Virginia F. Kleist and Daniel Stern owned own lakefront
properties within the Chautauqua Shores subdivision. All property
owners were subject to covenants and restrictions that were filed
in 1962, when the subdivision was developed. The covenants and
restrictions give “each and every owner of land in [the
subdivision] . . . the right to enforce the same by appropriate
court proceedings.”
In December 2014, Stern purchased his property with plans to
demolish the existing house and build a much larger house. When
Kleist saw the site plans for the new house, she notified Stern by
letter in early August 2015 that the site plan showed that the home
he was about to construct was in violation of paragraph five of the
covenants and restrictions, which required a 100-foot setback from
the lake line for any building. That same month, Kleist filed suit
to enjoin Stern from violating that covenant and restriction and to
require him to remove any buildings that were in violation.
