Who Belongs?

The Declaration of Trust defines the membership of the Pleasant Brook Association: everyone who lives and owns property within the confines of what the Declaration calls the "Pleasant Brook Area" is a beneficiary (that is, a member). The Declaration defines the "Pleasant Brook Area" as follows:

The beneficiaries ... are owners of and residents in homes erected upon the following land in the Town of Lexington, Massachusetts, namely: the land shown as lots numbered 69 through 91, both inclusive (and however said land may be resubdivided in the future), on a certain plan of land entitled "Peacock Farms Section VI Subdivision of Land in Lexington, Mass.", recorded in Middlesex South District Registry of Deeds, Book 11257, Page 595 (which land may be referred to hereinafter as the "Pleasant-Brook Area")

The Declaration of Trust was written very early in the history of the Pleasant Brook neighborhood, and the subdivision plan it uses for a definition was written even earlier, so it's not surprising that quite a few of the current house lots are missing from the plan, and several of those that are in it have somewhat different boundaries. "Page 595" is not one, but eight pages, each showing part of the area with some overlaps along the edges.

All eight pages are posted on this site for your inspecting pleasure (see the menu at the end of this page), but here's the quick and easy answer:

You're a member ("beneficiary") of the Pleasant Brook Association if you own any house on White Pine Lane, or a house on Mason Street whose number is higher than 5. That's the simple answer, and here is a map to illustrate it. The boundaries of the defined Pleasant Brook Area are shown in red, as are the house numbers:

The red outline corresponds to the outer boundary of the area specified in the subdivision plan as the Pleasant Brook Area. When that plan was made, none of the lots now located on the northern side of Mason Street (at the top of the map) and none of those at the high end of White Pine Lane had been laid out. They were all part of lots 69 (Mason) or 91 (White Pine). The Declaration of Trust makes it clear that the area is to include lots 69 through 91 "however said land may be resubdivided in the future," so there is no question about the status of these newer lots — all are included in the Declaration's "Pleasant Brook Area.")

The subdivision plan is the only one that defines the boundary of that Pleasant Brook Area, but other maps exist, each official in its own way, that show our houses and lots. The deed restriction document also contains a definition of the area; it cites, besides the subdivision plan, a registered land plan that includes some but not all of the lots within the boundary (using different numbers than the subdivision plan does). Finally, the Town of Lexington has a set of property maps used by the assessors that show all the lots in the town as currently laid out. The Pleasant Brook area is split between two of these maps. (The property maps, of course, contain no reference to the PBA or "Pleasant Brook Area.")

To see any of these maps, plus other useful or interesting information, use this menu:

	The Subdivision Plan VI, showing the numbered lots used to define the area
	The Registered Land Plan cited in the deed restriction document, including some of the lots in the area (with changed numbers)
	Parts of two Lexington property maps, showing each lot with the number you see on your property tax bill
	A table of lots (arranged by house number) that provides a quick way to find all the numbers associated with any one lot
	Anomalies and Interesting Sidelights, exploring a few interesting peculiarities

This page last updated 8/24/2005