Lake Devonshire Homeowners’ Association Encapsulated List of Owners’ Rules and Regulations
Owners of lots in the Lake Devonshire Subdivision are subject to the Restrictive Covenants on file in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Champaign County, Illinois. This document requires the establishment of an Aesthetic and Land Use Review Committee and the Lake Devonshire Homeowners Association (LDHA) and its Board. Since the Restrictive Covenants is a lengthy legal document, the information in this document is summarized below for the benefit of homeowners in the Lake Devonshire Subdivision.
Lake Devonshire Homeowners Association
The Lake Devonshire Homeowners Association (LDHA) was established to own and maintain Lake Devonshire as well as the commons areas in the subdivision. All owners of single family lots and multi-family units in the Lake Devonshire Subdivision are automatically members of LDHA. Members receive the LDHA Newsletter semi-annually, Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter editions. The LDHA board consists of six voting members elected for staggered three year terms, three owners from multi-family units and three owners from single family units. Each year all LDHA members are invited to the annual business meeting typically held on the second Tuesday of January at 7:00 pm. An announcement of the time and place of the annual meeting appears in the Fall/Winter LDHA Newsletter mailed a month prior to the annual meeting. At the annual meeting a member from the single family units and a member from the multi-family units are elected to the Board. Each housing unit has one vote.
General Powers of the Board
The Board shall establish, acquire and or pay for the following:
The Board typically meets monthly on the second Wednesday of the month, except in the months of June, July, and August. Any LDHA member may attend a Board meeting. Contact the President of the Board (listed in the newsletter) to determine the time and place of the next Board meeting.
Aesthetic and Land Use Review Committee
This committee is specified in the covenants for the purpose of promoting the residential development of the Lake Devonshire Subdivision and enhancing the property values of all lots and improvements to be placed thereon for the benefit of all present owners of such lots and their respective successors of interest. The committee consists of one representative from the single family units and one representative from the multi-family units appointed by the LDHA Board.
No building, dwelling, fence, sidewalk, wall, drive, tent, awning, sculpture, pole, hedge, mass planting or other structural excavation shall be erected, constructed, altered, maintained or commenced upon, under or above or moved upon any part of said subdivision unless the plans and specifications thereof have been submitted to and approved by the Aesthetics and Land Use Review Committee. If the committee fails to approve or reject any plan or matter within thirty (30) days after plans or specifications have been submitted to it, or if no suit to enjoin construction has been commenced prior to the completion thereof, approval shall be conclusively presumed and the related covenants shall be deemed to have been fully complied with. The approval by this committee shall not release the applicant from all the required and necessary permits and applications as required by the City of Champaign for construction.
To submit a plan for approval, consult a recent LDHA Newsletter to obtain the names and contact information for the current members of this committee. If they cannot be contacted, contact an officer of the LDHA Board.
Allowed Uses of Lake Devonshire
The following set of Rules, Regulations, and Maintenance Guidelines have been adopted by the Board.
Boats – Boats must be powered only by sail, paddle or electric/trolling motor. Row boats, paddle boats, canoes, skiffs, jon boats and sailboats are authorized. Inflatable rafts are authorized if they have sides which prevent occupants from having direct contact with the water. In addition to any state registration requirements, all boats must be registered (free of charge) with the designated LDHA member. A boat platform may also be rented. Consult the LDHA Newsletter for contact information. Boats must at all times be attended by an adult member of the LDHA. Each boat occupant must be provided with a life jacket of USCG approved floatation device. Each owner shall be allowed to maintain 2 boats on the lake. Boats are permitted between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. from March 15 through November 15.
Fishing - Fishing is limited to members, their immediate family and accompanied guests. Guests must be accompanied by an owner on every occasion. Non-accompanied guests will be asked to leave. Lake Devonshire does not fall under the private lake exception to the IDOC licensing rules. Therefore, in order to be legal, all persons must have a valid license. Fishing is allowed from 1 hour prior to sunrise to 1 hour after sunset. A policy of catch and release is designated. All fish are to be returned to the lake with the least possible trauma. EXCEPTION: Any bluegill/sunfish may be kept a well as certain sizes of other types of fish based on their abundance in the lake in a given year. See the most recent Newsletter for details. State catch laws apply. Conventional rod and reel fishing is authorized.
Ice Skating and Ice Fishing – permitted at the risk of the individual during daylight hours after 8 a.m.
Picnicking, Hiking and General Recreation – Members of the LDHA may use the common areas for picnicking, hiking or general recreation games. Common courtesies and rules of good conduct apply.
Prohibited Uses of Lake Devonshire
Violations and Penalties
Violation of the Rules and Regulations contained herein by a member or guest of a member, or tenant of a home, apartment, or condominium may carry a penalty up to $100.00 per day of violation to be assessed by the Board against said owner.
Maintenance Guidelines
Parking Regulations
No trailers, boats, or motor vehicles, except passenger vehicles, shall be parked on the streets of this subdivision for more than one night. No trailers, boats, or motor vehicles, except passenger vehicles, shall be parked on any lot or driveway of this subdivision for more than 24 hours, unless said trailer, boat, or motor vehicle is parked in a garage or other suitable shelter.
For homeowners on Coral Cove Drive, Devonshire Court, Georgetown Circle and Country Lake Drive, please remind your visitors not to park on the street at the circle end of these streets. Cars parked on the street block traffic going around the circle and often times the traffic will drive up on the grass to get by the parked cars. Please have your guests park in the parking spaces on the circle or farther up the street (with the exception of Devonshire Court where there is no “up the street”).
Owners of lots in the Lake Devonshire Subdivision are subject to the Restrictive Covenants on file in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds of Champaign County, Illinois. This document requires the establishment of an Aesthetic and Land Use Review Committee and the Lake Devonshire Homeowners Association (LDHA) and its Board. Since the Restrictive Covenants is a lengthy legal document, the information in this document is summarized below for the benefit of homeowners in the Lake Devonshire Subdivision.
Lake Devonshire Homeowners Association
The Lake Devonshire Homeowners Association (LDHA) was established to own and maintain Lake Devonshire as well as the commons areas in the subdivision. All owners of single family lots and multi-family units in the Lake Devonshire Subdivision are automatically members of LDHA. Members receive the LDHA Newsletter semi-annually, Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter editions. The LDHA board consists of six voting members elected for staggered three year terms, three owners from multi-family units and three owners from single family units. Each year all LDHA members are invited to the annual business meeting typically held on the second Tuesday of January at 7:00 pm. An announcement of the time and place of the annual meeting appears in the Fall/Winter LDHA Newsletter mailed a month prior to the annual meeting. At the annual meeting a member from the single family units and a member from the multi-family units are elected to the Board. Each housing unit has one vote.
General Powers of the Board
The Board shall establish, acquire and or pay for the following:
- Annual assessments for maintenance, improvement, and operation of the lake and the commons area
- Special assessment for capital improvements
- Any taxes for the property owned by LDHA
- Public liability insurance
- A policy insuring the members of the Board, their agents and employees, and the members against any liability to the public
- Establish committees as it sees fit
- All vouchers for payment of expenditures by the Board shall be signed by the designated officer or officers of the Board
- The Board may engage the services of an agent to manage the property
- The Board has no authority to conduct an active business for profit
- Formulate policies for the administration, management and operation of the property
- Adopt administrative rules and regulations
- To provide for the designation, hiring and removal of employees and other personnel, and to engage or contract for the services of others and to make purchases for the maintenance, repair, replacement, administration, management and operation of the commons area and the lake
- To exercise all the powers and duties of the Board
The Board typically meets monthly on the second Wednesday of the month, except in the months of June, July, and August. Any LDHA member may attend a Board meeting. Contact the President of the Board (listed in the newsletter) to determine the time and place of the next Board meeting.
Aesthetic and Land Use Review Committee
This committee is specified in the covenants for the purpose of promoting the residential development of the Lake Devonshire Subdivision and enhancing the property values of all lots and improvements to be placed thereon for the benefit of all present owners of such lots and their respective successors of interest. The committee consists of one representative from the single family units and one representative from the multi-family units appointed by the LDHA Board.
No building, dwelling, fence, sidewalk, wall, drive, tent, awning, sculpture, pole, hedge, mass planting or other structural excavation shall be erected, constructed, altered, maintained or commenced upon, under or above or moved upon any part of said subdivision unless the plans and specifications thereof have been submitted to and approved by the Aesthetics and Land Use Review Committee. If the committee fails to approve or reject any plan or matter within thirty (30) days after plans or specifications have been submitted to it, or if no suit to enjoin construction has been commenced prior to the completion thereof, approval shall be conclusively presumed and the related covenants shall be deemed to have been fully complied with. The approval by this committee shall not release the applicant from all the required and necessary permits and applications as required by the City of Champaign for construction.
To submit a plan for approval, consult a recent LDHA Newsletter to obtain the names and contact information for the current members of this committee. If they cannot be contacted, contact an officer of the LDHA Board.
Allowed Uses of Lake Devonshire
The following set of Rules, Regulations, and Maintenance Guidelines have been adopted by the Board.
Boats – Boats must be powered only by sail, paddle or electric/trolling motor. Row boats, paddle boats, canoes, skiffs, jon boats and sailboats are authorized. Inflatable rafts are authorized if they have sides which prevent occupants from having direct contact with the water. In addition to any state registration requirements, all boats must be registered (free of charge) with the designated LDHA member. A boat platform may also be rented. Consult the LDHA Newsletter for contact information. Boats must at all times be attended by an adult member of the LDHA. Each boat occupant must be provided with a life jacket of USCG approved floatation device. Each owner shall be allowed to maintain 2 boats on the lake. Boats are permitted between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. from March 15 through November 15.
Fishing - Fishing is limited to members, their immediate family and accompanied guests. Guests must be accompanied by an owner on every occasion. Non-accompanied guests will be asked to leave. Lake Devonshire does not fall under the private lake exception to the IDOC licensing rules. Therefore, in order to be legal, all persons must have a valid license. Fishing is allowed from 1 hour prior to sunrise to 1 hour after sunset. A policy of catch and release is designated. All fish are to be returned to the lake with the least possible trauma. EXCEPTION: Any bluegill/sunfish may be kept a well as certain sizes of other types of fish based on their abundance in the lake in a given year. See the most recent Newsletter for details. State catch laws apply. Conventional rod and reel fishing is authorized.
Ice Skating and Ice Fishing – permitted at the risk of the individual during daylight hours after 8 a.m.
Picnicking, Hiking and General Recreation – Members of the LDHA may use the common areas for picnicking, hiking or general recreation games. Common courtesies and rules of good conduct apply.
Prohibited Uses of Lake Devonshire
- Wading, swimming, floating, rafting (other than approved raft), tubing, scuba diving or any other activity which involves direct contact with the lake water
- Watercraft over 18 feet in length
- Fishing by using trotlines, nets, spears or any other method other than hook and rod
- The construction of permanent or temporary docks or other projections out into the lake – exception: boat platforms are available for rent – see newsletter for details
- The use of firearms or other weapons for hunting or target shooting. Use of bow and arrows or recreational games involving pointed projectiles
- Snowmobiles
- No dumping of aquarium pets, live bait fish or reptiles
- Do not feed waterfowl (ducks or geese)
- Do not use any fertilizers or herbicides on lawns that drain directly into the lake
- Do not discharge any foreign materials into the storm sewers, especially oil and grease, and please remove leaves and other materials that may enter storm sewer inlets
- Do not use detergents when washing cars
- No plants are to be planted along the shore or in the lake
Violations and Penalties
Violation of the Rules and Regulations contained herein by a member or guest of a member, or tenant of a home, apartment, or condominium may carry a penalty up to $100.00 per day of violation to be assessed by the Board against said owner.
Maintenance Guidelines
- All litter and debris found in the commons area shall be picked up and properly disposed
- The shoreline protection in place around the lake perimeter of nonexclusive easement areas shall be replaced as necessary and any surrounding soil lost shall be replaced and re-sodded; no fertilizer shall be used
- Grass in commons areas and weeds along the shoreline shall be mowed and trimmed regularly
- Aquatic weeds growing in the shallow water along the shoreline shall be cut or cleared and disposed of properly
- Insect control may be required
Parking Regulations
No trailers, boats, or motor vehicles, except passenger vehicles, shall be parked on the streets of this subdivision for more than one night. No trailers, boats, or motor vehicles, except passenger vehicles, shall be parked on any lot or driveway of this subdivision for more than 24 hours, unless said trailer, boat, or motor vehicle is parked in a garage or other suitable shelter.
For homeowners on Coral Cove Drive, Devonshire Court, Georgetown Circle and Country Lake Drive, please remind your visitors not to park on the street at the circle end of these streets. Cars parked on the street block traffic going around the circle and often times the traffic will drive up on the grass to get by the parked cars. Please have your guests park in the parking spaces on the circle or farther up the street (with the exception of Devonshire Court where there is no “up the street”).