Covenants not enforced

I recently asked a similar question to the attorney of a HOA Management company we were interviewing and he informed me that as per Delaware law so long as the existing covenant has restrictions in force nothing is grandfathered.The covenant is a contract signed and agreed by all homeowners and is filed with the county and is the law. The law cannot be changed unless the covenant is legally modified and filed with the county.

Almost all CC&Rs contain a no waiver provision stating that the failure of one party to act on a violation does not constitute waiver of the restriction.

There are time limits on bringing violations to light. For example a board usually can't go back and say "five years ago Mary Jane parked her car overnight in the visitor's parking spot so we're issuing a fine." On the other hand if the violation is ongoing then when it started is immaterial. You could be violating a covenant for ten years without complaint and be issued a notice to cure tomorrow. The board would essentially be saying that they're disregarding what happened in the past but the fact remains that you are in violation today.

That being said, above ground propane tanks aren't exactly trivial violations like painting your front door the wrong color. If it's felt that the covenant has outlived its usefulness then it's time to talk about amending the CC&Rs to suit today's needs of the community. You should also check to make sure there isn't some fire or building code that requires the tanks as they are. Such codes would supersede the CC&Rs.