We live in a POA (property owners association) near Boone and Blowing Rock and have two dachshunds. For 9 years we have lived here and walked our dogs three and four times daily without any problems. We even use the little potty bags to pick up after them. There is another POA just above us and the paved road the follows the ridge (where we and other neighbors walk there dogs) and there has never been a problem.  Three days ago the President of this POA came out and told my wife (and earlier a neighbor) that dogs were not allowed on this POA's property because their covenants stated dogs can only be on the premises of the land owners. This morning our neighbor, who has walked his dog in this area for 12 years, was paid a visit by the adjoining POA president and told he was going to be seen in court for trespassing. The road is not a state road but joins a state owned road. The road is publicly accessible. There are only a few houses on the road and the majority or the property at this time is undeveloped wooded lots. The road has about three foot shoulders on both sides. There are no markings, no signs, and no indications of private property or POA control. I called three property owners inside this POA and none of them have heard anything about this action.  Furthermore, two of them have dogs and walk them in their neighborhood. My question is this.  Is there grounds to be charged here with trespassing?

I want to fight this for the following reasons:

1. There is no damage from the three or four dogs who are walked there.

2. For years there has never been an issue or complaint of walking up this road.

3. There seems to be selective enforcement going on around the new house.

 4. If the covenants are enforceable they should be posted and equally applied. What is your thinking on this?

Unfortunately, you are probably going to have to find somewhere else to walk your dogs.  What you refer to as a POA is probably a group of property owners who own individual parcels of land and jointly own "common areas" such as streets, parking lots and open space within.  Each owner controls his own parcel of land, but is bound by restrictive covenants that may limit what the owner can do on the land.  For example an owner may decide who can come and go from his piece of land, but the covenants may restrict things such as painting a house electric blue or building a McDonalds there.

Common areas in a development like this are shared by all the residents.  Each owner is entitled to use the areas along with others.  If the covenants give the association the authority, it may impose rules regulating the use of the common areas.  Those who do not own property in the development have no right to use a common area.

If you do not own property within the POA where you walk your dog, the association may ask you to leave.  The covenants are irrelevant to you, because the association, through its president, has asked you to leave.  Residents cannot be barred from common areas, but they can be fined for violating the covenants.  For non-owners, remaining on private property after being asked to leave is trespassing.  I understand that homeowners and property owners associations are often led by petty, dictatorial, tyrants who have nothing better to do with their time than run for president of the board.  The answer to your problem would be to convince those in your neighboring POA to replace the president.

The fact that there is no damage from the dogs is irrelevant.  Merely remaining on the property after being told to leave is trespassing.  The lack of complaints in the past makes no difference, either.  A property owner may selectively enforce its property rights.  There is no requirement that the covenants be posted.

Restrictive covenants are legal obligations a seller of a piece of property imposes on the buyer.  The legal obligations run to later purchasers.  Usually the developer will come up with a common set of restrictions that apply to all property within the development.  The covenants are a matter of contract between the seller and the purchaser and are not binding on non-owners.

Zoning regulations or local ordinances are rules imposed by a government on all within its jurisdiction.

You can find out more about restrictive covenants here.

Dogs cannot be used to hunt, run or chase deer at any time in that portion of Wake County south of N.C. 98 or south of I-85 in Orange County; in Alamance, Chatham, Durham, Johnston, Lee and Wayne counties; or in and west of the counties of Rockingham, Guilford, Randolph, Montgomery and Anson (west of N.C. 742).

Dogs cannot be used to chase or hunt deer outside of deer season.

During deer season dogs can be used to hunt deer in areas of the state other than the ones listed above.

County ordinances might prohibit shooting or possession of a loaded firearm on road right-of-ways.

Dogs running at large and unsupervised in areas managed by the Wildlife Resources Commission may be killed or captured by Wildlife Resources officers.

Your county might have an ordinance prohibiting dogs from running at large.  I could not find Warren County's ordinances on the web, but you might try calling the local animal control office to ask.