Dear West Point SSI Owners:
In the Fall of 2022, West Point Plantation, LLC, acting as the declarant and developer of West Point SSI (the “Developer”), engaged HunterMaclean, a local law firm, to review the existing subdivision covenants for West Point SSI and to make suggestions for improvements, and solicited volunteer owners in West Point SSI to act as a committee and advise the Developer and the attorneys during this process. The Developer appointed five owners to the advisory committee (Debbie Williamson, Bud Keller, Ed Shanbacker, Ryan Grady, and Jay Jaynes). Representing the Developer in committee meetings were Michael Torras and Daren Pietsch who met with the five volunteers and the attorneys four times over the first five weeks of 2023, to review, provide feedback, and revise the current property owners documents with the intention of updating and fully replacing the current Declaration and its six amendments.
The below draft of the Amended and Restated Declaration for West Point SSI is the result of that work, and we are pleased to provide it to you for review. Enclosed is also a Question and Answer sheet that includes answers to a number of anticipated questions and a Summary table that may assist in your review. You may obtain other documents, including copies of the current declaration, its six amendments, and other reference materials, below.
During your review, you may submit questions or comments either via this portal or by email to [email protected].
To address your questions and to allow for a neighborhood discussion on the Amended and Restated Declaration, the Developer is convening a townhall information session on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 from 6:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time at Glynn County Fire Station No. 2, conference room, 1929 Demere Road, St. Simons Island, for those interested in attending. Items to note for this townhall information session:
- The townhall information session is not an annual or special meeting of the owners. It is an informal information session and there will be no voting and no Association business conducted at the event.
- Attendance is not mandatory. The Developer intends to request a vote on the Amended and Restated Declaration in the weeks after the townhall information session and asks that everyone familiarize themselves with the updated documents prior to that time.
Following the townhall information session, the representatives of the Developer and the advisory committee will reconvene if necessary to consider your questions and comments. If the Amended and Restated Declaration has been favorably received, the Developer will send a final Amended and Restated Declaration to all owners and will request that you vote to acknowledge and approve the final document by signing a Ballot and returning your original signature to the property manager in a stamped, pre-addressed envelope. Ideally, this process will be completed in March or early April.
Throughout this process, the Developer has sought to carry out the original intent of the community – to create a quality, special neighborhood on St. Simons Island – including the original intent to have a community that is both subject to the Georgia Property Owners’ Association Act and subject to a special voting membership by the Developer during the development period. The proposed Amended and Restated Declaration meets this objective, and also makes other improvements, such as better internal consistency and refreshed restrictive covenant language.
We believe there are substantial benefits to a vote for approval of the Amended and Restated Declaration some of which are:
- Future amendments will require the vote of the owners and Developer and the unilateral amendment right reserved to the Developer in the original declaration has been removed.
- The required minimum for square footage of homes to be constructed will be confirmed to go back up to 2,500 square feet.
- West Point SSI will have an updated document with clear guidelines for yourselves, potential buyers, and future owners.
- Updated and clear covenants are intended to preserve the character and property values of West Point SSI while also addressing issues unforeseen when the documents were originally drafted in the early 2000s.
Please review the Question and Answer section below. If you have additional questions, please either email your questions, submit them through the portal, or raise them at the townhall information session. We look forward to seeing you all on March 7.
Best regards,
WEST POINT PLANTATION, LLC
Questions and Answers
What are the subdivision covenants (a/k/a Declaration)?
The covenants are the documents recorded in the public records that establish the governance and use rules related to our subdivision, West Point SSI.
What is the Amended and Restated Declaration?
It is an amendment to some but not all of the existing covenants and a restatement of the existing covenants that also incorporates all prior amendments, so that this one document will replace all of the existing covenants and amendments. The Amended and Restated Declaration is being proposed by West Point Plantation, LLC, the developer of the subdivision and the declarant under the existing covenants. The document has been reviewed and approved by an advisory committee of owners in the subdivision.
What are the differences between the existing covenants and the Amended and Restated Declaration?
There are a number of differences between the existing covenants and the Amended and Restated Declaration. There is a document posted in the portal that attempts, in redline form, to show the changes from the existing covenants in the Amended and Restated Declaration. There is also a Summary table at the end of this document outlining some of the important changes.
With so much information, what is important for me to review?
Because the format of the new and old documents are different, and the nature of the proposed changes, we recommend that you read the proposed Amended and Restated Declaration first and base your consideration on the review of that document. The documents in the portal are intended for reference and for those owners who wish to dig deeper into the proposed changes.
I understand that the Developer has in the past recorded amendments to the subdivision covenants without an owner vote. Why am I being asked to approve the amendments in the Amended and Restated Declaration?
The existing covenants state that the Developer can unilaterally amend the subdivision covenants, and the Developer has in the past recorded amendments without a vote of the owners. However, the Developer would like to have owner input and agreement as to this full Amended and Restated Declaration because Developer believes it is a benefit to the subdivision and its owners.
As a further showing of good faith, the Developer has agreed to require a 2/3 vote of the owners (and the consent of the Developer during the period in which the Developer has the authority to add property to the subdivision) for any future amendments of the Amended and Restated Declaration (see Section 2.5(A)(1) on Page 8 of the Amended and Restated Declaration) and a majority vote of the owners (and the consent of the Developer during the period in which the Developer has the authority to add property to the subdivision for future amendments to the design guidelines) for any future amendments of the Design Guidelines (see Section 4.1 on Page 27 of the Amended and Restated Declaration).
The Developer is requesting your approval of the Amended and Restated Declaration to secure a vote of as many of the owners as possible for transparency and also unity of the neighborhood. The goal is to obtain 2/3 approval of the owners for the Amended and Restated Declaration, but Developer also reserves the right, without obligation, to record the Amended and Restated Declaration under its express authority to unilaterally amend the covenants under the existing covenants (again, this right is relinquished by the Developer upon the recording of the Amended and Restated Declaration if approved in its current form).
Why should I care about the covenants and this vote?
The Developer is seeking your support of the Amended and Restated Declaration to minimize the risk of conflict over the existing covenants in the future, which could potentially affect marketability and value of property within the subdivision, including your property.
When will control of the association be turned over to the lot owners?
The existing covenants include a provision stating that the Developer’s intention to retain control of the association until the subdivision is fully developed, which is typical in Georgia and St. Simons subdivisions. The special voting membership of the Developer, which gives the Developer majority vote and the appointment of the members to the Board, will remain in place until the Developer sells all of its lots or voluntarily terminates the special voting membership. In the new document that the Developer is asking you to approve, the Developer is giving up some rights and specifies that an owner vote is required for future amendments to the covenants, including the design guidelines.
Is it common for a developer to have control of the association during the development period?
Yes. Almost all subdivision covenants provide for similar control periods. For instance, Frederica Township, an adjacent subdivision initially developed in the early 2000s that remains under development, has a similar developer control period. The same is true for a number of other similar subdivisions that remain under development.
What if the improvements on my lot were approved under the existing design requirements but do not conform to any changed design requirements under the Amended and Restated Declaration?
The Amended and Restated Declaration includes a clause in Section 4.7, which will allow the previously approved and constructed improvements to be considered authorized, or “grandfathered”, under the Amended and Restated Declaration.
What properties are subject to the existing covenants?
All of the lots within West Point SSI are subject to the existing covenants no matter what phase. Some property surrounding West Point SSI will become subject to the covenants upon the owner of that property subdividing the property into lots, including an adjacent 13-acre parcel, often referred to as Phases III and IV. The roads and parks within West Point SSI are also subject to the existing covenants. The remaining land owned by the Developer is included within the Additional Property (as this capitalized term is now defined in Section 4 of the Second Amendment to the existing covenants, and defined in Section 1.2 of the proposed Amended and Restated Declaration) and the Developer intends to add lots to West Point SSI that are within the Additional Property at the time the lots are developed.
Does the Developer pay assessments?
The Developer pays assessments on the lots it owns in the subdivision, like any other owner. Assessments are not due on land that may become lots but have not been subdivided yet, per the original Declaration. The Developer has also voluntarily supported the association budget by subsidy over the past 20 years. If the Amended and Restated Declaration is approved by the targeted 2/3 vote, the Developer intends to continue to pay a subsidy to the association for the 2023 year and assessments on the lots it owns. As additional lots are added to the subdivision, the need for a subsidy will decrease.
Does the Amended and Restated Declaration provide a mechanism for the owners to have more input in the operations of the association?
Yes. The Amended and Restated Declaration in Section 4.4 provides for the appointment of an advisory committee, to provide input and advice to the board and to the architectural review committee. If the current Amended and Restated Declaration is approved by the targeted 2/3 vote, the Developer intends to continue to seek input from the advisory committee on these and similar matters.
Does the Amended and Restated Declaration contain and clarify the owner protections under the Georgia Property Owners Association Act?
Yes. Article 2 of the Amended and Restated Declaration is an article that was not in the existing covenants, but is included in the Amended and Restated Declaration to expressly include the substance of the Georgia Property Owners’ Association Act in the Amended and Restated Declaration.
Can the owners amend the existing covenants without the Developer consent?
The Developer’s position is that an amendment to the existing covenants without the Developer consent would not be effective, as no such approval mechanism is provided for under the existing covenants, or under the Georgia Property Owners’ Association Act, while the Developer continues to have land subject to development in the subdivision.
Can I vote without attending the townhall session or a meeting?
Yes. When and if the document is put to a vote, you will receive a package in the mail (and by email if your email address has been provided) with the final document and a ballot. We will include stamped, pre-addressed envelopes for you to return your original signature on the ballot. We hope to provide the package to you soon after the townhall meeting.
Amended and Restated Declaration