The borough assembly on Oct. 28 approved a resolution establishing restrictions and land-use rules for winning bidders in the Alder Top Village (Keishangita.’aan) residential subdivision, mostly dealing with parking, driveways, drainage and other land-use issues.

The covenants for Alder Top Village establish uniform standards for property use, maintenance and development to ensure orderly neighborhood growth and preserve long-term property values, according to a summary prepared for the assembly by Economic Development Director Kate Thomas.

The covenants also spell out requirements for building type and standards for modular construction, trash management, general property upkeep, prohibits unsightly storage, and reinforces environmental protections for wetlands and drainage preservation.

The covenants are in addition to any zoning rules.

The borough is selling the 20 lots to the highest bidders.

The covenants are intended to provide a clear framework for residential development consistent with borough zoning regulations and community objectives, Thomas said in her report. The rules will be binding on future property owners in the subdivision.

Thomas explained the covenants are practical in that they prohibit things like long-term parking on borough right of ways or anything related to code violations that could lead to future maintenance burdens for the borough.

“One of the covenants is that the lots can’t be divided into smaller lots,” Thomas informed the assembly.

“It was always our intention, though, to allow for buyers to purchase and combine multiple lots,” Thomas said. “Because we understand that some people want to build larger homes and may also need more space to build a garage or a storage building on the same property.”

The borough is accepted bids in an online auction for the 20 lots, averaging around a half-acre in size. Bids are due by Dec. 1.

As of Oct. 31, more than 20 bids had been registered — covering more than half the lots — at publicsurplus.com, the private company the borough signed up to handle the sale.

Thomas also noted that some areas of the subdivision do still contain refuse from previous use on the land.

“The boarding school was there, and along with buildings and things like that, there was also an area used as a landfill space,” Thomas said. “There are still some traces of that, and the borough won’t penalize someone for that. The assumption is that whoever buys the lot(s) will clean the area up.”

Thomas also clarified one of the covenants regarding the long-term parking of inoperable, unlicensed or commercial vehicles.

“The point we’re making with that, is that we don’t want to see a lot being used for storage of cars or trucks or boats,” Thomas said. “The purpose of the subdivision is housing. We just want to avoid any kind of situation where someone stores a vehicle long-term without any immediate plans to build.”