Developement Plats & Covenants

Development Plats

These plats show a general overview of the lot layout and sizes and are subject to change. Click on the plat link for a larger version. (requires Adobe Acrobat)

• Phase 1 Top Level Overview
  • Woods & Meadows (Phase 1a)
  • Meadow Bluffs (Phase 1b)

Covenants

Click here to review Sewanee Creek Covenants Phase 1A.

Click here to review the Home Site Summary for the Village on Sewanee Creek.

Introductory Vision Statement

The Village on Sewanee Creek is a development intentionally designed to emphasize and enhance consciously selected lifestyle values. In many ways, we are what has come to be called an "intentional community" made up of people with common values and goals. A conscious choice in favor of any one value almost always has an offsetting effect on others, thereby limiting certain rights in order to favor values deemed more important. One of our values is freedom, so we are careful imposing restrictions unless they are supported by core values. These choices define the character of the development, the community and the kinds of people who choose to live here.

We are striving to build a community that we would like to live in because our family lives here. I hope to for the rest of my life.

This introduction is intended to clarify our intent as developers and residents of the Village on Sewanee Creek regarding three core values. Understanding these principles will serve as a guide to the interpretation of the specific provisions of these covenants. This introduction is not the "restrictive covenants", a registered legal document which follows, but I hope you will find it a useful guide to the spirit of the restrictive covenants.

Values of the community known as the Village on Sewanee Creek

Community: the Village is designed to promote active, caring social interaction between its residents, visitors and the indigenous residents of the larger mountain community. Amenities such as the amphitheater and the management thereof are designed to promote a high degree of informal as well as organized socialization of a diverse nature, from education to entertainment to play, to cooperative, productive work. The covenants that specifically require a covered porch on each dwelling are intended to promote a sense of community at a personal and family level. A bias against privacy fences in general also expresses this value. Family values are actively promoted within this community. Therefore the content of public village entertainment will be strictly controlled.

We opted for a modest minimum house size with an emphasis on quality. We prefer intelligent attention to detail, quality and conservation. Larger houses are not restricted, but we believe in a sense of economy with an emphasis on stewardship and intelligent resource deployment based on real needs and active use.

As the wave of retiring baby boomers crests, many choosing to live here may be looking forward to retiring some years in the future and are not prepared to move to their dream home now. To encourage immediate development of an active community we offer an attractive interim alternative. This program provides for the development of homes that may be rented out through the developer when not in use by the owners. This program delivers several advantages including positive cash flow for owners, needed short term housing for visitors to the community and rapid development of an active community.

Through design and management of the amenities and through the covenants incorporated herein, we hope to attract residents who value, consciously care for and enjoy both people and nature and who intend to actively contribute to the quality of the community in which they live.

The Beauty of Nature and Life

Preservation of Natural Beauty includes naturally occurring vegetation and wildlife. It places limitations on all forms of pollution including chemical, light, sound, trash, etc. Examples of covenants and other non-covenant based initiatives that specifically address this value include:

1. Sound: No motorized vehicles within the natural preserve. Low power FM broadcast (headsets) for most amphitheater events in lieu of broadcast sound systems that intrude on non-participants.
2. Light: No high intensity street lights or flood lights to preserve the magnificent view of the starlit sky as it exists at this writing.
3. Vegetation: Prohibition against clear cutting of trees and restraint in replacing forested areas with lawns. If you prefer an expansive lawn, the best place for you is in Phase I, an area that was mostly cleared some six years prior to this writing. That area has already been gently mulched to remove the briars and piles of tree tops that resulted from prior logging activity. Trees of any size were carefully left in place. If you want to live in a forested area, there are several wooded lots in phase I and all of Phase II where we would expect you won't destroy its greatest asset and the reason for locating in old growth woods.
4. Waste: This category needs little explanation. Toxic waste disposal is highly regulated. No one wants to live in a junk yard. People who don't understand how junk conflicts with natural beauty need to look elsewhere. We encourage the recycling of construction materials and other waste.
5. The Higher Law: There are no compulsive covenants for alternative energy or green construction techniques. We have opted instead to actively encourage green development by example, community social norms and cash incentives through our green rebate program. As the first resident, my home has may green features. Our professional affiliates are here to assist all Villagers in achieving sustainability. I believe that the people who will be attracted to the Village will be naturally inclined to implement a higher standard than what is imposed by the covenants. The higher standard not only avoids damage, but seeks to enhance our harmony with nature and people.

Harmony and Intelligent Living: The essence of harmony is balance and caring.

We believe that people who value, love and respect all aspects of nature also tend to love and respect their neighbors. Start with the right people and the rest becomes much easier. But within the definition of "intentional communities", we are not a commune. Apart form the shared common areas, each villager independently owns their home and property and strives for self-sufficiency. Strong, independent individuals and families are the basis for a strong, sharing community.

We are responsible stewards of the land, not extremists. We love nature, but we avoid extreme perspectives that value nature at the expense of people and lead to conflict.

There is a time and a place for everything. There is a place for responsible outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, rock climbing or off-roading. In most cases, that place is not in the 500 acre natural preserve that lies beneath the bluff line of the Village. However, we have secured a place downstream in the gulf that welcomes responsible enjoyment of many of these activities because people were not made for nature; nature was made for people. There is not only a place, but also a time for everything. While we believe that loud noise is generally annoying and incompatible with a natural environment, there are times when it is appropriate. We enjoy fireworks on the fourth of July with our family. The Village offers many places of absolute quiet and natural solitude. But there is so much more. There is time and this is the place to enjoy life surrounded by good and talented people of good will who desire to share in life's abundant gifts.

The people who have lived on this mountain for generations value happy times spent with dear friends and family submersed in nature (usually in "the gulf"). We think they have it right and we want to live in harmony with those values as well as with those people. We have much to learn from them and hope to bless their lives in return.

We believe that enlightened love of neighbors will deliver the highest appreciation of property values for oneself. A community of people who do unto others as they would have done unto themselves will naturally take care about things like the color of their house, how it blends into the natural landscape and doesn't block another's view. They will naturally embrace the affable southern porch culture that is built one relationship at a time on top of a visionary design. Wouldn't you like to live in a place like that? Wouldn't you value that kind of lifestyle? So will others if it ever comes time to sell and move on.

If this vision appeals to you, come join us in the Village. If it doesn't, that's ok too. There are other beautiful places that may fit your needs and values better.

All the Best, Grant P. Miller

 

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