A Kentucky court read agricultural policy into a covenant — and was reversed for it
A Kentucky court read agricultural policy into a covenant — and was reversed for it
2026-09-10 · Kentucky · Courts
What happened. The Kentucky Court of Appeals reversed a circuit court that had allowed a large-scale commercial event venue to operate on land restricted to “residential purposes only and no commercial use permitted except for farming or agricultural purposes.”1
Cooper Hart v. Back, No. 2024-CA-1245-MR, was rendered on 1 August 2025 on appeal from Montgomery Circuit Court. Judge Combs wrote; all concurred. NOT TO BE PUBLISHED.
The error below
The circuit court had reached for KRS 413.072 — Kentucky's statement of policy supporting sustainable agriculture — and read it into the covenant to create an ambiguity, which it then resolved in favour of the venue.
The Court of Appeals said that was the wrong body of law:
“It is noteworthy to observe that zoning law (allowing for and sensitive to the vicissitudes of changing economic patterns and life styles) is not synonymous with contract law (which generally binds parties to a meeting of minds regardless of extraneous changes). It appears that these two areas of the law were erroneously intermingled or conflated in this case.”
A restrictive covenant is a contract among the owners bound by it. Public policy about how land ought to be used does not rewrite what they agreed.
The waiver argument, and why the neighbouring pumpkin patch did not help
The venue argued waiver, abandonment and change of neighbourhood character, pointing to a nearby agritourism operation. The court rejected it on a simple ground: the neighbouring operation was not subject to the same covenant.
Violations on land outside the restricted scheme do not erode the restriction. Only conduct within the burdened land is capable of changing the character of the covenanted neighbourhood.
Keep reading with the Kentucky State Pass
The rest of this analysis — what an association can actually do, the recent bills and rulings, and how Kentucky compares nationally — is for subscribers. $49/month for every Kentucky topic on HOA Weekly.
$49/month, $449/year, or a $19.99 day pass.
What you unlock
- Why this decision is more useful than its subject suggests
- “Residential purposes only” and short-term rentals
- The procedural trap worth knowing about
and 1 more section in detail
Already a subscriber? Sign in
Recurring monthly subscription · Cancel anytime · Need help?
Related Kentucky HOA Topics
Stay on top of Kentucky HOA law
Every week: new Kentucky legislation, court rulings, and regulatory developments affecting condos, planned communities, and property managers. Free.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.