Each Owner and Occupant shall comply strictly with the Association's Bylaws, rules and regulations, the use restrictions, as they may be lawfully amended or modified from time to time, and with the covenants, conditions, and restrictions set forth in this Declaration and in the deed to such Owner's Lot, if any. After notice and an opportunity to be heard by the Board of Directors or by a representative designated by the Board, and in accordance with rules and regulations adopted by the Board, the Board may levy reasonable fines for violations of the above (in addition to any late charges that may be assessed in connection with the late payment of assessments or other Association charges) in accordance with a previously established schedule adopted by the Board and furnished to the Owners, which fines shall be collected as provided herein for the collection of assessments. Failure to comply with this Declaration, the Bylaws or the rules and regulations shall be grounds for an action to recover sums due for damages or injunctive relief, or both, maintainable by the Board of Directors, on behalf of the Association, or, in a proper case, by an aggrieved Owner. Failure by the Association or any Owner to enforce any of the foregoing shall in no event be deemed a waiver of the right to do so thereafter.

 

 

This Declaration shall run with and bind the Community, and shall inure to the benefit of and shall be enforceable by the Association or any Owner, their respective legal representatives, heirs, successors, and assigns, perpetually to the extent provided by law; provided, however, so long as and to the extent that Washington law limits the period during which covenants restricting land to certain uses may run, any provisions of this Declaration affected thereby shall run with and bind the land so long as permitted by such law, after which time, any such provision shall be (a) automatically extended (to the extent allowed by applicable law) for successive periods of ten (10) years, unless a written instrument reflecting disapproval signed by the then Owners of at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the Lots and the Declarant (so long as the Declarant owns any property for development and/or sale in the Community) has been recorded within the year immediately preceding the beginning of a ten (10) year renewal period agreeing to change such provisions, in whole or in part, or to terminate the same, in which case this Declaration shall be modified or terminated to the extent specified therein; or (b) extended as otherwise provided by law. Every purchaser or grantee of any interest (including, without limitation, a security interest) in any real property subject to this Declaration, by acceptance of a deed or other conveyance therefor, thereby agrees that such provisions of this Declaration may be extended and renewed as provided in this Section.

 

 

11.3.1 This Declaration may be amended unilaterally at any time and from time to time by Declarant (i) if such amendment is necessary to bring any provision hereof into compliance with any applicable governmental statute, rule, or regulation or judicial determination which shall be in conflict therewith; (ii) if such amendment is necessary to enable any title insurance company to issue title insurance coverage with respect to the Lots subject to this Declaration; (iii) if such amendment is required by an institutional or governmental lender or purchaser of mortgage loans, including, for example, the Federal National Mortgage Association or Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, to enable such lender or purchaser to make or purchase Mortgage loans on the Lots subject to this Declaration; or (iv) if such amendment is necessary to enable any governmental agency or private insurance company to insure or guarantee Mortgage loans on the Lots subject to this Declaration; provided, however, any such amendment shall not adversely affect the title to any Owner's Lot unless any such Lot Owner shall consent thereto in writing. Further, so long as Declarant owns any property for development and/or sale in the Community, Declarant may unilaterally amend this Declaration for any other purpose; provided, however, any such amendment shall not materially adversely affect the substantive rights of any Lot Owners hereunder, nor shall it adversely affect title to any Lot without the consent of the affected Lot Owner.

 

11.3.2 This Declaration may also be amended upon the affirmative vote or written consent, or any combination thereof, of the Owners of at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the Total Association Vote and the consent of Declarant (so long as the Declarant owns any property for development and/or sale in the Community). Amendments to this Declaration shall become effective upon recordation, unless a later effective date is specified therein.

 

11.4 Partition.

 

The Common Areas shall remain undivided, and no Owner nor any other Person shall bring any action for partition or division of the whole or any part thereof without the written consent of all Owners of all portions of the property located within the Community and without the written consent of all holders of all Mortgages encumbering any portion of the property, including, but not necessarily limited to, the Lots located within the Community.

 

 

The singular, wherever used herein, shall be construed to mean the plural, when applicable, and the use of the masculine pronoun shall include the neuter and feminine. 

 

 

Whenever possible, each provision of this Declaration shall be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid, but if the application of any provision of this Declaration to any person or to any property shall be prohibited or held invalid, such prohibition or invalidity shall not affect any other provision or the application of any provision which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and, to this end, the provisions of this Declaration are declared to be severable.

 

 

The captions of each Article and Section hereof, as to the contents of each Article and Section, are inserted only for convenience and are in no way to be construed as defining, limiting, extending, or otherwise modifying or adding to the particular Article or Section to which they refer.

 

 

If any of the covenants, conditions, restrictions, or other provisions of this Declaration shall be unlawful, void, or voidable for violation of the rule against perpetuities, then such provisions shall continue only until twenty-one (21) years after the death of the last survivor of the now-living descendants of the individuals signing this Declaration.

 

 

To the fullest extent allowed by applicable Washington law, the Association shall indemnify every officer and director against any and all expenses, including, without limitation, attorneys' fees, imposed upon or reasonably incurred by any officer or director in connection with any action, suit, or other proceeding (including settlement of any suit or proceeding, if approved by the then Board of Directors) to which such officer or director may be a party by reason of being or having been an officer or director. The officers and directors shall not be liable for any mistake of judgment, negligent or otherwise, except for their own individual willful misfeasance, malfeasance, misconduct, or bad faith. The officers and directors shall have no personal liability with respect to any contract or other commitment made by them, in good faith, on behalf of the Association (except to the extent that such officers or directors may also be members of the Association), and the Association shall indemnify and forever hold each such officer and director free and harmless against any and all liability to others on account of any such contract or commitment. Any right to indemnification provided for herein shall not be exclusive of any other rights to which any officer or director, or former officer or director, may be entitled. The Association may, at the discretion of the Board, maintain adequate general liability and officers' and directors' liability insurance to fund this obligation, if such coverage is reasonably available.

 

 

This Declaration, the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, copies of rules and regulations, Design Guidelines, use restrictions, membership register, books of account, and minutes of meetings of the members of the Board and of committees shall be made available pursuant to reasonable procedures established by the Board for inspection and copying by any member of the Association or by the duly appointed representative of any member and by holders, insurers, or guarantors of any first Mortgage at any reasonable time and for a purpose reasonably related to such Person's interest as a member or holder, insurer, or guarantor of a first Mortgage at the office of the Association or at such other reasonable place as the Board shall prescribe. 

 

 

At least annually, the Board of Directors shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, a financial statement of the Association. Upon written request of any institutional holder of a first Mortgage and upon payment of all necessary costs, such holder shall be entitled to receive a copy of such financial statement within ninety (90) days of the date of the request.

 

 

Lease or Acquisition. In the event an Owner sells or leases such Owner's Lot, the Owner shall give to the Association, in writing, prior to the effective date of such sale or lease, the name of the purchaser or lessee of the Lot and such other information as the Board may reasonably require. Upon acquisition of a Lot each new Owner shall give the Association, in writing, the name and mailing address of the Owner and such other information as the Board may reasonably require.

 

 

Subject to the prior approval of Declarant (so long as Declarant owns any property for development and/or sale in the Community or has the right to unilaterally annex additional property to the Community) all agreements and determinations, including settlement agreements regarding litigation involving the Association, lawfully authorized by the Board of Directors shall be binding upon all Owners, their heirs, legal representatives, successors, assigns, and others having an interest in the Community or the privilege of possession and enjoyment of any part of the Community.

 

 

The Association may exercise any right or privilege given to it expressly by this Declaration, the Bylaws, the Articles of Incorporation, any use restriction or rule or regulation, and every other right or privilege reasonably to be implied from the existence of any right or privilege given to it therein or reasonably necessary to effectuate any such right or privilege.

 

 

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Board of Directors or its designee shall be authorized to grant individual variances from any of the provisions of this Declaration, the Bylaws and any Design Guideline rule, regulation or use restriction established pursuant thereto if it determines that waiver of application or enforcement of the provision in a particular case would not be inconsistent with the overall scheme of development for the Community.

 

11.16 Litigation.

 

No judicial or administrative proceeding shall be commenced or prosecuted by the Association unless approved by at least seventy-five percent (75%) of the Total Association Vote. This Section shall not apply, however, to (i) actions brought by the Association to enforce the provisions of this Declaration (including, without limitation, the foreclosure of liens), (ii) the imposition and collection of assessments as provided in Article 4 hereof, (iii) proceedings involving challenges to ad valorem taxation, or (iv) counterclaims brought by the Association in proceedings instituted against it. This Section shall not be amended unless such amendment is made by the Declarant pursuant to Section 11.3, hereof, or is approved by the percentage votes, and pursuant to the same procedures, necessary to institute proceedings as provided above.