Gould,

Thanks for the legal definition of covenants, but covenants are used in
cities all the time. A developer buys a tract of land, he then set up
covenants for that tract of land. It is also very common for cities to enact
laws that do the exact same thing as a covenant. Cities can designate an
area as a historic district and have architectural committees who need to
approve any changes made to your property, they need to approve the color
you plan on painting your house, where you trash cans can be stored, how
quickly you need to remove the trash cans from the street, if you are
allowed to have a basketball hoop visible from the front of the street, if
you are allowed to keep cars and/or boats on the street or even visible from
the street. The laws can be stricter than the majority of HOA covenants.
These laws are enacted because it provides homeowners and banks confidence
to invest the money necessary to improve the property, and give them some
assurance that the home's value will not be depreciated due to your neighbor
painting his house purple polka dots. The city approve the laws because it
revitalizes inner city neighborhoods.

Again, in your bigoted mind, this is something you believe you only find in
the lily white suburbs (which have not been lily white for a long time). Do
you think minorities are too stupid to understand the benefits of community
standards that will increase the value of their property? The fact that you
find a neighborhood without any zoning, architectural guidelines or property
use laws a benefit, says you should not live in a neighborhood with a HOA,
or a historic district. My guess is those people who live in those
communities are very glad you are not living next to them.

I am curious as to why you are upset about those people who chose to live in
the suburbs? Why do you think minorities do not live in the suburbs? You
seem to live in a time warp where you believe nothing has changed since the
60's. In the last 40 years the world has changed, but your understanding of
the world has not.


"Gould 0738" wrote in message
...
In most cities the
inner city is becoming gentrified. Young professionals are buying homes
in
the city, getting strict zoning and covenants passed so they will have
their
investments protected.

You can't just "pass" a covenant.
Covenants are a burden on the title, just like an easement. They work in
brand
new suburban developments because the original owner of the land, the
developer, draws up the covenants for the "homeowner's association" and
passes
titles burdened with the covenants to the buyers of individual homes and
lots.
The title remains burdened as the properties continue to resell. A
majority of
members in most HOA's can vote to disband the covenant, but nobody can
come to
an existing property owner of record and say. "We've formed a home owner's
association on the other side of the street. We demand that you move your
garbage cans from your side yard to the back, take down your basketball
hoop,
paint the siding one of these six approved colors, and get that boat and
trailer out of your driveway......"

At least in this neck of the woods, and with out real estate laws in this
state, y'are talking through your hat.

When zoning changes, existing uses are "grandfathered" in, property owners
are
not customarily forced to tear down a structure or change the use of a
property
that predates a zoning change. A zoning change will effect future use.