Design Review Committee General Policy on Fences

 Cory Lake Isles is a Deed Restricted Community. As per our restrictions, no decorative fences or walls are permitted in Cory Lake without written permission of the DRC and then only for reasons of privacy and safety (i.e. swimming pools, garden courtyards) or for the concealment of service areas (trash containers, mechanical equipment, etc.).   Perimeter fences or walls between property lines will not be approved by the DRC. For complete guidelines see Article X, paragraphs 10.16.d, and 10.17, Pages 29 and 31 of the Deed Restrictions and Page 2 of the Design Review Manual.

 When considering applications for fences the DRC first consults the Deed Restrictions and Design Review Manual.   If approval is considered once those standards have been met, The Board of the Property Owner’s Association has adopted some additional guidelines for fences that are approved.  

 In addition to the requirements stated on Pages 29 and 31 of the Deed Restrictions and Page 2 of the Design Review Manual, requests for fences that are granted by the DRC have to meet the following requirements:

1)      Cannot exceed 4 feet in height

2)      Standard yard fences be dark colored aluminum (black or dark gray)

3)      Dog runs are not permitted.

4)      Fences for privacy and safety are permitted, but generally are limited to swimming pools and garden courtyards and only in the back yard.

5)      There shall be no fenced area within a fenced back yard. 

6)      Fences on the Lake are severely discouraged.

7)      The fence must be placed no further forward than 2/3 back on the side façade of the house on each side.

8)      Fence cannot extend into conservation and must be 15 feet from the high water mark on the lake, or 15 feet from the tree line on conservation lots. Fences on the lake must have shrubbery on the exterior side of the fence.

9)      The fence must be installed no closer to the side property line than the side property line setback to allow planting and maintenance of shrubbery on the exterior side of the fence without encroachment on adjacent properties or to not affect the drainage swale between properties.

10)  Shrubbery must be used to reduce the visibility of the fence from adjoining properties, the street and the lake. The shrubbery used must be of a type (i.e., Hibiscus, Viburnum, Ligustrum), and maturity, initial planting of at least 5-gal size, must completely surround the exterior of the fence except for gate areas, and must be of sufficient breath and spacing to reduce visibility of the fence.

11)  An underground irrigation or sprinkling system capable of regularly and sufficiently irrigating 100% of the shrubbery must be installed as required by the Cory Lake Isles Deed Restrictions, Article 10, paragraph 10.16.h.

12)  The shrubbery and irrigation system must be installed at the same time as the fence is installed.

13)  The shrubbery must be properly maintained as required by Cory Lake Isles Deed Restrictions, Article XI, paragraph 11.4. Should any of the chosen shrubs die, they must be replaced to maintain the reduced visibility of the fence.

14)  Approved fences erected prior to November 2006 that do not meet the shrubbery requirements are grandfathered.

Special Rules for Production Builders:

 Productions Builders, aka Mercedes, Southern Crafted, Avatar, Windward have been granted some “blanket” variances by the Developer.   

 Fences on properties developed by these Production Builders are considered to have been given a variance if they meet the following conditions:

 1)      Any fence erected prior to June 2005 is grandfathered.

2)      Any fence erected after June 2005 and erected by the builder on behalf of the resident in advance of the house receiving a c/o is automatically approved provided it meets the guidelines as adopted by the DRC.   This means it’s in the back yard, the side yard fencing is no further forward than 2/3 back on the side façade of the house, etc.  

3)      Any property developed by a Production builder which did not have a fence as part of the original plan sold by the builder is subject to regular design review.