Neighborhood features
Exhibit C designates a park and playground on Phase I Lots 26 and 51. It describes access to a dock on Lot 52 only once Alabama Power Shoreline Management approves it. The record does not establish present operation or transferable access for every offered lot.
Hidden Falls Phase I recorded declaration · Exhibit C · Deeds Book 264, p. 950
Building & ownership notes
The available document copies state:
For Phase I, the declaration specifies 1,700 square feet above ground; a multistory home requires at least 1,500 square feet on the first above-ground level, excluding porches, carports and garages.
Hidden Falls Phase I recorded declaration · §2.5 · Deeds Book 264, p. 936Written architectural approval is required before improvements, landscaping, grading, excavation or other specified changes. The submission process covers plans, site/topography, exterior materials and colors; variances must be written.
Hidden Falls Phase I recorded declaration · §§3.1–3.5 · Deeds Book 264, pp. 939–940For Phase I, dwelling construction, including landscaping, must be completed within 18 months after construction commences unless prior written architectural approval provides otherwise.
Hidden Falls Phase I recorded declaration · §2.3 · Deeds Book 264, p. 936The Phase I copy excludes manufactured, modular and listed temporary structures as residences.
Hidden Falls Phase I recorded declaration · §§2.7(c) and 2.15 · Deeds Book 264, pp. 937–938Boat, RV and trailer parking is subject to the document’s garage-parking requirements. This is not a general ban on ownership of those vehicles.
Hidden Falls Phase I recorded declaration · §2.13 · Deeds Book 264, p. 938Shoreline work and boathouses/piers remain subject to the applicable Alabama Power requirements and approvals.
Hidden Falls Phase I recorded declaration · §§2.6(c) and 2.18 · Deeds Book 264, pp. 937–939
Recorded document trail
Official record citations help identify the documents to review. Index entries alone do not establish their rules or current application to a lot. Use the county, instrument, book and page references to search and verify the records yourself.
Exhibit A identifies Phase I Lots 1–72 at Plat Book 3, page 132. The complete declaration and its plat/common-area exhibits have now been reviewed; match the offered lot to that recorded scope and later changes.
Hidden Falls Phase I recorded declaration · Instrument 60070 · Deeds Book 264, opening p. 934 and Exhibit A p. 948The 2015 Phase I transfer moves subdivision and common-area control from the developer to the association under the declaration. It records an authority transfer, not a replacement of the dwelling, parking or rental provisions.
Hidden Falls Phase I authority transfer · Instrument 134007 · Deeds Book 313, pp. 727–729; operative transfer p. 728A separate authority transfer concerns Phase III “The Retreat,” identifying its own declaration at Deeds Book 270, page 428 and plat at Plat Book 3, page 159. That declaration has not been reviewed here. Original §7.2 permits different restrictions for future phases; the shared Hidden Falls name does not make Phase I rules uniform across them.
Hidden Falls Phase I recorded declaration · Original §7.2 · Deeds Book 264, pp. 944–945; instrument 136709 · Deeds Book 314, pp. 636–638 Hidden Falls Phase III “The Retreat” authority transfer · Original §7.2 · Deeds Book 264, pp. 944–945; instrument 136709 · Deeds Book 314, pp. 636–638
Before you buy: a property checklist
- Does the offered lot match Phase I Lots 1–72, and are there later amendments or a different phase’s declaration?
- What current written dock, pier and shoreline approvals exist, and are the park, playground and Lot 52 dock operating for this lot’s benefit?
- What written approval covers the proposed RV, boat or trailer storage, detached building and guest parking?
- What are today’s road/common-area maintenance responsibilities, dues, special assessments and architectural review charges?
- What water service, sewage-disposal approval and site/utility easements apply to the intended home?
