SunCrest Owners Association has received many inquires concerning the opening of the Community Center. At this time, we feel it important to respond to some commonly asked questions and address a few misconceptions.
Is/was there an agreement between SunCrest Owners Association and the past Developer (SunCrest, LLC) as it pertains to the Community Center?
No. There was never a “contract” or “agreement” between SunCrest, LLC, and the Owners Association that involved the Community Center. There was a proposal that detailed items that needed to be purchased and amenities that required support before the Community Center could open. However, nothing came of this proposal due to the bankruptcy of SunCrest LLC.
I understand Salt Lake County or Draper City would like to take over the Community Center. Is this true?
Salt Lake County has never offered or shown interest in taking over the facility. Moreover, Draper City has withdrawn its interest to run or operate the facility. Therefore, Zions Bank, who assumed the assets (and responsibilities) at SunCrest following SunCrest, LLC’s bankruptcy, decided the Community Center will be conveyed to the Owners Association.
How much would fees increase if the Community Center was operated by the Owners Association?
At the September 21, 2010 Board of Trustees’ meeting, the Board approved the 2011 Master Association Budget, wherein the 2011 Assessments remain at the current rate of $98.00 per month. This budget did not, however, include any costs associated with operations of the Community Center. As it currently stands, the monthly assessment is estimated to increase $37.00 per month.
In light of the recent announcement by the Zions Bank to turnover of the Community Center to the Owners Association, CCMC and the Association’s Budget & Finance Committee are working diligently on an amended 2011 budget that includes all anticipated costs for the Community Center. The Budget & Finance Committee is comprised of SunCrest residents (Gary Bromley, Amy Baird and Doyle Judd). As soon as this process is complete and reviewed by the Budget & Finance Committee, it will be presented to the Board of Trustees for approval. All Association Members will be notified in writing of the amended budget and the revised monthly Assessment prior to any chance taking effect. There will also be a Towne Hall Meeting in January 2011 to discuss the budget and answer questions.
Why we have the SunCrest Owners Association?
Owners Associations are formal legal entities created by Developers to uphold high standards for the community and have the ability to care and maintain the following:
· Establish and collect maintenance fees needed to run neighborhood operations
· Maintain community landscaping
· Maintain recreational facilities
· Provide space for events or neighborhood functions.
· Arrange for street maintenance
· Enforce deed restrictions including, but not limited to, exterior home maintenance, commercial use of properties, control of trash and blight.
Owners Association also protect the value of their homes and neighborhoods. We do this by keeping the area looking attractive and maintained. The OA also insures builders/owners do not do anything wild, like painting their house pink, parking a truck on their front lawn, leaving dismantled vehicles in the street, or using their driveway as a garbage dump. OA’s are established to ensure that Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&R’s) are adhered to in order to maintain the quality and value of the properties involved.
There is the misconception that the Owners Association is “no longer valid” when SunCrest LLC, filed and its debts were discharged by the bankruptcy court. SunCrest LLC’s bankruptcy complicated the business of the Owners Association, but it did not affect or invalidate its purpose. SunCrest LLC, and the SunCrest Owners Association are/were separate and distinct companies. SunCrest LLC, was a for-profit development company, that recorded the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, Easements and Restrictions for SunCrest, A Planned Community (the “CC&Rs”), against the title of each Lot and Parcel in the SunCrest Community.
The SunCrest Owners Association, Inc., on the other hand, is a non-profit company, formed for the purpose of enforcing the CC&Rs and the obligations and restrictions contained in the Association’s other governing documents, i.e. the Bylaws, Design Guidelines, Rules and Regulations, etc. These governing documents, by their own terms, “run with the land”. Therefore, in order to terminate the Owners Association before the term of the CC&Rs expire (earliest date December 2049), a vote of the Members must take place. Please see below the verbiage from the SunCrest OA CC&R’s:
Article XVIII of the CC&RS, Section 18.1 Term: Method of Termination: “The Declaration may be terminated at any time if eighty percent (80%) of the votes of the Members shall be cast in favor of termination at an election held for such purpose. Anything in the foregoing to the contrary notwithstanding, no vote to terminate (or amend as provided in Section 18.2) this Declaration shall be effective unless and until written consent to such termination or amendment has been obtained, with a period from six (6) months prior to such vote to six (6) months after such vote, from Eligible Mortgagees on fifty-one percent (51%) of the Lots and Parcels upon which there are such Eligible Mortgages.”
Is this true that our property taxes are paying for services we receive at SunCrest and the property management company is only providing limited cable and internet?
The property taxes that Members pay finance certain services that Draper City provides. This includes, but no limited to: police, fire, streets and code enforcement. However, these property taxes do not pay for many of the services that Members enjoy at SunCrest, i.e. maintenance of the Common Areas and Open Space, Swale Inspections, Christmas Lighting, Billing, Accounting, Collections, CC&R Enforcement and Special Events (Movies, Easter Egg Hunt, Trunk-or-Treat, etc.)
Furthermore, there are times that the SunCrest Owners Association enlists the help of Draper City in terms of Code Enforcement of City ordinances and animal control. When the Association suspects there is a violation of a Draper City Ordinance, the Association notifies the City of these concerns and requests code enforcement officers to investigate. However, SunCrest Owners Association cannot depend on the City to enforce its CC&Rs, Design Guidelines and Rules and Regulations, as Draper City has no authority to enforce these documents. The SunCrest Owners Association has more stringent rules on a wide variety of categories than those included in the city ordinances, e.g. incomplete landscaping, garbage cans, fences, chain link, debris, improvements, machinery, signage, trailers, campers, boats, parking, window coverings, drainage swales, lighting, poles, businesses, etc. Accordingly, the Association relies upon CCMC to notify Members of alleged violations, provide incentives to comply and exercise all available enforcement powers if Members fail to cure violations.
If you have any further questions, please contact Tod Bean at tbean@ccmcnet.com.
