Neighborhood Covenants Can Legally Prevent McMansions

"After a six-day trial, a Denver district judge has upheld Belcaro Park Homeowners Association's decision to reject a proposed new house as incompatible with the rest of the block in the historic neighborhood."

As the McMansion trend starts to affect one of Denver's loveliest ranch style neighborhoods, the residents have successfully fought back. When redevelopers in this niche "do the math", they often conclude that their profits come on a per square foot basis, so they try to maximize square footage. Now they have officially been put on notice that there are other important considerations like overall height, scale, and compatibility.

"Many neighbors opposed the proposal on the grounds that the new house would be dramatically out of scale with existing homes and would violate the neighborhood's real property covenants, which require new development to be compatible in height and appearance to other residences on the block."