Mills Creek on Smith Lake

What to compare in Mills Creek

Waterfront versus Parkside ownership, architectural review, construction timing, rental restrictions and lot-specific dock licenses.

Your neighborhood questions, answered

Document summaries describe the sources reviewed. Confirm current amendments, fees and the rules for your exact lot.

The reviewed Walker County declaration covers Mills Creek at Smith Lake, using the legal description replaced by its first amendment. It distinguishes Waterfront Lots 1–38 and 46–50 from Parkside Lots 39–45 and 51–57; Parkside dock licenses and costs are not generic rights for every property. Match the offered lot to the final plat, amended description and later recorded changes.

Is there an HOA, and what does it cost?

Confirm current terms

Association membership follows lot ownership. The original provides annual assessments plus separate Parkside annual assessments for that lot group, possible special/individual assessments, transfer fees and potential third-party facility charges. The board sets current budgets and payment schedules. Request today's dues, reserves, transfer/ARC/facility charges, special assessments and paid-status certificate; this record is not a current fee quote.

Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, p. 317, §4.1; pp. 346–353, §§8.1–8.10 · PDF page 23 · document page 17

What neighborhood amenities are available?

Confirm current terms

Restricted shared docks/boat parking at Common Area 4 are for the defined Parkside lot group, with individual licenses and permit, rule and payment conditions. The original lists possible pools, courts, parks, playgrounds and trails but does not require the developer to provide them. Confirm operating facilities, the offered lot's actual access or slip license, guest rights and charges before relying on an amenity.

Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, pp. 306–307, §§1.35, 1.42, 1.44–1.45; pp. 311–312, §§3.1–3.2; p. 319, §4.6 · PDF page 12 · document page 6

What size home can I build?

Confirm current terms

The original delegates minimum and maximum Living Space to the ARC; it gives no fixed numerical size in §6.8. The document defines which heated and cooled areas count and requires approval for certain conversions to living space. Obtain the current lot-specific size and height standards, measurement method and approved plan.

Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, p. 305, §1.27; p. 332, §§6.7–6.8 · PDF page 11 · document page 5

What styles and plans need approval?

Document summary

The original requires ARC approval for covered plans, exterior work, landscaping and docks, including conversion of nonliving interior space to living space. Submit the required plans and obtain written approval before starting. No written approval within 30 days means disapproval. The developer has a stated exception. Request current styles/materials, siting standards, contractor requirements, review charges and security deposits.

Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, pp. 323–326, §§5.4–5.6; pp. 330–332, §§6.2, 6.4–6.9 · PDF page 29 · document page 23

Are manufactured or mobile homes allowed?

Document summary

The original expressly prohibits using lots for mobile/manufactured homes, trailers or recreational vehicles. ARC-approved construction trailers are a narrow during-construction exception, not manufactured-home permission. Any claimed current exception needs the applicable amendment or an actual written variance; do not infer approval for a proposed home type.

Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, p. 330, §6.1; p. 343, §6.33 · PDF page 36 · document page 30

Can I keep or stay in an RV or camper?

Document summary

The original prohibits motorhomes, campers and trailers remaining on lots and does not establish a buyer RV camping period. ARC-approved construction trailers have a separate limited exception. Boats, boat trailers and golf carts have enclosed-storage requirements, with no common-area or roadway storage. Obtain current parking rules and any signed written variance for a particular proposal.

Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, p. 330, §6.1; pp. 338–340, §§6.24, 6.27; p. 343, §6.33 · PDF page 36 · document page 30

When must construction start?

Document summary

For a lot not already improved as a dwelling, the original requires construction to begin within 24 months after the owner's purchase from the developer or another owner, unless the developer agrees otherwise in writing. Plans must be approved first. A separate clause requires resubmission if work has not substantially commenced within one year of ARC approval, unless waived in writing. Confirm any current extension or variance.

Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, p. 326, §5.5(g); pp. 328–329, §5.11 · PDF page 32 · document page 26

When must construction finish?

Document summary

The original requires diligent progress and substantial completion within 12 months after construction begins, unless the developer agrees otherwise in writing. Completion includes the ARC's intended-use standard and applicable final occupancy approvals. It lists beyond-control delay extensions and treats 30 days without significant progress as a diligence failure; inability to obtain financing is not a stated extension. Confirm any later amendment or written project-specific relief.

Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, pp. 328–329, §5.11; p. 343, §6.33 · PDF page 34 · document page 28

Can I rent through Airbnb or VRBO?

Document summary

The reviewed original expressly prohibits leasing or renting a dwelling for residential purposes; it does not provide ordinary Airbnb/VRBO permission or a numerical minimum stay. The developer's sales/model-office provision is not a general buyer rental allowance. If a seller claims an exception, obtain the current recorded amendment or the actual signed written ARC variance and confirm its scope for this property.

Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, p. 330, §6.1; p. 343, §6.33 · PDF page 36 · document page 30

What other rules should I know?

Document summary

The original requires sewer service under a written contract and prohibits private septic. Waterfront docks need ARC and Alabama Power written permission, and docked vessels may not be used for overnight stays. Landscaping, trees, exterior structures and shared driveways also have controls or owner-cost provisions. Confirm the offered lot's dock/slip rights, utility contract, maintenance duties and current approvals.

Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, pp. 316–317, §3.9; p. 332, §6.9; pp. 339–340, §§6.26–6.27; p. 344, §§6.35, 7.1 · PDF page 22 · document page 16

All 71 pages of the original declaration and all five pages of the known first amendment were reviewed. The amendment changes the legal description for sewer land and preserves the other terms. Current architectural standards, bylaws, adopted rules, dues, facility operations, later amendments and lot-specific licenses still need confirmation. Research checked 2026-10-31.

Neighborhood features

• LakeTown identifies Mills Creek at Smith's Landing as a Smith Lake community offering five Nequette-designed cottage choices.

  LakeTown: Mills Creek

• Daniel Communities identifies Mills Creek as the first LakeTown project at Smith Lake and describes its partnership with Alabama Power.

  Daniel Communities: LakeTown

• The declaration provides a restricted shared-dock/boat-parking arrangement for its defined Parkside lots, with individual licenses and permit, rule and assessment conditions. Pools, courts, parks and trails appear as possible facilities, with no developer obligation to provide them; confirm what operates now and what this lot may use.

  Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, pp. 306–307, §§1.35, 1.42, 1.44–1.45; p. 312, §3.2 · PDF page 12 · document page 6

Building and ownership notes

The available document copies state:

• The original expressly prohibits residential leasing or rental. A claimed exception needs the actual current amendment or signed written variance; general descriptions of residential use do not establish Airbnb/VRBO permission.

  Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, p. 330, §6.1; p. 343, §6.33 · PDF page 36 · document page 30

• Lots may not be used for trailers, RVs or mobile/manufactured homes. The narrow construction-trailer exception requires ARC approval; separate vehicle/storage provisions do not grant buyer camping or overnight RV use.

  Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, p. 330, §6.1; pp. 338–340, §§6.24, 6.27 · PDF page 36 · document page 30

• For an unimproved lot, the original requires dwelling construction to start within 24 months after purchase and substantial completion within 12 months after commencement, subject to its written-developer and listed delay provisions.

  Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, pp. 328–329, §5.11 · PDF page 34 · document page 28

• The ARC establishes minimum and maximum living space and approves height, plans, exterior work, docks and landscaping. The declaration does not state a fixed numerical minimum home size; obtain the current standards and written approval.

  Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, pp. 323–326, §§5.4–5.6; p. 332, §§6.7–6.9 · PDF page 29 · document page 23

• The original requires the sanitary sewer system and a written service contract, prohibiting private septic systems. A waterfront dock requires both ARC and Alabama Power written permission; overnight stays aboard a vessel docked at a Waterfront Lot are prohibited.

  Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, p. 339, §6.26; p. 344, §6.35 · PDF page 45 · document page 39

• Membership follows lot ownership. Annual assessments, separate Parkside annual assessments, special/individual charges and transfer or facility charges can apply. Confirm present amounts and balances with the association.

  Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, p. 317, §4.1; pp. 346–353, §§8.1–8.10 · PDF page 23 · document page 17

Recorded document trail

• The full original declaration, including its definitions, operative building/use rules and two-page Exhibit A, was reviewed. The recorded text distinguishes Parkside and Waterfront lot groups and separately governed dock licenses.

  Mills Creek recorded declaration · 597692 · DML Book 2648, pp. 295–365; lot definitions pp. 306, 308; original Exhibit A pp. 364–365 · PDF page 1

• The first amendment replaces Exhibit A to remove described land for wastewater treatment or similar sewer-provider purposes. It preserves the other original terms; it does not change construction deadlines, rental restrictions or assessment rules. Approximate areas are not a certified net-acreage or boundary finding.

  Mills Creek first recorded amendment · 598981 · DML Book 2657, p. 8, §§2–3; revised Exhibit A pp. 10–12 · PDF page 1

• Current ARC standards, bylaws, budgets, operating rules, facility agreements, shoreline permits, assigned Parkside boat-parking licenses and any later recorded changes need their own lot-specific confirmation. The reviewed original and known first amendment do not certify a complete current chain.

  Mills Creek recorded declaration · DML Book 2648, pp. 302–303, §§1.6, 1.10; pp. 307, 312, 319, 348, 353; DML Book 2657, pp. 8–12 · PDF page 8 · document page 2
  Mills Creek first recorded amendment · DML Book 2648, pp. 302–303, §§1.6, 1.10; pp. 307, 312, 319, 348, 353; DML Book 2657, pp. 8–12 · PDF page 8 · document page 2

Questions for the exact property

• Which current plat, lot group and later amendments cover the offered property under the revised Exhibit A?
• What are the current annual/Parkside dues, transfer and review fees, reserves, special assessments and any separate recreation or sewer charges?
• Does this lot have a current Parkside boat-parking license or an approved private dock, and which shoreline permits and guest-use rules apply?
• What current ARC size/style standards, construction deadlines and actual written rental or other variances apply to this exact lot?
• Who maintains its driveway and grounds, what sewer service/capacity agreement applies, and which repairs, utility charges and insurance are the owner's responsibility?

Understand the map and the property

Community pins identify reference locations, not entrances or subdivision boundaries. A highlighted tax parcel is the selected listing’s map reference and may not include all land offered for sale. Nearby parcels are not assumed to be part of the community or listing. Confirm boundaries, access and rights with recorded documents and a survey.