Specific Height Restriction Limits Approval Authority of Architectural Review Committee

In a dispute relating to the height of a residential addition, the Division Three Court of Appeals has provided additional guidance on when specific building restrictions in community covenants (CCRs) might limit the authority of an architectural approval committee. In Mack v. Armstrong, the court heard a challenge to a trial court order requiring the Armstrongs to remove the top four feet of their new residential addition. This order was based on a decision by an architectural committee, which was authorized to approve any new construction on the Armstrongs’ lot. The Court of Appeals, however, reversed this order because the Armstrongs’ construction complied with a specific 30-foot height restriction in the covenants. The Court cited prior cases generally holding that "[s]pecific provisions of real estate covenants take precedence over more general consent-to-construction provisions of those same covenants." This case highlights the importance of reading a community covenants document as a whole while interpreting its meaning.