The following are highlights and brief explanation from the Woodlake Covenants. For more information or a complete set of the Covenants, please visit the Woodlake Resident Portal or contact the WCA office. 

Basketball Goals
The Woodlake Design Guidelines require that sports equipment such as basketball goals be located no farther forward than 20′ from the front plane of the house. Permanent basketball back· boards may be mounted on the garage face or on a factory pre-finished pole. Portable basketball goals are permitted, but should be placed within 20′ of the front of the house. The Virginia Department of Trans· portation does not permit basketball goals in the roadway.

Boats, Trailers, RVs, etc.
No mobile home, trailer, tent, barn, or other
similar outbuilding or structure shall be placed on any residential prop·
erty at any time, either temporarily or permanently. Boats, boat trailers, campers, recre· ational vehicles, oversized vehicles, or utility trailers may be maintained on a residential property, but only within an enclosed or screened area such that they are not generally visible from adjacent properties.

Clotheslines, Heat Pumps, Gas Tanks, Rain Barrels
Each residential property owner shall provide a screened area to serve as a service yard and an area in which garbage receptacles, gas meters, heating and air conditioning equipment, clotheslines and other unsightly objects must be placed or stored in order to conceal them from view of the road and adjacent proper­ties.

Common Property
An easement in Open Space is granted to the Own­ers of Properties in Woodlake, tenants of such Properties, and their guests, which entitles Owners, tenants, and their guests to enjoy the Open Space Areas subject to the rules and regulations established by the (WCAJ. All open spaces, or common property, including the com· mon property around the edge of the lake, whether or not there is a bike trail, is the property of all Woodlake Property Owners and avail· able for their use and enjoyment. This does not include Private Open Space in Boyce’s Cove, Beacon Hill, Water Pointe and the Apartments.

Condition Of Properties
According to the Declaration of Rights, Restrictions, Affirmative Obligations and Conditions Applicable to All Property in Woodlake (the “General Covenants”): It shall be the responsibility of each Property Owner, tenant, contractor, or subcontractor to prevent the development of any unclean, unsightly, unkempt, unhealthy or unsafe conditions of buildings or grounds on any Property which shall tend to substantially decrease the beauty or safety of Woodlake, the neighborhood as a whole, or the specific area.

Flag Display
One flag or banner may be displayed on a projecting (an· gled) 6′ flag pole on the front of a home over a porch, door or other ap· propriate location at or below the roof eave line. One additional flag or banner may be displayed in a similar fashion on the rear fa,;ade of a home. Request for additional flags will be considered on a case·by·case basis. The maximum permitted flag or banner size is 3′ x 5′. Free· standing flag poles are not permitted on residential lots.

Garbage Pick Up & Recycling
There shall be no curbside garbage pickup. Curbside Recycling ONLY is permitted.

Home Offices
The use of a portion of a dwelling unit on a residential property as an office by the owner or tenant thereof shall be considered a residential use (acceptable) if such use does not create undue customer or client traffic as determined by the Company. In 1992, the Board of Directors, in order to clarify this Covenant, adopted a resolution which states, “Any business use of a residence which, by its nature invites or requires customer, clients, or em­ployees to come to the residence, or any business use of a residence which requires a zoning variance from Chesterfield County, is prohibited.”

Mailboxes
No mailbox shall be erected or maintained on any property, nor shall any alteration in the appearance of any mailbox be made un­less approved in writing. A standard mailbox design is used through­out Woodlake. These are available through the Community Association office. Property owners are responsible for maintenance of the mail­box.

New residents, whether tenant or owner, must change the name plate
on a property’s mailbox within 60 days of moving in. Name plates may bear the resident’s name or be blank.

Parking
Each Property Owner shall provide space for parking automobiles off public streets. On-street parking creates a traffic hazard on narrow, unlit streets and impedes delivery of mail. On-street parking is legal, but not recommended due to the traffic hazard it may cause.

Signs
No sign shall be erected on any property by anyone, including but not limited to a Property Owner, a tenant, a realtor, a contractor, or a sub-contractor, until the proposed sign has been approved.

Structures, Fences, etc.
No building, fence, or other structure shall be erected, placed, or al­tered on any property in Woodlake until the proposed building plans, specifications, exterior color or finish, and plot plan have been approved in writing. There is a published set of Design Guidelines available on the Woodlake Resident Portal. For information about a specific project or application CLICK HERE and  describe your project or contact the WCA office.

Trees, Shrubs, etc.
Topographic and vegetation characteristics of properties within Woodlake shall not be altered by excavation, grading, re­moval, reduction, addition, clearing, cutting, pruning, seeding, planting, transplanting or any other means without written approval. No trees measuring 6 inches or more in diameter at a point 2 feet above the ground may be removed without written approval.

In order to preserve the natural appearance and scenic beauty of Woodlake and Swift Creek Reservoir, and to provide a “cover” for animals which habitually move along the lake edges, there is hereby established a construction and clearing-restricted zone on all properties fronting on Swift Creek Reservoir. That portion of any property located within eighty (80) feet of the 178′ contour line around the reservoir shall be preserved substantially in its present natural state, except for clearing for view and breeze approved by the Company.

No clearing, cutting, grading, or any other alteration of the topographic or vegetative char­acteristics of the easement area along the edge of the reservoir may be performed by any Property Owner or tenant without approval in writing.

Vegetable Gardens
The Woodlake Design Guidelines require that vegetable gardens shall be restricted to 10% of the rear yard area; the ARB will consider requests for more garden area (in the rear yard) on a case-by-case basis. Garden areas in a side yard shall be considered on a case-by-case basis with application and ARB approval. Natural screening of shrubbery is required. Non-natural screening such as fencing is not permitted.