Schedule 'B'
Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions
Ascot Limited Partnership, the Declarant, is the owner of certain property in the
County of Fairfax, State of Virginia which is more particularly described on the attached
Schedule 'A'.
Now, therefore, Declarant hereby declares the Lots shown on the subdivision plat shall
be held, sold and conveyed subject to the following easements, restrictions, covenants,
and conditions, which are for the purpose of protecting the value and desirability of, and
which shall run with, the real estate property and be binding on all parties having any
right, title, or interest in the described properties or any part thereof, their heirs,
successors and assigns, and shall inure to the benefit of each owner thereof.
Article I
Definitions
Section 1. 'Association' shall mean and refer to the ASCOT
HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC. a Virginia corporation, its sucessors and assigns.
Section 2. 'Owner' shall mean and refer to the record owner,
whether one or more persons or entities, of a fees simple title to any Lot which is part
of the Properties, including contract sellers, but excluding those having such interest
merely as security for the performance of an obligation.
Section 3. 'Properties' shall mean and refer to that certain
real property hereinbefore described, and such additions thereto as may hereafter be
brought within the jurisdiction of the Association.
Section 4. 'Common Area' shall mean and refer to all real
property (including the improvements thereto owned by the Association for the common use
and enjoyment of the owners. The Common Area to be owned by the Association at the time of
the conveyance of the first lot is described on the plat, a copy of which is attached
hereto.
Section 5. 'Lot' shall mean and refer to the Lots in ASCOT
subdivision as shown upon the recorded subdivision plat, with the exception of Common
Area.
Section 6. 'Declarant' shall mean and refer to ASCOT LIMITED
PARTNERSHIP, a Virginia Limited Partnership, its successors and assigns, if such
successors and assigns acquire more than one undeveloped Lot from the Declarant for the
purpose of development.
Article II
Property Rights
Section 1. Owners Easements of Enjoyment.
Every owner shall a right and easement of enjoyment in and to the Common Area which shall
be appurtenant to and shall pass with the title to every Lot, subject to the following
provisions:
(a) the right of the Association to charge reasonable admission and
other fees for the use of any recreational facility situated upon the Common Area;
(b) the right of the Association to suspend the voting rights and right
to use of the recreational facilities by an owner for any period during which any
assessment against the Lot remains unpaid; and for a period not to exceed 60 days for any
infraction of its published rules and regulations;
(c) the right of the Association to dedicate or transfer all of any
part of the Common Area to any public agency, authority, or utility for such purpose and
subject to such conditions as may be agreed to by the members. No such dedication or
transfer shall be effective unless an instrument agreeing to such dedication or transfer
signed by two-thirds (2/3) of each class of members has been recorded.
Section 2. Delegation of Use.
Any owner may delegate in accordance with the Bylaws, his right of enjoyment to the Common
Areas and facilities to the members of his family, his tenants, or contract purchasers who
reside on the property.
Section 3.
Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Declaration, all right, title and interest in
and to the Common Area shall be subject to the provisions and requirements of the lawful
ordinances of the County of Fairfax, Virginia existing on the date of this Declaration
Article III
Membership and Voting Rights
Section 1. Every owner of a Lot which is subject to assessment
shall be a member of the Association. Membership shall be appurtenant to and may not be
separated from ownership of any Lot which is subject to assessment.
Section 2. The Association shall have two classes of voting
membership.
Class A. Class A members shall be all Owners, with
the exception of the Declarant, and shall be entitled to one vote for each Lot owned. When
more than one person holds an interest in any Lot, all such persons shall be members. The
vote for such a Lot shall be exercised as they determine, but in no event shall more than
one vote be cast with respect to any Lot.
Class B. The Class B member(s) shall be the Declarant and shall
be entitled to three (3) votes for each Lot owned. The Class B membership shall cease and
be converted to Class A membership on the happening of either of the following events,
whichever occurs earlier:
(a) when the total votes outstanding in the Class A
membership equal the total votes outstanding in the Class B membership, or
(b) on June 1, 1986.
Article IV
Covenants For Maintenance Assessments
Section 1. Creation of the Lien and Personal Obligation of
Assessments.
The Declarant, for each Lot owned within the Properties, hereby covenants, and each Owner
of any Lot by acceptance of a deed therefor, whether or not it shall be so expressed in
such deed, is deemed to covenant and agree to pay the Association: (1) annual assessments
or charges, and (2) special assessments for capital improvements, such assessments to be
established and collected as hereinafter provided. The annual and special assessments,
together with interest, costs and reasonable attorney's fees, shall be a charge on the
land and shall be a continuing lien upon the property against which each such assessment
is made. Each such assessment, together with interest, costs and reasonable attorney's
fees, shall also be the personal obligation of the person who was the Owner of such
property at the time when the assessment fell due. The personal obligation for delinquent
assessments shall not pass to his successors in title unless assumed by them.
Section 2. Purpose of Assessments
The assessments levied by the Association shall be used exclusively to promote the
recreation, health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the Properties and for the
improvements and maintenance of the Common Area.
Section 3. Maximum Annual Assessment.
Until January 1 of the year immediately following conveyance of the first Lot to an Owner,
the maximum annual assessment shall be Ten Dollars ($10.00) per Lot.
(a) From January 1 of the year immediately following the conveyance of
the first Lot to an Owner, the maximum monthly assessment shall be the same as the
previous year without a vote of the membership.
(b) From and after January 1 of the year immediately following the
conveyance of the first Lot to an Owner, the maximum monthly assessment may be increased
above five percent (5%) by a vote of two-thirds (2/3) of each class of members who are
voting in person or by proxy, at a meeting duly called for this purpose.
(c) The Board of Directors may fix the annual assessment at an amount not
in excess of the maximum.
Section 4. Special Assessments for Capital
Improvements.
In addition to the annual assessments authorized above, the Association may levy, in any
assessment year, a special assessment applicable to that year only for the purpose of
defraying, in part or in whole, the cost of any construction, reconstruction, repair or
replacement of a capital improvement upon the Common Area, including fixtures and personal
property related thereto, provided that any such assessment shall have the assent of
two-thirds (2/3) of the votes of each class of members who are voting in person or by
proxy at a meeting duly called for this purpose.
Section 4-A.
Notwithstanding any other provisions contained herein, the assessments for the Class B
members will be set forth hereinbelow; provided the Declarant funds all budget deficits
and maintains the Common Area at no cost to the Homeowners Association:
(a) Twenty-five percent (25%) of the assessments herein for unoccupied lots.
(b) Full assessments established herein on any dwellings for which a Residential
Use Permit has been issued.
Section 5. Notice and Quorum for Any Action Authorized Under Sections 3
and 4.
Written notice of any meeting called for the purpose of taking any action authorized under
sections 3 and 4 shall be sent to all members not less than thirty (30) days nor more than
sixty (60) days in advance of the meeting. At the first such meeting called, the presence
of members or of proxies entitled to cast sixty percent (60%) of all the votes of each
class of membership shall constitute a quorum. If the required quorum is not present
another meeting may be called subject to the same notice requirements, and the required
quorum at the subsequent meeting shall be one-half (1/2) of the required quorum at the
preceding meeting.
Section 6. Uniform Rate of Assessment.
Both annual and special assessments must be fixed at a uniform rate for all Lots and may
collected on a monthly basis.
Section 7. Date of Annual Assessments: Due Dates.
The annual assessments provided for herein shall commence as to all Lots on the first day
of the month following the conveyance of the Common Area. The first monthly assessment
shall be adjusted according to the number of months remaining in the calendar year. The
Board of Directors shall fix the amount of the monthly assessment against each Lot at
least thirty (30) days in advance of each annual assessment period. Written notice of the
annual assessment shall be sent to every Owner subject thereto. The Association shall,
upon demand, and for a reasonable charge, furnish a certificate signed by an officer of
the Association setting forth whether the assessments on a specified Lot have been paid. A
properly executed certificate of the Association as to the status of assessments on a Lot
is binding upon the Association as of the date of its issuance.
Section 8. Effect of Non-Payment of Assessments: Remedies of the
Association.
Any assessment not paid within thirty (30) days after the due date shall bear interest
from the due date at the rate of 12 percent (12%) per annum. The Association may bring
action at law against the Owner personally obligated to pay the same, or bring an action
at law against the property. No owner may waive or otherwise escape liability for the
assessments provided for herein by non-use of the Common Area or abandonment of his
Lot.
Section 9. Subordination of the Lien to Mortgages.
The lien of the assessments provided for herein shall be subordinate to the lien of any
first mortgage. Sale of transfer of any Lot shall not affect the assessment lien. However,
the sale or transfer of any Lot pursuant to mortgage foreclosure or any proceeding in lieu
thereof, shall extinguish the lien of such assessments as to payments which became due
prior to such sale or transfer. No sale or transfer shall relieve such Lot from liability
for any assessments thereafter becoming due or from the lien thereof.
Article V
Architectural Control
No building, fence, wall or other structure shall be commenced, erected, or maintained
upon the Properties, nor shall any exterior addition to or change or alteration therein be
made until the plans and specifications showing the nature, kind, shape, height, material
and location of the same shall have been submitted to and approved in writing as to
harmony of external design and location in relation to surrounding structures and
topography by the Board of Directors of the Association, or by an architectural committee
composed of three (3) or more representatives appointed by the Board. In the event said
Board, or its designated committee, fails to approve or disapprove such design and
location within thirty (30) days after said plans and specifications have been submitted
to it, approval will not be required and this Article will be deemed to have been fully
complied with. The Declarant does not have to meet the requirements of the Architectural
Control provisions.
Article VI
General Provisions
Section 1. Enforcement.
The Association, or any Owner, shall have the right to enforce, by any proceedings at law
or in equity, all restrictions, conditions, covenants, reservations, liens or charges now
or hereafter imposed by the provisions of this Declaration. Failure by the Association or
any Owner to enforce any covenant or restriction herein contained shall in no event be
deemed a waiver of the right to do so thereafter.
Section 2. Severability.
Invalidation of any one of these covenants or restrictions by judgment or court order
shall in no wise affect any other provisions which shall remain in full force and
effect.
Section 3. Amendment.
The Covenants and restrictions of this Declaration shall run with the land for a term of
twenty (20) years from the date this Declaration is recorded[1], after which time they shall be automatically
extended for successive periods of twenty (20) years. This Declaration may be amended
during the first twenty- (20) year[2] period by an instrument signed by not less than ninety percent
(90%) of the Lot Owners, and thereafter by an instrument signed by not less than
seventy-five percent (75%) of the Lot owners. No amendment shall be effective unless the
amending instrument is signed by at least one Lot Owner who is a Class A member. Any
amendment must be recorded.
Section 4. Annexation.
(a) Within twenty-one (21) years from the date of this Declaration, additional
residential property and Common Area may be annexed to the Properties with the consent of
two-thirds (2/3) of each class of members;
(b) Additional Land, however, may be annexed by the Declarant without the
consent of members within five (5) years from the date of this instrument.
Section 5. Consent of Veterans Administration and Federal Housing
Authority.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein and provided that any lot in the
project is then encumbered by a deed of trust or mortgage which is guaranteed by the
Veterans Administration or Federal Housing Authority and, provided, further, that there
are then Class B memberships of the Association outstanding, neither the members, the
Board of Directors, nor the Association shall, by act or omission, take any of the
following actions without the prior written consent and approval of the Veterans
Administration and the Federal Housing authority:
(a) abandon, partition, subdivide, encumber, sell or transfer any of the
Common Areas and community facilities; provided, however, that the granting of rights of
way, easements and the like for public utilities or for other purposes consistent with the
use of the common areas and community facilities by the members of the Association shall
not be considered a transfer within the meaning of this Section; or
(b) abandon or terminate this Declaration; or
(c) modify or amend any material or substantive provision of this
Declaration or the Bylaws of the Association.
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Witness the following signatures and seals on the day and year first written above.
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