Souza v. Columbia Park and Recreation Association, Inc.

The Columbia Park and Recreation Association (the association) (plaintiff) sued Anthony and Roseann Souza (defendants), owners of a lot in the Hickory Ridge Subdivision, for an injunction to compel the Souzas to rejoin subdivided portions of their lot. Under the Hickory Ridge Subdivision’s covenants, the approval of the association’s architectural committee was required to subdivide the lot, but the Souzas had subdivided their lot after the committee rejected their application to subdivide. The architectural committee stated that its rejection of the Souzas’ application was based on its desire to adhere to the development’s plan and to protect the interests of those who had relied on the plan when they bought and built on their neighborhood lots and that the rejection was also based on environmental considerations that were present when the original design was contemplated and that continued to support its decision to limit development on the lot. The Souzas argued that the covenant was unenforceable because it lacked criteria for evaluating subdivision applications and that the architectural committee’s rejection of its application to subdivide their lot was unreasonable. The trial court affirmed the architectural committee’s decision, finding that the committee’s rejection of the Souzas’ subdivision application was based on reasons relating to the general plan for developing the community. The Souzas appealed.