This is a plain-English summary of the covenants, written so owners can find the rule they need without reading forty pages of 2010 legal drafting. It is not a legal opinion and not a substitute for the governing documents. Where this summary and the recorded documents differ, the recorded documents control.
The DCCR is the rulebook we inherited, not one the Board or the ARC wrote. The developer drafted and recorded these covenants in 2010, before most current owners bought here. Neither the Board nor the ARC created them, and neither has the power to waive them. What we have is an obligation to enforce them as written — which is a different thing from agreeing with all of them.
So read what follows as the current state of the rules, not as a list of restrictions someone decided to impose on you.
Read closely, the Declaration turns up three kinds of problem. Provisions that contradict each other — it bans all firearm discharge while providing for a skeet deck, and says both that ARC silence approves your plans and that it never does. Provisions that may conflict with state or federal law passed since 2010, several of which limit what any Texas association can restrict. And provisions that have simply fallen outside current norms: a 10 mph speed limit against posted signage of 20, 25 and 30; a 12-month construction deadline that almost no home built here since 2020 has met.
Rather than paper over these, this guide flags them where they come up and collects them under Where the DCCR is unclear.
Amending the DCCR takes the approval of 67% of the votes entitled to be cast. Both our counsel and DAMC have observed that this threshold is unusually high. High is not impossible. But it does mean an amendment happens only if owners actually show up: engage with what's proposed, work through the disagreements, help build consensus on what should change — and, above all, vote. At a 67% threshold, a ballot left in a drawer counts against an amendment just as surely as a no. §10.3.B
If something here strikes you as wrong or out of date, say so. The path to fixing it runs through the membership, not through the Board.
Drawn from the Amended and Restated Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, recorded in the Official Public Records of Kendall County, Texas on May 19, 2010. The Association's Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws govern corporate and procedural matters and are not summarized here. Any Design Guidelines adopted by the ARC under §6.8, and any rules adopted by the Board under §5.4.a, apply in addition to everything below and may be more stringent. ARC approval decisions are discretionary and expressly not subject to objective standards or external review — nothing here commits the ARC or the Board to any particular outcome. For a specific project, submit plans and get a written decision.
Almost nothing you can see from outside gets built, added, removed, or changed without the ARC's written approval first. That includes clearing brush, grading dirt, and hiring your builder.
The DCCR defines an "Improvement" as essentially every structure and appurtenance on your lot — sheds, patios, pools, fences, decks, retaining walls, animal enclosures, landscaping, poles, signs, exterior A/C, water softeners, tanks, wells, meters and antennas. When in doubt, ask before you start. Work done without approval can be ordered removed at your expense. §1.16, §3.6, §6.1, §7.6
Building a Home
Estancia is a custom-home community with unusually specific construction standards. Plans go to the ARC before a single blade touches the ground, and the standards below are minimums, not targets — the ARC can and does apply judgment beyond them.
Before you start
Get ARC approval before any soil is disturbed. Your builder must be approved in writing before construction begins — and "construction" expressly includes clearing, grading, or disturbing the soil.
§7.2.8Plans must be prepared by a licensed architect, unless the ARC permits otherwise.
§7.1, §7.2The submittal package is specific: two sets each of a site plan (scale no smaller than 1" = 40', on 24×36 or 30×42 sheets), specifications with materials and color samples, floor plans at 1/4" = 1', roof plans at 1/8" = 1', and exterior elevations with existing and proposed grades.
§7.2.1–7.2.5The site plan must show what vegetation you intend to remove, plus drainage, staging areas, utility routes, contours at 2' intervals, driveways, and any trash container areas.
§7.2.1The ARC may require preliminary staking of the corners of the proposed improvement before it decides.
§7.2.7The ARC may charge a submission fee of up to $100 per set of plans.
§6.14Timing: the ARC may request supplemental material within 15 days, and provides a written response within 20 business days after everything requested has been delivered. Unusual features can extend that period on written notice.
§7.3, §7.3.1Any change to approved plans — before, during, or after construction — has to go back to the ARC.
§7.3.3
The house itself
Minimum size: 3,000 sq ft for a one-story home; 3,200 sq ft if more than one story, with at least 2,800 sq ft on the ground floor. Porches, breezeways, carports, garages and outbuildings don't count toward the total.
§7.1.2New construction and new materials only, on a permanent concrete foundation, with permanently attached steps or a porch. No more than 12" of slab may be exposed — the rest must be concealed by masonry.
§7.1.2Ground floor must be 100% masonry on the front and both side exterior walls. Masonry means native stone, traditional concrete stucco (plaster), or brick. Synthetic and prefabricated masonry, veneers and panels are prohibited. Native stone, plaster and stucco are strongly encouraged.
§7.1.5Roofs on the residence and garage must be standing seam metal or tile — nothing else. Other outbuildings may use other materials with ARC approval.
§7.1.5Eaves must extend at least 12" horizontally from the outside wall. Roof fans, attic vents and other penetrations go on the least visible slope.
§7.1.3A garage is required — attached or detached, matching the residence in design, composition and materials — sized for at least 2 and no more than 5 vehicles. Every residence must have space for a minimum of two cars.
§7.1.4, §3.15Garages must be side-entry unless the lot's topography requires front entry or the residence doesn't front a private street.
§7.1.4Driveway: minimum 10' wide, built of concrete, exposed aggregate, crushed granite, rock chip seal, brick pavers, hot mix asphalt, or another ARC-approved material. Garage and driveway must be finished before you move in.
§7.1.4, §7.1.5Setbacks: 150' front, 100' sides, 150' rear — or whatever the plat requires, whichever is more restrictive. The ARC may grant variances for specific lots.
§3.24, §7.1.6A guest house or "mother-in-law" residence is allowed with ARC approval, but it must sit behind or beside the main house and match its design, composition and materials.
§7.1.2Only two kinds of building may go on a lot: a dwelling or a livestock barn. Anything else requires the ARC to say yes first.
§6.1.BHomes must be built in place. Prefabricated materials require prior written ARC approval.
§3.22
Utilities, wells and septic
All utility lines run underground, at ARC-approved locations. Temporary overhead power during construction is allowed but can't exceed one year without ARC consent.
§3.10, §7.1.7Propane and gas tanks go behind the residence, either buried or screened from streets and adjoining lots. The ARC approves tank and meter placement and any screening.
§7.1.7Water wells: permits first, then drilling. Wells go behind the main residence unless the ARC approves otherwise, must be at least 300' from any other well in the development, and should be completed through the Middle Trinity Aquifer down to the Cow Creek. A sanitary control easement around the well is required.
§7.1.10Holding tanks are capped at 5,000 gallons, must have a concrete exterior, and must be approved by the ARC for height and location. Metal holding tanks are not permitted.
§7.1.10Septic systems may not be built within 150' of a water well, and require the applicable permits.
§7.1.11
Fencing and gates
Frontage fencing along Estancia streets is required and standardized. Estancia built a sample fence; there are no exceptions to its design and materials.
§7.1.9.aSide and rear fencing is optional. If you build it: corner posts must be native cedar at least 8" in diameter, set in concrete at least 42" deep. Line posts are all native cedar, or cedar alternating with T-posts. Wire must be ARC-approved.
§7.1.9.bOne entry gate per lot. A second may be authorized for unusually large lots or extreme topography. Gates must be steel or wrought iron, primed and painted — no standard galvanized ranch gates.
§7.1.9.cCement, cinder block and chain link fences are prohibited anywhere in Estancia.
§3.17Interior fencing must be compatible with the above and ARC-approved. Cedar or wood screening may be allowed.
§7.1.9.d
While you're under construction
Work hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset, every day except Sunday, unless the ARC specifies otherwise in writing.
§7.5The DCCR requires completion within one year of starting. On its face, missing that deadline automatically revokes the ARC's approval and lets the ARC demand the lot be restored to its prior condition. In practice this deadline is out of date. Custom homes of the size and specification Estancia requires have generally run past twelve months for every build since 2020 — a function of permitting, well and septic scheduling, materials lead times and trade availability, not owner delay. Build to a realistic schedule, keep the ARC informed in writing as it moves, and don't treat the one-year mark as a cliff. Outdated
§3.23, §7.4Portable toilets are required and must be serviced regularly.
§7.5Staging areas must be approved in advance and kept out of sight from the street and neighboring lots where possible. Temporary structures and facilities come down immediately at completion.
§7.5, §3.13Trash and excess materials stay in enclosed containers and get hauled off the property promptly.
§7.5No outdoor fires during construction unless the ARC authorizes it in writing.
§7.5You pay for damage your project causes to the roads or common property — including damage by your builder, subs or deliveries. If you don't fix it, the POA can and will bill it as an assessment.
§7.8When you finish, you can request a recordable Certificate of Compliance from the ARC, at your expense.
§6.15
Questions owners ask — Building a home
Can I clear my land before I build the house?
This is the single most common misstep. Your builder must be approved in writing "prior to commencement of construction including, without limitation, the cleaning, grading or disturbance of the soil." Separately, no Improvement may be commenced without ARC approval, and your site plan has to identify the vegetation you plan to remove before the ARC signs off. §7.2.8, §3.6, §7.2.1
Practically: submit a clearing plan to the ARC and get a written yes before the dozer shows up. Selective clearing is normal in Estancia — unapproved clearing is what causes problems.
Can I use manufactured stone or stone veneer?
"Synthetic or prefabricated masonry and masonry veneers or panels are prohibited." Masonry means native stone, traditional concrete stucco (plaster), or brick — and 100% of your ground-floor front and side walls must be one of those. §7.1.5
Can I do a shingle roof? What about a metal roof that isn't standing seam?
"No external roofing materials except standing seam metal or tile are permitted on any residence or garage." Other outbuildings can use different materials, but only as approved by the ARC. §7.1.5, §3.9
My plan is 2,900 square feet. Close enough?
3,000 sq ft is a hard floor for a single story, and porches, breezeways, carports, garages and outbuildings are excluded from the count. A two-story home needs 3,200 sq ft total with at least 2,800 on the ground floor. §7.1.2
Can I have a front-entry garage?
Garages must be side-entry unless the topography of the lot requires front entry, or your residence doesn't front a private street. Either way the ARC makes the call. §7.1.4
Can I live in an RV or put a mobile home on the lot while I build?
"No mobile homes shall be parked or placed on any Lot at any time." Travel trailers and RVs can't be visible from adjoining property or thoroughfares for more than 48 hours. Temporary structures for tool storage and a builder's office are allowed, but only with prior approval covering their nature, size, duration and location. §3.16, §3.13
Can I build a barn or workshop before the house?
The DCCR permits only a dwelling or a livestock barn to be built on a lot, and every Improvement needs ARC approval on its own terms. Nothing in the DCCR expressly sequences the barn after the house, but the ARC reviews suitability, impact on the development, and views from other areas — so a standalone outbuilding on a vacant lot is exactly the kind of submission that gets questions. Bring it to the ARC before you commit. §6.1.B, §6.1.A
What if the ARC never responds to my plans?
The DCCR is internally inconsistent here. Article VI says that if the ARC fails to approve or disapprove within 30 days after you've submitted everything requested, the plans "shall be deemed approved." Article VII says the opposite: "Failure to send notice of disapproval of any submitted plans, specifications or materials shall not be deemed to have been an approval." §6.9 vs. §7.3.1
Building on an assumed approval is a bad bet. Follow up in writing and get an actual decision.
How long do I have to finish?
§3.23 and §7.4 both require completion within one year of the start of construction. On paper, blowing the deadline automatically revokes the ARC's approval of your plans, and on the ARC's demand the lot must be restored "as nearly as possible" to its pre-construction state. §3.23, §7.4
That provision no longer reflects how homes actually get built here. A 3,000+ sq ft custom home on 100% masonry with a standing seam roof, a private well and a septic system is not a twelve-month project in the current market, and essentially every Estancia home started since 2020 has taken longer — permitting timelines, driller and installer scheduling, materials lead times and trade availability, none of which is within the owner's control.
What that means practically: plan on a realistic schedule rather than a fictional one, and keep the ARC updated in writing as the build progresses and when the timeline shifts. An owner building diligently and communicating is in a very different position from one whose lot has sat half-finished and unexplained. The one-year language is on the list of provisions worth amending.
Do I have to fence my road frontage?
Frontage fencing is the one fence that's mandatory, and it must match the sample fence Estancia built — "there will be no exceptions to the design and materials." Side and rear fencing is optional but must meet the cedar-post specs and get ARC approval. §7.1.9
Improvements & Changes
This is where most owners get caught out. The DCCR's definition of "Improvement" is far broader than most people assume, and it covers taking things down as well as putting them up. If it changes the exterior appearance of anything and it isn't routine maintenance, assume it needs approval.
What counts as an Improvement
Buildings · outbuildings · storage sheds · patios · tennis courts · basketball goals · swimming pools · garages · storage buildings · fences · trash enclosures · animal enclosures · screening walls · retaining walls · stairs · decks · landscaping · poles · signs · exterior air conditioning · water softener fixtures and equipment · pumps · wells · tanks · reservoirs · pipes · lines · meters · antennas · towers · and other utility facilities. §1.16
The approval rules
Any construction that alters the exterior appearance of anything — other than normal maintenance — needs prior written ARC approval. So does removing an Improvement.
§3.8Nothing gets commenced, erected, constructed, placed or maintained on a lot until plans and specifications have been submitted and approved.
§6.1The ARC's discretion is broad and not subject to objective review. It weighs suitability for the lot, material quality, type and color, impact on the development, views from other areas, placement and orientation, and harmony with surrounding homes — and may disapprove for any reason it finds appropriate.
§6.1.A–BAn approval is not a precedent. The ARC approving something once doesn't waive its right to say no to the same thing later, for you or anyone else.
§6.11The ARC may grant variances where unusual circumstances or aesthetic considerations justify it. Variances must be in writing, in recordable form, and signed by at least two Voting Members — and they don't set a precedent either.
§6.10Rebuilding after damage: if you restore an Improvement in strict conformance with previously approved plans and materials, you don't need to resubmit. Any deviation does.
§7.7Work done without approval can be ordered removed or re-altered at your expense, and the POA can recover its enforcement costs including attorneys' fees.
§7.6The POA, Board and ARC have a right of entry to inspect construction or alterations at reasonable times.
§6.1.C
Specific items with their own rules
Satellite dishes: submit every dish to the ARC before installing it, whatever its size and wherever you plan to put it. The written text of §3.1 exempts dishes one meter or less in diameter from prior consent, but that same section empowers the ARC to regulate the placement and screening of any media receptor, and dishes are among the most-complained-about items in the community. Submitting takes one email and avoids a relocation later. Anything over one meter, and any other antenna, mast or tower, requires written approval outright. Practice differs
§3.1Exterior lighting is tightly controlled. The ARC approves number and location. Fixtures must be shrouded with housings that shield or direct light downward, aimed no more than 30° below horizontal, with no exposed bulbs and no wraparound-lens "yard lights." Bulbs are capped at 100 watts. Sport court, arena and athletic lighting needs separate ARC approval.
§7.1.8Fence maintenance is an enforceable standard. It's a violation to let a fence lean more than 5° out of vertical, to leave stone or wood rails missing, loose or damaged, to allow graffiti, or to leave broken or loose wires. Damage must be repaired within 30 days of written notice.
§3.17Buildings must be kept in good condition and repair, and adequately painted or otherwise maintained.
§3.7Don't touch the drainage. You may not interfere with established drainage patterns, and no improvements — temporary or permanent — may be built in a drainage easement or natural creek without written ARC approval. You also can't disturb or displace trees or vegetation inside them.
§3.11, §9.3Utility relocation — sewer, electrical, water or other lines — requires POA or ARC approval before it happens.
§9.2Tents, shacks and other temporary structures need prior written ARC approval.
§3.13You can't subdivide your lot or convey an easement or partial interest without written approval from both the ARC and the Declarant. The ARC may withhold consent in its sole discretion.
§3.2No mining, quarrying, drilling or boring, and no removing oil, gas, minerals, rocks, stone, sand, gravel, aggregate or earth from your lot.
§3.14
Gardens
The DCCR never mentions gardens — no permission, no prohibition, nothing. That silence is not a loophole and it is not a ban; it means gardens are governed by the general provisions that apply to everything else on your lot. Here is how those read in practice.
Vegetable and flower gardens are permitted. Nothing in the Declaration restricts what you grow, and a garden is an ordinary use of a single-family residential lot.
§4.1An unfenced garden behind or beside the house needs no submission. Planting beds are landscaping, and landscaping is technically an Improvement — but the ARC does not expect a submission for beds, borders, raised boxes or a kitchen garden kept in scale with the home and not prominent from the street or a neighbor's view. Ordinary planting is not what §6.1 is aimed at.
§1.16, §6.1Submit anything fenced. A garden fence is a fence, and all fencing requires prior written ARC approval regardless of height, size or purpose — including deer fencing, wire cages and hoop enclosures. Interior fencing must be compatible with Estancia's fencing standards; cedar and wood screening may be approved. Chain link is prohibited outright, which rules out the default garden enclosure most people reach for first.
§3.17, §7.1.9.dDeer fencing is the practical problem, so plan for it. Hill Country gardens need real height to work. The ARC has no fixed height rule for interior garden fencing, which means height, material and visibility are exactly what it will want to look at. Cedar posts, dark welded wire or black poly mesh, and a location screened by the house or existing vegetation review far better than tall galvanized fencing in an open field of view.
§3.17, §7.1.9.dStructures in the garden are a separate submission. A greenhouse, shed, arbor, pergola, water tank or permanent trellis is a structure, not a planting — each needs its own ARC approval, and §6.1.B's "dwelling or livestock barn" limitation is a real hurdle for anything enclosed. See the greenhouse question below.
§1.16, §6.1.BKeep it maintained and screen the working end. Gardens fall under the same upkeep standard as the rest of your lot: mowed, trimmed, weeded, dead material removed. Compost piles, equipment and storage must be screened from thoroughfares and neighboring lots. A tended garden is never a problem; an abandoned one is.
§3.19, §3.15You can't garden in a drainage easement or natural creek, and you can't disturb the vegetation in one.
§9.3
Questions owners ask — Improvements & changes
Can I plant a vegetable or flower garden? Do I need approval?
The DCCR says nothing at all about gardens. It neither permits nor prohibits them, which means the general rules apply. Growing vegetables or flowers is an ordinary residential use, and no provision restricts it. §4.1
Unfenced beds: plant away. Landscaping is technically within the definition of "Improvement," but the ARC doesn't expect a submission for planting beds, borders, raised boxes or a kitchen garden that's in scale with the house and not dominating the view from the street or a neighbor's lot. §1.16
Fenced gardens are a different answer — submit those. Every fence requires prior written ARC approval, with no exception for small ones, temporary ones or garden ones. That covers deer fencing, wire cages and hoop enclosures. And chain link is flatly prohibited anywhere in Estancia, which eliminates the cheapest and most common garden enclosure before you start. §3.17
On deer fencing specifically: a garden here needs real height to survive, and the ARC has no fixed height limit for interior fencing — which means height, material and visibility are precisely what it will weigh. Proposals that go smoothly tend to use cedar posts with dark welded wire or black poly mesh, sited where the house or existing cedar screens it. Tall bright galvanized fencing in open view is what draws objections. Interior fencing must be compatible with Estancia's fencing standards, and cedar or wood screening may be approved. §7.1.9.d
Anything with a roof or walls is a structure, not a garden — greenhouse, shed, arbor, pergola, permanent trellis, water tank. Each needs its own approval, and enclosed structures run into §6.1.B. See the next question.
Can I build a greenhouse?
A greenhouse is plainly an "Improvement," so it needs ARC approval. The complication is §6.1.B: "No building shall be constructed on a Lot unless said building is a dwelling or livestock barn." Read strictly, a greenhouse isn't either one.
The practical path is a variance under §6.10, which the ARC can grant where unusual or aesthetic considerations justify it and it won't detract from the quality of the development. Siting it behind the house, screening it, and matching materials all help. Don't build first and ask later. §1.16, §6.1.B, §6.10
Do I need approval to repaint, or to re-roof with the same material?
"Normal maintenance" is carved out, but any construction that alters the exterior appearance requires approval — and roofing material is separately made subject to ARC approval regardless. A like-for-like standing seam replacement is maintenance; a color or profile change is a submission. §3.8, §3.9
A pool? A deck? A basketball goal? Landscaping?
Swimming pools, decks, basketball goals and landscaping are each named in the definition of Improvement at §1.16. So are patios, retaining walls, screening walls, stairs, storage sheds, flag and light poles, and exterior A/C equipment. §1.16, §6.1
What about solar panels?
The DCCR doesn't mention solar. It does subject every Improvement, roof penetration and exterior alteration to ARC review. Separately, Texas Property Code §202.010 restricts a property owners' association's ability to prohibit solar energy devices, though it preserves meaningful approval rights over placement and appearance.
The DCCR was recorded in 2010 and predates much of that framework, so the two have to be read together. Submit your plans and expect a conversation about placement and visibility. Where the covenant and the statute pull in different directions, neither the Board nor the ARC can commit to one reading over the other without further research and guidance. §1.16, §6.1; Tex. Prop. Code §202.010
Can I put up a flagpole?
"Poles" are expressly listed as Improvements, so ARC approval applies. Texas Property Code §202.011 separately limits how a POA may restrict display of the U.S., Texas and military service flags, while allowing reasonable rules on pole height, number, location, lighting and noise. Bring the ARC a specific proposal rather than assuming either extreme. §1.16; Tex. Prop. Code §202.011
Do I need permission to take something down?
§3.8 covers "the removal of any Improvement" in the same breath as construction that alters exterior appearance. Demolishing a shed, pulling out a fence line, or removing a wall all require prior written approval. §3.8
Can I add a water storage tank?
Holding tanks are capped at 5,000 gallons. The exterior must be concrete — metal tanks are not permitted — and the ARC approves both height and location. §7.1.10
Can I dig a stock pond or regrade a low spot?
There may be no interference with established drainage patterns unless adequate provision is made and the ARC approves. Inside a drainage easement or natural creek, no improvement — temporary or permanent — may be constructed without written ARC approval, and you may not disturb the trees or vegetation there at all. §3.11, §9.3
My neighbor has had one for years without any trouble. Doesn't that settle it?
The DCCR has an express non-waiver clause: failure to enforce a provision at any time does not waive the right to enforce it later. And an ARC approval given once is expressly not a waiver of the right to withhold approval on a later request. §10.9.B, §6.11
Daily Living
The everyday rules — animals, vehicles, noise, signs, trash, and how the common areas work. These are the provisions that generate most neighbor-to-neighbor friction, usually because nobody has read them.
Animals and pets
Livestock: one horse, one cow or one goat — or any combination — per two acres. That's the cap, counted across all three together.
§3.18Expressly prohibited: pigs, pot-bellied pigs, hogs, swine, pigeons, poultry, fowl, wild animals, sheep, and anything else not a domestic household pet in the ordinary sense.
§3.18Animals for 4-H or FFA programs may be permitted at the ARC's sole discretion. Any other animal requires prior written ARC consent.
§3.18Dogs and cats: no more than 2 dogs and 2 cats per acre, with a hard cap of 5 domestic pets per lot.
§3.18No kennels and no breeding operations, and no pets on any Common Property at all.
§3.18Barking between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. is defined as a nuisance, full stop. No animal may make an unreasonable amount of noise at any hour.
§3.18No animal may run at large. Animals must be kept in enclosed or fenced areas built to ARC-approved plans and kept clean, sanitary and free of refuse and waste.
§3.18These limits don't apply to animals held under the Master Grazing Lease covering the greenbelt and amenity areas.
§3.18, §1.14
Vehicles and parking
No overnight parking on any roadway in Estancia. None.
§3.15Drive the posted limit. The DCCR sets a flat 10 mph limit everywhere on the Common Properties, with fines for violators — but the signs actually posted around Estancia read 20, 25 and 30 mph depending on where you are. The posted signs are what people drive, and 10 mph community-wide is not a realistic modern standard. Until the two are reconciled, drive the posted number, slower near the gate, walkers and horses. Signs differ
§4.4.3Kept out of sight when not in use: trailers, graders, trucks other than pickups, boats, tractors, campers, wagons, buses, motorcycles, motor scooters, and garden or yard maintenance equipment. They go in enclosed structures or screened from view.
§3.15No more than 2 automobiles may be visible from other parts of the property for more than 48 hours.
§3.15No vehicle repair or maintenance outside an enclosed garage, other than minor emergency repairs.
§3.15Travel trailers and RVs may not be visible from adjoining property or thoroughfares for more than 48 hours. Mobile homes are never permitted.
§3.16On the Common Properties, motorized recreational vehicles are prohibited — motorcycles, ATVs, golf carts, motorbikes and the like — with two exceptions: vehicles used for maintenance of the Common Properties, and all-terrain vehicles that are bench-seated with four operable wheels. Ordinary passenger cars and trucks on the streets and parking areas are of course fine.
§4.4, §4.4.1No unlicensed vehicles of any type on any road within the Common Properties.
§4.4Allowed vehicles must stay on designated streets, driveways and parking areas; yield to pedestrians, bicycles and traffic; not damage grass, shrubs, trees or landscaping; not trespass on any lot; not become a noise nuisance; and comply with all laws on helmets, operator age and licensing.
§4.4.2
Noise, fire and safety
The DCCR states that no firearms or fireworks may be discharged anywhere on the property. The fireworks half of that stands. The firearms half is very likely unenforceable under a 2019 Texas statute that bars a property owners' association from enforcing any covenant restricting the otherwise lawful discharge of a firearm. See the note below before relying on either reading. Limited by state law
§3.12; Tex. Prop. Code §202.021The DCCR prohibits hunting throughout Estancia, with firearms and with crossbows. The crossbow prohibition is unaffected by the firearms statute. The firearms side runs into the same problem as above, since hunting with a firearm necessarily involves discharging one. Partly limited
§3.12; Tex. Prop. Code §202.021Open fires are limited to three cases: a safe, well-designed interior fireplace or exterior fire pit; a contained barbecue unit while attended and in use for cooking; or a fire in compliance with local ordinances, regulations and permit requirements. County burn bans apply on top of this.
§3.12No exterior speakers, horns, whistles, bells or other sound devices that are clearly audible at an adjoining owner's property line. Security devices used strictly for security or public safety are excepted.
§3.5No activity or structure that is or might be unsafe or hazardous to any person or property.
§3.12
Appearance of your lot
Trash goes in covered containers, kept inside enclosed structures or appropriately screened from view. As written, the DCCR says trash is collected "by the service provider chosen by the Association" — singular — at your expense. In practice, Estancia owners choose between Waste Connections and Tiger Sanitation. Practice differs
§3.4If you don't clean up, the POA can. After 15 days' written notice, it may enter your lot, correct the problem, and bill you — and that entry is expressly not a trespass.
§3.4Keep shrubs, trees, grass and plantings mowed, trimmed, weeded and free of trash — including any greenbelt platted as part of your lot, and any greenbelt between your lot and a public roadway. Dead grass and vegetation must be removed and replaced.
§3.19Screen your service, storage and loading areas and compost piles from thoroughfares and neighboring lots. No lumber, grass, plant waste, clippings, metals, bulk materials, scrap, refuse or trash may accumulate except enclosed or screened.
§3.15Anything the ARC deems unsightly may not remain visible from other parts of the property or from public or private thoroughfares.
§3.15
Signs
Only two kinds of sign are permitted: one sign advertising the lot for sale (which must come down within 10 days after closing), and one political sign per candidate or ballot item, allowed from 90 days before the election until 10 days after.
§3.3Maximum size 4' × 6', mounted in the ground — never attached to trees, shrubs, vegetation, light poles or street signs.
§3.3No balloons, lights or other decorative items accompanying a sign. Even permitted signs are subject to ARC approval as to design, location, language and graphics.
§3.3Signage posted by the Board is not subject to any of the above. Speed limit and traffic signs, gate and entry signage, emergency and safety notices, construction and road-work notices, and community information postings are Board functions on Common Property — the Board is expressly authorized to adopt and enforce signs and graphics governing the private streets and gates. §3.3 restricts what an Owner may put on a Lot; it does not limit the Association.
§3.3, §5.9, §5.4.a
Use, rentals and the common areas
Single-family residential use only, except for any tract platted as commercial.
§4.1Renting is allowed — but only the entire lot and its improvements. You remain responsible for your tenant's violations, and you must keep a current mailing address on file with the POA.
§3.25Access to the Common Properties can be conditioned on being current on assessments, and the POA sets the use rules for them.
§4.2, §9.6.aGreenbelt and amenity areas are subject to the Master Grazing Lease, and your use of them can't conflict with it. A copy is available from the POA on request.
§1.14, §1.15, §4.1Common-area activities are at your own risk. The DCCR names skeet shooting, horseback riding, swimming and water sports, hiking and jogging as inherently risky, and every owner releases the POA and Declarant from liability for them — including for their own negligence.
§10.12The gates and controlled access are not a security guarantee. Carry your own insurance; the POA disclaims responsibility for your property.
§5.8
Questions owners ask — Daily living
Can I have a golf cart?
§4.4 says no golf carts may be "operated or permitted on the Common Properties" — which includes all the private streets. But §4.4.1 then lists what is allowed there, and includes "all-terrain vehicles which are bench-seated and have four operable wheels" — a description most golf carts satisfy.
§4.4 also bars unlicensed vehicles from roads within the Common Properties, which cuts against carts that aren't street-legal. There's no reading that reconciles all three cleanly. If you're planning to drive one on Estancia streets, get the Board's position in writing first — and either way the 10 mph limit and the §4.4.2 operating rules apply. §4.4, §4.4.1, §4.4.2, §4.4.3
Can I keep chickens?
"Poultry" and "fowl" are both on the express prohibition list at §3.18, alongside pigs, hogs, pigeons and sheep. The one door left open: animals raised for a school-sponsored 4-H or FFA program may be permitted at the ARC's sole discretion — which means asking first, in writing. §3.18
How many horses can I keep on 5 acres?
The limit is one horse, cow or goat "or any combination thereof" per two acres. Five acres supports two head total. Their enclosure has to be built to ARC-approved plans and kept clean and sanitary. §3.18
Can I walk my dog on the greenbelt or the trails?
"No domestic pets will be allowed on any portion of the Common Property." The greenbelt, trails and amenity areas are Common Property. This one surprises people, and it's worth raising with the Board if the community wants it changed — but it's the current rule. §3.18, §1.8
Can I hunt or target shoot on my own acreage?
The Declaration is blunt: "No firearms or fireworks shall be discharged upon the Property," and "hunting, whether with firearms or cross bows, shall be prohibited on the Property." "The Property" is all 894 acres, your own lot included. §3.12, §1.25
But in 2019 the Legislature enacted what is now Texas Property Code §202.021: a property owners' association "may not include or enforce a provision in a dedicatory instrument that prohibits, restricts, or has the effect of prohibiting or restricting" a person otherwise authorized from lawfully possessing, transporting or storing a firearm or ammunition, "as well as the otherwise lawful discharge of a firearm." A recorded declaration is a dedicatory instrument, and the word "enforce" is what reaches covenants recorded before 2019 — like ours. SB 741, 86th Leg. (2019), eff. 9/1/2019
The load-bearing phrase is "otherwise lawful." The statute protects discharge that would be legal anyway; it does not make anything legal that isn't. So the real question stops being "what does the DCCR say" and becomes "is discharging here lawful?" — which turns on lot size. Under Local Government Code §§235.021–.023, a commissioners court may prohibit or regulate the discharge of firearms and air guns only on lots of 10 acres or smaller in a platted subdivision in the unincorporated part of the county. Estancia is exactly that kind of subdivision. Whether Kendall County has adopted such an order, and whether a given Estancia lot is over or under 10 acres, decides the answer for that lot.
Ordinary criminal law still applies regardless: deadly conduct (Penal Code §22.05) covers discharging at or toward a person, habitation, building or vehicle, and reckless shooting across a property line is not "lawful discharge" under anyone's reading.
Crossbows are a different matter. §202.021 speaks only to firearms, so the DCCR's crossbow hunting prohibition is untouched by it. And state hunting seasons, licensing and TPWD rules apply on top of everything above.
None of this is a green light. It means the provision is contested rather than clear. The Board and the ARC are not in a position to commit to either interpretation without further research and guidance, and this guide is not the place that gets settled. See the note in Where the DCCR is unclear.
Fireworks on the Fourth of July?
Fireworks share a sentence with firearms in §3.12 and are prohibited on the property. The 2019 firearms statute reaches only firearms, ammunition and firearm parts, so it does nothing for fireworks. County fireworks restrictions and burn bans apply on top of the covenant. §3.12; Tex. Prop. Code §202.021
Can I have a fire pit? Can I burn brush?
A safe, well-designed exterior fire pit is expressly allowed, as is an attended, contained barbecue in use for cooking. Any other open fire must comply with the ordinances, regulations and permit requirements of local authorities — which in Kendall County means checking the burn ban before you light anything. During construction, no outdoor fires at all without written ARC authorization. §3.12, §7.5
Where can I park my boat, trailer or RV?
Boats, trailers, campers and the rest must be kept in an enclosed structure or screened from view except when in actual use. Travel trailers and RVs get a 48-hour window of visibility. And nothing parks overnight on an Estancia roadway — including your guests' cars. §3.15, §3.16
Can I short-term rent my house?
§3.25 permits "the rental of any entire Lot and the Improvements thereon" and sets no minimum term, so nothing in the Declaration expressly bars a short-term rental. Two limits do apply: you may only rent the whole lot, not a room or a casita separately, and you remain personally responsible for every violation your tenant commits.
Note also that the Board has power to adopt rules covering gate access, guest identification and use of the common properties, which can reach STR guests. If the POA has adopted such rules since 2010, they govern alongside the DCCR — check with the Board before listing. §3.25, §5.4.a, §5.9
Can I run a business out of my house?
Use is restricted to "single family residential use." The DCCR doesn't define home occupations one way or the other, and a home office with no traffic, signage, employees or deliveries looks very different from a business with clients coming through the gate. Signs advertising a business aren't permitted in any case. Bring the specifics to the Board. §4.1, §3.3
Do I have to maintain the greenbelt strip in front of my lot?
§3.19 makes each owner responsible for mowing, trimming and weeding "any Greenbelt platted as part of such Owner's Lot and any Greenbelt located between such Owner's Lot and publicly dedicated roadway." §3.19
Can I choose my own trash company?
What owners actually do: pick either Waste Connections or Tiger Sanitation, and pay that hauler directly.
What the document says: all refuse, garbage and trash "shall be collected, at the expense of Owner, by the service provider chosen by the Association" — a single provider, chosen by the POA. §3.4
The gap is real but not alarming, and there are two ways to read it. The Association has simply approved two haulers rather than one, which the DCCR doesn't forbid — it sets a floor of Association control, not a ceiling of exactly one vendor — and the Board has express authority to adopt rules covering its functions. Or the Board has never exercised the exclusivity §3.4 gives it, and the two-provider practice is custom rather than adopted rule. §5.4.a
What this means for you: using Waste Connections or Tiger is safe. Using a third hauler is not — nothing in the practice or the document authorizes that.
What it means for the Board: worth memorializing the approved-hauler list as a written Board rule under §5.4.a, so the document and the practice say the same thing. A covenant that everyone quietly ignores is a covenant that's harder to enforce when it matters.
Can the POA come onto my property?
The POA may enter a lot and any improvement on it to enforce the rules or to perform maintenance or repairs needed to bring it into compliance: immediately in an emergency, otherwise after 24 hours' written notice. Costs become your personal obligation and a lien on the lot. The ARC and Board separately have a right of entry to inspect work in progress. §5.4.e, §6.1.C
Where the DCCR is unclear
A summary is most useful when it's honest about the seams. These are places where the recorded document contradicts itself, goes silent, or has been overtaken by time or state law. None of them should be resolved by guessing. Where a genuine conflict exists, the Board and the ARC cannot commit to one interpretation over another without further research and guidance — so these are flagged here plainly rather than answered.
The firearms discharge ban. §3.12 prohibits discharging firearms anywhere on the property and bans hunting. Texas Property Code §202.021, enacted in 2019, provides that a property owners' association "may not include or enforce" a covenant that prohibits or restricts "the otherwise lawful discharge of a firearm." The verb "enforce" is what makes it reach a declaration recorded in 2010.
Two things keep this from being a clean answer. First, the statute protects only otherwise lawful discharge — and under Local Government Code §§235.021–.023 a commissioners court may regulate discharge only on lots of 10 acres or smaller in a platted subdivision in the unincorporated area, so Estancia's actual lot sizes and any Kendall County order are what decide it. Second, we found no controlling Texas appellate decision applying §202.021 to a pre-2019 declaration.
Fireworks and crossbow hunting sit outside the statute and remain enforceable. The Board and the ARC cannot commit to either reading of the firearms provision without further research and guidance — the conflict is stated here so owners know it exists, not because it has been resolved.
The skeet deck. §3.12 bans discharging any firearm on the property. Yet §1.8 lists a "skeet deck" among the Common Properties the Association owns, and §10.12 expressly names "skeet shooting" first among the inherently risky common-area activities that owners release the Association from liability for. The Declaration cannot simultaneously prohibit all firearm discharge and provide for a skeet range. Read together with §202.021 above, this is the strongest indication that §3.12 was never meant to be, and cannot be, a blanket ban.
The speed limit. §4.4.3 sets a flat 10 mph across all Common Properties and authorizes fines for exceeding it. The signs actually posted in Estancia read 20, 25 and 30 mph depending on location. Both cannot be the operative limit, and 10 mph community-wide is well outside what comparable Hill Country communities set today. Until it is reconciled, the posted number is what owners drive and what the Board has effectively adopted — but the recorded figure is 10.
The one-year construction deadline. §3.23 and §7.4 require completion within twelve months of starting, with automatic revocation of ARC approval and a restoration remedy for missing it. Written in 2010, that assumed a build cycle that no longer exists. Every Estancia home started since 2020 has run past twelve months, driven by permitting, well and septic scheduling, materials lead times and trade availability rather than owner delay. The provision as written would put nearly every recent build in technical default, which is a good indication the number needs amending rather than enforcing.
Satellite dishes. §3.1 exempts dishes of one meter or less from prior ARC consent, while empowering the ARC to regulate placement and screening of any media receptor "to the full extent permissible without violating any applicable federal law or Federal Communications Commission rules." This guide asks owners to submit every dish regardless of size — which is broader than the text's literal exemption, and is worth knowing about. Federal rules constrain how far an association can go in restricting small dishes, so the realistic scope of ARC authority here is over placement and screening rather than outright refusal.
Trash collection. §3.4 contemplates a single hauler "chosen by the Association." In practice owners choose between Waste Connections and Tiger Sanitation. The practice is defensible — the Association can approve two providers as easily as one, and §5.4.a lets the Board adopt rules — but it isn't what the recorded text describes. The fix is cheap: adopt the approved-hauler list as a written Board rule so the two line up.
Golf carts on the private streets. §4.4 prohibits them by name; §4.4.1 permits bench-seated four-wheel ATVs, which describes most carts; and §4.4 also bars unlicensed vehicles from the roads. The three provisions can't all be satisfied at once.
What happens when the ARC doesn't respond. §6.9 creates a 30-day deemed approval; §7.3.1 says silence is never approval. Owners should not rely on either without a written decision in hand.
Buildings that aren't a house or a barn. §6.1.B limits construction to "a dwelling or livestock barn," yet §1.16 and §7.1.5 contemplate storage sheds, detached garages, pool structures and other outbuildings. In practice this is handled through the variance mechanism at §6.10 — but the tension is real and worth resolving in writing.
Declarant rights and dates. Several provisions turn on January 1, 2020: the Declarant's right to annex additional property (§2.1), Class B voting control (§5.3), and the original term of the Declaration (§10.1). The Declaration auto-renews in successive ten-year periods unless 67% of owners amend or extinguish it, so it currently runs through January 1, 2030. With Class B membership ended, appointment of ARC members sits with the Board (§6.6).
Texas Property Code Chapter 209 and Chapter 202. The DCCR itself makes enforcement "subject to the requirements of Chapter 209" (§3.21), which governs notice, hearing and cure rights before fines and certain enforcement actions. Chapter 202 separately limits association restrictions on solar devices (§202.010), flag display (§202.011), firearms (§202.021), rainwater harvesting, xeriscaping and religious displays. The DCCR is a 2010 document and most of Chapter 202's owner-protective provisions post-date it. Where the two diverge, statute controls — which means a covenant can be perfectly valid on its face and still unenforceable today.
Design Guidelines and Board rules. §6.8 empowers the ARC to adopt recorded Design Guidelines that may be more stringent than the DCCR, and §5.4.a empowers the Board to adopt rules and a fine schedule. Any such documents govern alongside everything above. Owners and buyers are expressly urged to request the most recent Design Guidelines from the ARC.
Every item above is a provision the Board and the ARC are currently obligated to work with, not one either body chose. Neither can waive a covenant, and neither can commit to one reading of a conflicting one without further research and guidance. What both can do is apply them sensibly, flag the problems honestly, and support a fix.
The fix is an amendment, and an amendment takes 67% of the votes entitled to be cast — a threshold our counsel and DAMC have both noted is unusually high. Clearing it is a participation problem before it is a legal one. It needs owners to engage with what's proposed, work through the genuine disagreements about what should change, and return a ballot. At 67%, silence has the same effect as opposition. §10.3.B
If a provision on this page strikes you as wrong, outdated, or unworkable, that is worth saying out loud at a meeting rather than in a driveway conversation. This list exists so the conversation can start from the same set of facts.
Dues & Enforcement
What you owe, what happens if you don't pay, and who can enforce the rules against whom.
Regular annual assessments are levied uniformly on every lot, set by the Board from its estimate of the year's expenses — maintenance, street lighting, enforcement, contingencies, a road reserve, and replacement reserves for common facilities.
§8.1, §8.3The annual assessment was capped at $2,000 per lot for 2006, and may be increased by up to 10% per year thereafter with majority Board approval.
§8.3Special assessments require 67% approval of the votes of each class of members, and are due within 30 days of written notice.
§8.4Unpaid assessments accrue 18% annual interest, plus all collection costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. They're your personal debt and a lien on the lot, enforceable by foreclosure.
§8.5, §8.6While you're delinquent — or in violation of the rules — the POA may suspend your voting rights and your right to use the greenbelt and amenity areas.
§9.6.aAny owner can enforce the DCCR, at their own expense, as can the Board and the Declarant. Violations give rise to claims for fines, penalties, assessments, damages and injunctive relief.
§3.21, §10.9.ADisputes go to binding arbitration under the Texas Uniform Arbitration Act, not to court.
§10.9.AThe Board may adopt a schedule of fines and penalties for violations, along with traffic, parking and common-area rules.
§5.4.a, §5.9Amending the DCCR takes 67% of the votes entitled to be cast, recorded in Kendall County by instrument executed by the POA's President and Secretary.
§10.3.B