Your governing documents are only as strong as your Board of Directors’ leadership is on your behalf, which is to say a pro-active HOA will enforce covenant restrictions of the governing documents. For example: the following quote is from Jefferson County’s 2014 amended ordinance:

SECTION 4A.6 PRIVATE COVENANTS RUNNING WITH THE LAND

Jefferson County shall not enforce or become involved in the enforcement of deed restrictions, covenants, easements, or any other private agreement, and, in the review of development proposals, the County will apply only its regulations to evaluate the proposal. All such restrictions shall be enforced by the parties to the restriction. It is the responsibility of an applicant for a proposed Cottage Industry or Home Occupation to research any private agreements relating to the subject property, contact the Homeowners’ Association, or seek the advice of a surveyor, engineer or attorney.

TIP: open communication and transparency is key to success in any HOA – your HOA should be pro-active and encourage all their members to contact their Board of Directors prior to applying for any change that may/would be considered a violation of their governing documents – basically it is contract law – a homeowner accepted and agreed to abide by the governing documents, e.g. restrictions that run with the land, at the time of settlement. Without being pro-active, eventually your HOA will most likely seek legal counsel after-the-fact at great expense to all member homeowners and/or your HOA insurance.