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Helotes Texas

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What you can build, and what needs a signature first.

Canyon Creek Preserve is governed by recorded covenants and an Architectural Control Committee. Nothing is erected, placed or altered without written plan approval. The standards are required, not optional; and that is the good news. They are what keeps the neighborhood the place you wanted to move to. Most custom plans already meet them and those that do not, were grandfathered in from the initial phase. This guide is here to help you design a house that sails through review the first time.

Before you build

Plans must be reviewed and approved in writing by the Architectural Control Committee before any construction begins — see Article VI of the recorded covenants, with the submittal requirements at §6.1 and §6.7 and the definition of a complete submittal at §1.21. The standards summarized below are a reading aid, not legal advice, and committee approval does not certify structural safety or code compliance. Confirm every standard against the recorded covenants for your specific lot and with the committee before you design or build.

References on this page are to the declaration recorded April 2018.

The Numbers that Shape a Site Plan

Bring these to your first meeting with a designer. Most revision cycles come from a plan drawn before someone read this table.

StandardRequirementSection
Minimum living area, one story2,000 sq ft§3.1
Minimum living area, two story2,200 sq ft · 1,400 on the ground floor§3.1
Guest or servants house500 sq ft – ½ of the main house§3.1
Front elevation offsetAt least 2 wall planes, 24in apart§3.1
Exterior completion6 months from start of construction§3.1
Paved driveway from the roadFirst 150ft§3.2
Barn, workshop or storage building1 max · ≤ 2,000 sq ft · 3ft rock wainscot§3.2
Rock on timber frame or fiber-cement walls≥ 25% of front and side walls§3.3
Maximum height35ft or 2½ stories, whichever is less§3.4
Setbacks (except Lots 7 & 8)75ft front · 25ft side · 75ft rear§3.5
Setback from any street-side lot line100ft§3.5
Fence clearance from meter, pole or transformer10ft§3.5
Fence height48in – 8ft§3.9
Shingle warranty30 years or better§3.7
Horses, goats, miniature horses and donkeys1 per 2 full acres owned§3.24
Laying hensUp to 10 per lot§3.24
Minimum rental term30 days, whole lot only§3.28
Annual assessment (2018)$595 per lot · max +10% per year§7.3

Architectural review

Nothing starts without written approval.

The committee is three to five voting members. Silence for thirty days after a complete submittal counts as approval — which makes completeness the thing worth getting right. A construction deposit set by the board is due with the submittal; half, or whatever was not spent on violation cleanup, is refunded once the house and landscaping are finished and compliant.

Variances exist, but they must be in recordable written form, signed by a majority of voting members, and they set no precedent. The committee can also approve a standard floor plan and elevation once for repeat use, and will issue a recordable Certificate of Compliance on request at the owner’s expense.

A Complete Submittal

Required before any work begins. §1.21, 6.1, 6.7

  • Site plan
  • Grading plan
  • Drainage plan
  • Foundation plan
  • Elevations
  • Floor plans
  • Exterior materials
  • Color schemes
  • Landscaping
  • Fencing
  • Exterior lighting
  • Utilities

Also needs a signature

  • Any Building or Structure
  • Guest or Servants House
  • Carports and Porte-Cochères
  • Garage and Carport Siting
  • Driveways and Culverts
  • Extra Storage Building
  • Prefabricated Materials
  • Roofing Beyond the Listed Materials
  • Metal Roof Color
  • Exterior Color Scheme
  • Height over 35ft or 2½ Stories
  • Dog Runs
  • Propane Tank Screening
  • Antennas and Satellite Dishes
  • Animal Enclosures
  • Work Inside a Drainage Easement
  • Any Exterior Alteration Later
  • Signs Beyond the Allowed List
  • Common Area Improvements

Home Specifications

Main Dwelling

One single-family dwelling per lot, built in place. Porches and garages do not count toward the living-area minimum. Every residence must have a garage even if it also has a carport or porte-cochère, and the front elevation needs two wall planes offset at least two feet. Manufactured, modular and prefabricated homes are not permitted.

Guest Quarters

One guest or servants house per lot, at least 500 square feet and no more than half the main house. It must be built after or alongside the main dwelling, and match its construction, materials, roofing and color. Guest quarters inside a barn are allowed once the main residence is complete, capped at half the barn’s interior, and cannot be rented for income.

Garages & Carports

Two cars minimum, matching the house in construction and exterior. A detached garage cannot go up before the dwelling. Garage doors may not face the street — with three or more doors, one may — and on corner lots doors may face the side street but not the front line. The committee has absolute authority over entry location and siting.

Barns & Workshops

One permanent barn, storage building or workshop per lot in metal, wood, rock or HardiePlank, up to 2,000 square feet, with a three-foot rock wainscot on all sides. It may be built before the house but must sit behind the front line of the dwelling. One additional storage building is allowed if it is out of view of roads and neighbors.

Materials & Appearance

Walls & Chimneys

Stucco, rock, timber frame or fiber cement. Timber frame and fiber cement need at least 25% rock on the front and side walls. Chimney exteriors match the dwelling’s walls in type and color.

Roofing

Slate, stone, concrete tile, clay or ceramic tile, or composition shingles warranted thirty years or better. Metal is allowed with standing or battened seams, left natural or painted an approved color. Anything else is at the committee’s discretion.

Color & Light

Natural or neutral earth tones that blend with the surroundings, approved before use. No bright, fluorescent or contrasting colors. Exterior fixtures must be shielded so no light escapes the top or sides — soft downlighting only, and no colored lights.

Fences & Walls

Three or four board vinyl, masonry veneer behind the front line of the house, wrought iron, cedar posts with no-climb wire or panel, or metal pipe. Wire and panel only in combination with one of those. Forty-eight inches to eight feet. No wooden privacy fences, and no chain link except approved dog runs out of sight.

Permits and the utilities you provide yourself

Committee approval is separate from — and does not substitute for — county permitting. Driveway culverts are required, sized so the roadside ditch drains without backing up or diverting flow, and they need a Medina County permit in addition to committee inspection.

Water comes from a private well on your own lot, permitted for domestic and irrigation use except within the restricted area described in Doc. No. 2016009174. Wastewater is an aerobic septic system, which has to be approved and installed before an RV can be used as a temporary residence during construction. Propane tanks are buried or screened. Mining, quarrying and drilling of any kind are prohibited.

Two land-use rules bear on clearing schedules: oaks are most vulnerable to oak wilt between February 1 and June 1, with a hundred-foot trenching requirement around an infected tree, and no woody vegetation may be cleared during golden-cheeked warbler breeding season, March 1 through August 31. Federal endangered-species law may restrict clearing further.

During Construction

  • A construction office, portable restrooms and storage are allowed only while work is active, and come off the lot at substantial completion.
  • An RV or camper may serve as a temporary residence during construction with an approved septic system installed, sited behind the build and out of view of the road where possible.
  • Otherwise no trailer, tent, garage or outbuilding may be lived in, and no camping.
  • Normal construction noise, dust and equipment are not a violation as long as work proceeds with reasonable diligence.
  • Lumber, scrap and bulk materials stay enclosed or screened from roads and neighbors.
  • One professionally made builder sign up to 24 × 30in is allowed without separate approval.
  • The exterior must be finished within six months of starting.

Community Life

Use of the Lot

Single-family residential only. A home office is fine provided there is no exterior sign of it, no added traffic and nothing dangerous on site. Owners may not subdivide a lot, though lots can be combined by recorded instrument — combined lots still pay separate assessments unless the association decides otherwise.

Animals

Household pets, plus horses, goats, miniature horses and miniature donkeys at one per two full acres owned, and up to ten laying hens. Program animals for 4-H and school projects are allowed for the program’s duration. No pigs, cattle, sheep or other poultry; no kennels, boarding for hire or breeding operations.

Vehicles & Rentals

Trailers, boats, tractors, RVs and garden equipment are stored in approved structures behind the rear wall of the house when not in use. No RV visible from a road or neighbor for more than 72 hours. Whole-lot rentals of thirty days or longer are permitted; short-term and partial-lot rentals are not.

Conduct & Dues

No discharge of firearms anywhere in the subdivision and no hunting. No exterior speakers audible at a neighbor’s line. Assessments were $595 per lot in 2018, capped at a 10% increase per year; late amounts accrue 18% interest and secure a lien the association can foreclose.

Thank You

You’ve made the first step to creating your dream home.
We look forward to helping you through the process.

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