Owners other than a Declarant;

b. Five (5) years after Declarant has ceased to offer Lots for sale in the ordinary course of business; or

c. Five (5) years after any right to annex Additional Property was last exercised.

Declarant may voluntarily surrender the right to appoint and remove officers and members of the Board before termination of that period, but in that event the Declarant may require for the duration of the period of Declarant control, that specified actions of the Association, as described in a recorded instrument executed by the Declarant, be approved by the Delarant before they become effective.

Section 6.3 Termination of Declarant Control. Upon the termination of any period of Declarant control, the Lot Owners shall elect a Board in accordance with the provisions of Article III.

Section 6.4 Interference with Declarant Rights. None of the Association, the Board, nor any Lot Owner may take any action or adopt any Rule that will interfere with or diminish any Declarant Right without the prior written consent of the Declarant.

ARTICLE VII

Annexation of Additional Property

Section 7.1 Annexation. Declarant shall have the unilateral right, privilege, and option, from time to time any time until all the Additional Property has been subjected to this Declaration or December 31, 2018 whichever is earlier, to subject all, or any portion of the annexation shall be accomplished be filing a Supplemental Declaration to this Declaration annexing such Property in the public records of Wilson County, Tennessee. Such Supplemental Declaration shall not require the consent of the Lot Owners or the Association. Any such annexation shall be effective upon the filing for record of such Supplemental Declaration signed by the Declarant (or the party to whom Declarant has transferred the right of annexation, as provided below), unless otherwise provided therein. Declarant shall have the unilateral right to transfer to any other person the said right, privilege, and option to annex the Additional Property which is herein reserved to Declarant, provided that such transferee or assignee shall be the developer of at least a portion of the real property described in Exhibit A or Exhibit B and that such transfer is memorialized in a written, recorded instrument executed by the Declarant.

Section 7.2 Acquisition of Additional Common Area. Declarant may convey to the Association additional real estate, improved or unimproved, located within the properties described in Exhibit A or Exhibit B which, upon conveyance or dedication to the Association, shall be accepted be the Association and thereafter shall be maintained by the Association at its expense for the benefit of all its Members.

Section 7.3 Amendment. This Article shall not be amended without the prior written consent of Declarant, so long as the Declarant owns any property described in Exhibit A or Exhibit B hereof.

Section 7.4 No Required Annexation. No provision of this Declaration shall be construed to require the Declarant or any other person or entity to annex any real property to the scheme of this Declaration nor shall any provision of the scheme of the Property prohibit any real property whether or not included within the description contained in Exhibit B owned by Declarant or any other person from being subject to any separate declaration or scheme of Property. The community contemplated by this
Declaration including parcels of ground to be annexed hereto may include a wide diversity of housing types and styles.
Section 7.5 Contents of Supplementary Declaration. The Supplementary Declaration referred to in this Article shall describe the real property to be annexed to the scheme of the Declaration and shall state that it is being made pursuant to the terms of this Declaration for the purpose of annexing the property described in the Supplementary Declaration to the scheme of this Declaration and extending the jurisdiction of the Association to cover the real estate so described in such Supplementary Declaration. The Supplementary Declaration may contain such supplemental provisions to this Declaration as may be necessary to reflect the different character, if any, of the real property being annexed or the various housing or community style characteristics and Property approaches to which the annexed land or parts thereof may be subjected, all of which may be significantly at variance with that of the Property.

Section 7.6 Effects of Supplementary Declaration. Lot Owners upon recordation of any Supplementary Declaration, also have a right and non-exclusive easement of enjoyment in and to the Common Area within the real property so annexed in accordance with the provisions of such Supplementary Declaration and an obligation to contribute to the cost of improvement, operation, and maintenance of such Common Area within the annexed lands in like manner as if such Common Area had been originally located within the Property as described in Exhibit A to this Declaration.

ARTICLE VIII.

Restrictions on Use, Alienation & Occupancy

Section 8.1 Use and Occupancy Restrictions. Subject to the Declarant Rights, the following use restrictions apply to all Lots and to the Common Area:

a. The use of each Lot is restricted to that of one detached single-family residence and accessory uses as permitted herein. Except for those activities conducted as a part of the marketing and Property program of the Declarant, no industry, business, trade or commercial activities, other than home professional pursuits without employees, public visits or nonresidential storage, mail, or other use of a Lot, shall be conducted, maintained or permitted in any part of a Lot, nor shall any Lot be used or rented for transient, hotel or motel purposes. A single-family residence is defined as a single housekeeping Lot, operating on a non-profit, non-commercial basis between its occupant.

b. No immoral, improper, or offensive or unlawful use may be made of the Property and Lot Owners shall comply with and conform to all applicable laws and regulations of the United States and of the State of Tennessee and all ordinances, rules, and regulations of Wilson County.