The text below was scanned from a paper copy of the certified original, using advanced OCR techniques. Every effort has been made to ensure that the text is identical to that of the original document (including mis-spellings), but it cannot be guaranteed. The layout of the text is similar but not identical to the original. The text is intended for research purposes only. THIS IS NOT A LEGAL DOCUMENT. 2nd Amendment dated 10/02/2006 is incorporated.

DECLARATION OF CONDOMINIUM OF TOPAR, INC.

TOPAR, INC., a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Connecticut and having its principal place of business in the Town of Norwalk, County of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, acting herein by William Glazer, its President, hereunto duly authorized, does hereby declare:

ARTICLE I - SUBMISSION OF PROPERTY:

The purpose of this Declaration is to submit the land herein described and the buildings and improvements located thereon to condominium form of ownership and use in the manner provided by Chapter 825 of the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended, herein called "Unit Ownership Act". The name by which this project is to be identified is TERRACE PLACE CONDOMINIUM. TERRACE PLACE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., (hereinafter called the "Association") is a non-stock corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Connecticut having an office and principal place of business in the Town of New Milford, County of Litchfield and State of Connecticut, the ownership of which is vested in the unit owners of TERRACE PLACE CONDOMINIUM. Said corporation is not organized for profit.

ARTICLE II - DEFINITIONS:

As used in this Declaration and the accompanying By-laws, unless the context otherwise requires:

Declaration. Declaration means this instrument by which the property is submitted to the provisions of the Unit Ownership Act, and this instrument as it may be, from time to time, amended.

Unit. Unit means a part of the property, including one or more rooms or enclosed spaces, located on one or more floors of a building described in ARTICLE IV hereof, intended for any type of independent use and with a direct exit to a public street or highway, or to a common element leading to such street or highway. The units generally consist of the interior of an apartment and meaning and intending to include within said definition, all air spaces and anything constructed or located therein, except those common elements identified in ARTICLE III hereof, which air spaces lie between the undecorated interior surfaces of all walls, which walls are hereby defined as follows: the highest ceiling within the space intended for use as a dwelling unit, the lowest floor within the space intended for use as a dwelling unit, and all vertical walls separating the space intended for use as a dwelling unit from another dwelling unit or an exterior wall or hallway. Further, a unit shall include all exterior surfaces of all doors and windows located in the aforesaid vertical walls but does hereby exclude the basements and crawl space.
Unit Owner. Unit owner means the person or persons owning a unit in fee simple absolute, together with an undivided interest in the fee simple real estate of the common elements, in the percentage specificed and established in this Declaration, and their heirs, executors, administrators, successors and assigns, and a mortgagee or lienholder holding both legal and equitable title.
Unit Letter and Number. Letter and Number means the letter designating the entrance and hallway and the number designating the unit in this Declaration.
Association of Unit Owners. Association of Unit Owners means TERRACE PLACE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., a non-stock corporation orgarized and existing under the laws of the State of Connecticut.
Buildings. Buildings means the structure containing twenty-one (21) units and comprising a part of the property and designated as TERRACE PLACE CONDOMINIUM, described in SCHEDULES A and B attached hereto and made a part hereof, and located generally at 12 Terrace Place, New Milford, Connecticut.
Common Elements. Common Elements means all portions of the property, except units and space within units.
Common Expenses. Common Expenses mean and include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
1. Expenses of administration, maintenance, repair or replacement of the common elements.
2. Expenses declared common expenses by the condominium instruments or by the Unit Ownership Act.
3. Expenses agreed upon as common expenses by the Association of Unit Owners and lawfully assessed against the Unit Owners in accordance with the condominium documents.
4. Reasonable reserves established for the repair or replacement of improvements or components with more than a single year life.
5. Any valid charge against the condominium as a whole.
6. The real estate taxes of the Town of New Milford and the common charges applicable to any unit owned by the Association of Unit Owners.
The common expenses shall be apportioned amongst the unit owners pursuant to the percentage of undivided interest in the common elements as set forth in ARTICLE VIII hereof.
Common Profits. Common Profits mean the balance of all income, rents, profits, and revenues from the common elements remaining after the deduction of the common expenses. Any rental or concession income received for the use of the common elements shall be used by the Board of Directors to reduce and defray common expenses.
Majority, or Majority of Unit Owners. Majority, or Majority of Unit Owners means the owners of more than fifty (50%) per cent, in the aggregate, in interest of the undivided ownership of the common elements as specified in this Declaration. Any specified percentage of Unit Owners means such percentage, in the aggregate, of such undivided ownership; and for all voting purposes as provided in this Declaration and in the By-laws of the Association, each unit shall have a vote equal to such percentage. At all times, the Declarant, for any purpose whatsoever, shall be entitled to vote the percentages appurtenant to units owned by it.
Association. Association, as above defined, means TERRACE PLACE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC.
Limited Common Elements. Limited Common Elements means and includes those common elements designated in this Declaration as reserved for the use of a certain unit or units, to the exclusion of other units, as more particularly set forth:
1. Seventeen (17) storage bins located in the storage and meter room in the basement of the building, one (1) storage bin to be allocated for each unit, except units numbered 17, 18, 20 and 21.
2. One (1) parking space per unit as designated on the survey reflecting the unit numbers and parking plan annexed hereto as Schedule A-1 shall be a limited common element, the use of which shall be limited to the unit with the corresponding designation.
3. Mailboxes are limited common elements to the units with the corresponding letter and number indicated thereon.
4. Halls, entrances, stairways (both interior and exterior) are limited in use to the units adjacent and contiguous thereto.
Person. Person means individual, corporation, partnership, association trustee or other legal entity capable of holding interest in real estate.
Condominium. Condominium, for the purposes of this Declaration, means the real property, with the building and other improvements thereon, herewith lawfully submitted to the provisions of the Unit Ownership Act, and containing twenty-one (21) units, wherein individual units are owned by individual unit owners, in fee simple absolute, or leased, with each unit owner or lessee entitled to the exclusive ownership and possession of his unit, with each Unit Owner being entitled to an undivided interest in the common elements of the whole project.
Property. Property means and includes the land, all buildings, all improvements and structures thereon, all owned in fee simple absolute, and all easements, rights and appurtenances belonging thereto which have been or are intended to be submitted to the provisions of the Unit Ownership Act by this Declaration.
Declarant. Declarant, as used in this Declaration, and the By-laws, or any amendments made to them subsequent hereto, means TOPAR, INC., its successors and assigns.

ARTICLE III - DESCRIPTION OF LAND:

The land owned by the Declarant, which is hereby submitted to the condominium form of ownership under the "Unit Ownership Act", is the land described in SCHEDULE B attached hereto and made a part hereof.

ARTICLE IV - DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDINGS:

A detailed description of the buildings located upon the land described in ARTICLE III hereof, which description specifically sets forth the number of stories, the number of units, the principal materials of which the building is constructed, and other pertinent information is more particularly set forth in SCHEDULE A attached hereto and made a part hereof.

ARTICLE V - IDENTIFICATION OF UNITS:

Annexed hereto and made a part hereof as SCHEDULE C is a list of all the units in the building, together with the identification letter and number of each unit, the approximate area, its limited common elements together with such other data as may be necessary for the proper identification of each individual unit. Annexed hereto are SCHEDULE A-1 and SCHEDULE A-2 which show the location of the units and the unit parking and plans of each unit on three levels of the building comprising the condominium.

ARTICLE VI - DESCRIPTION OF COMMON ELEMENTS:

The common elements consist of all portions of the property, except the units and space within the units, and includes without limitation, those items specifically defined in ARTICLE II, subsection G, of this Declaration.

ARTICLE VII - DESCRIPTION OF LIMITED COMMON ELEMENTS:

The limited common elements consist of those portions of the property more particularly defined in ARTICLE II, subsection L. of this Declaration. The total percentage of the undivided interest of all the units equals one hundred per cent (100%). Said percentage was ascertained by the Declarant by the size of each unit in relation to the size of all the units for any interest in the common elements.

ARTICLE VIII - PERCENTAGE OF UNDIVIDED INTEREST IN COMMON ELEMENTS APPERTAINING TO EACH UNIT AND ITS OWNER:

The percentage of the undivided interest in the common elements appertaining to each unit and its owner is more specifically set forth in SCHEDULE C attached hereto. The total percentage of the undivided interest of all the units equals one hundred per cent (100%). Said percentage was determined by the Declarant on the basis of the fair value of each unit as of the date hereof in relation to the fair value of all the units created hereunder.

ARTICLE IX - USE, PURPOSE AND RESTRICTIONS:

The use of the property and the purposes for which the building and each of the units therein are intended shall be in accordance with the following provisions:

Each unit as set forth on SCHEDULE C hereof shall be occupied as a residence, and for no other purposes. In no event shall a unit be occupied by more than one (1) family. Notwithstanding any provisions contained herein, the Declarant, his servants, agents or employees (which term for the purpose of this Article includes any mortgagee of the Declarant and any person claiming by or through any such mortgagee) has the right to use any unit or units or temporary structure located on the common elements for models and sales and administrative offices, and to use any common elements for any incidental purposes permitted hereunder including the right to post such signs as it deems necessary on or in the unit, its limited common elements and in the common elements to aid it in such sales of units. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to allow anyone other than the Declarant, as defined herein, to establish offices, as defined above, or to post signs. Any temporary structure so used by the Declarant shall remain the sole property of the Declarant and may be removed by the Declarant at any time from the premises.
There shall be no obstruction of the common elements or limited common elements, nor shall anything be stored in the common elements or limited common elements without the prior consent of the Board of Directors, except in the storage bins, provided the items so stored shall not be in violation of any of the restrictions contained in this Article IX. Each unit owner shall be obligated to maintain his unit and keep it in good order and repair.
Nothing shall be done or kept in any unit or in the common elements or limited common elements which will increase the rate of insurance of the building or the contents thereof beyond the premium applicable to units without any such items kept therein without the prior written consent of the Board of Directors. No unit owner shall permit anything to be done or kept in his unit or in the common elements or limited common elements which will result in the cancellation of insurance on the building, or the contents thereof, or which would be in violation of any law. No waste shall be committed in the units, in the common elements or in the limited common elements.
Unit Owners shall not cause or permit anything to be hung or displayed on the outside of windows or placed on the outside walls of the building, and no signs of any kind, awnings, screens, canopies, shutters, radio or television antennas, greenhouses, or hanging plant pots,_shall be affixed to or placed upon the common elements or limited common elements of any part thereof.
No animals, rabbits, livestock, fowl or poultry of any kind shall be raised, bred or kept in any unit or in the common elements or limited common elements, except that not more than one (1) cat or one (1) dog, not greater than eighteen (18) inches in height, per unit may be kept, provided that they are not kept, bred or maintained or any commercial purposes, and provided, further, that any such pet causing or creating a nuisance or unreasonable disturbance or noise shall be permanently removed from the property upon three (3) days written notice from the Board of Directors. Notwithstanding that such pets are allowed as above, no pets shall be allowed to roam, with or without a leash, on the common elements for any reason whatsoever, including, but not limited to, defecation.
No noxious or offensive activities shall be carried on in any unit or in the common elements or limited common, elements, nor shall anything be done therein, either willfully or negligently, which may be or become an annoyance or nuisance to the other unit owners or occupants.
Nothing shall be done to any unit or on or in the common elements or limited common elements which will impair the structural integrity of the building, or which will structurally change the building.
No clothes, sheets, blankets, laundry or any kind, or other articles shall be hung out or exposed on any part of the common elements and/or limited common elements. The common elements and limited common elements shall be kept free and clear of rubbish, debris and other unsightly materials and items.
No industry, business, trade, occupation or profession of any kind, be it commercial, religious, educational or otherwise, may be conducted, maintained or permitted on any unit. No commercial vehicles of a size larger than a one-half ton panel truck or van may be parked on any part of the property, except for those vehicles temporarily on the property for the purpose of servicing the property itself or one of the units. No parking space shall be used except for the parking of vehicles which are operational and registered for the highway and owned by the unit owners, their guests or tenants.
Draperies, blinds, curtains or interior shutterettes may be installed by each unit owner on all windows of the unit and must be maintained in said windows at all times.
The Board of Directors shall have the power to make such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the intent of these use restrictions. The Board of Directors shall further have the right to levy fines for violations of these regulations. For each day that a violation continues after notice, it shall be considered a separate violation. Any fine so levied is to be considered a common charge to be levied against the particular unit owner involved, and collection thereof may be enforced by the Board of Directors in the same manner as they are entitled to enforce collection of common charges. Such levy or charges shall not replace or abrogate any action for damages or injunctive relief as provided by law.
It is hereby determined that occupancy of the units by unit owners is beneficial to the continued maintenance, safety and welfare of the condominium project and the unit owners; that it fosters interest in good management and upkeep of the project which directly affects the fair market value of all of the units contained therein and that numerous non-owner occupied units have the contrary effect on the premises. Accordingly, effective that date of recording of this amendment, no Owner may lease his or her unit to another person or persons with the following exceptions:
1. Lease by an owner to a family member, defined as owner's spouse, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild or sibling.
2. Special hardship circumstances. Conditions and application for lease due to hardship shall be set forth in rules and regulations adopted by the Board of Directors as necessary to carry out the intent of this amendment.
3. Any Owner who acquired title to his or her unit prior to date of the recording of this Second Amendment to Declaration and has a lease of record at the time of recording of this amendment is permitted to continue leasing the unit.
No unit owner shall dispose of any unit or any interest therein by sale or lease without first offering the same for sale or lease to the Board of Directors of the Association pursuant to Section 17 of the By-laws of TERRACE PLACE CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC. attached hereto, and shall simultaneously notify the managing agent, if any, of the terms and conditions contained in such sale or lease. Failure to notify the Board of Directors and the managing agent as foresaid shall, in addition to any other remedy provided by law, make any such sale, transfer, conveyance or lease voidable at the option of the Board of Directors and if the Board of Directors elects to void such transaction, any and all costs, including any reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by the Association shall be due and payable by the present owner and/or his immediate predecessor in title.

ARTICLE X - PERSON TO RECEIVE SERVICE:

GEORGE A. VARDAMIS, ESQ., 618 West Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut 06852, is hereby designated to receive notice of process in any action which may be brought against the Association. The president of the Association, elected after the first annual meeting of Unit Owners, shall file an amendment with the Secretary of State of the State of Connecticut indicating that he or she, as the case may be, is the agent for service of process for the Association.

ARTICLE XI - BY-LAWS:

Annexed hereto and made a part hereof is a copy of the Bylaws of TERRACE PLACE CONDOMINIUM.

ARTICLE XII - EASEMENTS AND ENCROACHMENTS:

If any portion of the common elements now encroaches upon any unit, or if any unit now encroaches upon any other unit or upon any portion of the common elements, or if any encroachment shall occur hereafter as a result of settling of the building or alterations or repairs to the common elements made by or with the consent of the Board of Directors, or as a result of repair or restoration of the building, or a unit after damage by fire or other casualty, or as a result of condemnation or eminent domain proceedings, a valid easement shall exist for such encroachment and for the maintenance of the same so long as the building stands.

ARTICLE XIII - PIPES, DUCTS, CABLES, WIRES, CONDUITS, PUBLIC UTILITY LINES AND OTHER COMMON ELEMENTS LOCATED INSIDE OF WALLS:

Each unit owner shall have an easement, in common with the owners of all other units, to use all pipes, wires, ducts, cables, conduits, public utility lines, and other common elements located in any of the other units and serving each unit. Each unit shall be subject to an easement in favor of the owners of all other units to use the pipes, ducts, cables, wires, conduits, public utility lines and other common elements serving such other units and located in such unit. The Board of Directors shall have the right of access to each unit to inspect the same, to remove violations therefrom, and to maintain, repair or replace the common elements contained therein, or elsewhere in the building. Public utility companies and their employees or agents shall have an easement over and through all units, common elements, and limited common elements in order to install, maintain, read and repair utility meters and other utility devices necessary for normal utility service to all of the units.

ARTICLE XIV - POWER OF ATTORNEY TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Each unit owner, by the acceptance of a deed of conveyance of his or her unit, does hereby grant to the persons who shall, from time to time, constitute the Board of Directors, an irrevocable power of attorney, coupled with an interest to acquire title to or lease any unit whose owner desires to surrender, sell, or lease the same, or which may be the subject of a foreclosure of other judicial sale in the name of the Board of Directors, or their designees, corporate or otherwise, on behalf of all unit owners, and subject to the provisions of Article XVI E. herein, to convey, sell, lease, mortgage (but not to vote the votes appurtenant thereto), or otherwise deal with any such units so acquired, or to sublease any units so leased by the Board of Directors.

ARTICLE XV - UNITS SUBJECT TO DECLARATION, BY-LAWS, RULES AND REGULATIONS:

All present and future owners, tenants, and occupants of the units shall be subject to, and shall comply with, the provisions of this Declaration and the By-laws of the Association, and as they may be from time to time amended, as well as with regulations as may be adopted by the Board of Directors of the Association from time to time. The acceptance of a deed of conveyance or the entering into a lease or the entering into occupancy of any unit shall constitute agreement that the provisions of this Declaration and the By-laws and rules and regulations which may be adopted from time to time, are accepted and ratified by such owner, tenant, or occupany, and all of such provisions shall be deemed and taken to be covenants running with the land and shall bind any person having at any time any interest or estate in such unit as though such provisions were recited and stipulated at length in each and every deed of conveyance or lease thereof.

ARTICLE XVI - AMENDMENT OF DECLARATION:

This Declaration may only be amended by a sixty-six and two-thirds (66-2/3) per cent of the unit owners at a meeting of the Unit Owners Association duly called for such purpose, following a written notice to all unit owners and their mortgagees appearing on the records of the Association. No such amendment shall be effective until recorded in the office of the Town Clerk of the Town of New Milford, Connecticut. Notwithstanding the aforesaid, this Declaration may not be amended so as to deprive a unit owner of the limited common elements appurtenant to such unit unless such amendment is approved and agreed to by such unit owner. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no such amendment shall be inconsistent with the provisions of Section 47-70a of the Connecticut General Statutes, and unless the mortgagees of at least seventy-five per cent (75%) of the units subject to mortgages and seventy-five per cent (75) of the unit owners have given their prior written approval, this Declaration shall not be amended to:

Change the undivided interest in the common elements for the purpose of:
1. Levying assessments or charges or allocating distributions of hazard insurance proceeds, condemnation awards or common profits; or
2. Determining the individual interest of each condominium unit in the common elements.
Partition or subdivision of any unit or change in the boundaries of any unit.
By act or omission, seek to partition, subdivide, encumber, sell or transfer the common elements (the granting of an easement for public utilities or for other public purposes consistent with the intended use of the common elements by the Association of Unit Owners or by its Board of Directors shall not be deemed a transfer within the meaning of this clause).
Use hazard insurance proceeds for losses to any condominium property (whether to units or to common elements) for other than the repair, replacement or reconstruction of such condominium property, except as provided by statute in the case of substantial loss to the units and/or common elements of the condominium project.

ARTICLE XVII - INVALIDITY:

The invalidity of any provision of this Declaration shall not be deemed to impair or affect in any manner the validity, enforceability or effect of the remainder of this Declaration; and in such event, all of the other provisions of this Declaration shall continue to be in full force and effect as if such invalid provision had never been included herein.

ARTICLE XVIII - WAIVER:

No provision contained in this Declaration shall be deemed to have been abrogated or waived by reason of any failure to enforce the same, irrespective of the number of violations or breaches which may occur.

ARTICLE XIX - GENDER:

The use of the masculine gender in this Declaration shall be deemed to refer to the feminine gender, and the use of the singular shall be deemed to refer to the plural, and vice versa, whenever the context so requires.

ARTICLE XX - NAME OF CONDOMINIUM:

The condominium shall be known as TERRACE PLACE CONDOMINIUM.

ARTICLE XXI - TERMINATION:

The condominium formed under this Declaration may be terminated by action of the Unit Owners, as follows:

The unit owners may remove this property from the provisions of this Declaration by an instrument to that effect duly recorded and containing the signatures of ninety per cent (90%) of the unit owners, provided the holders of all liens affecting any of the units consent thereto or agree, in either case, by instrument duly recorded that their liens may be transferred to an undivided interest in the property.
Upon the removal of this property from the provisions of this Declaration, the unit owners shall be deemed to own the property at tenants-in-common, with undivided interest of each to be the same percentage of undivided interest previously owned by such owners in the common elements.

ARTICLE XXII - VOTING:

Whenever unit owners are to vote on any matter affecting this Declaration, such voting shall be conducted by them as members of the Association, and in accordance with the provisions established in the By-laws.

ARTICLE XXIII - CONFLICTS:

This Declaration is made to comply with the requirements of the Unit Ownership Act of the State of Connecticut, as provided for in the Connecticut General Statutes, as amended. In the case of any conflict between this Declaration and the provisions of the Unit Ownership Act, the provisions of said statutes shall control.