Frequently Asked Questions

Before the April Townhall, we generated a list of frequently asked questions. We thought we would keep the tradition of providing the answers to these questions prior to the AGM – and you can find the entire list in the member area. Hope you find them insightful and helpful!

Grass Cutting

1. I’d like to understand better how the Vacant Lot Grass Cutting done by the HOA at certain lots works.  Can you better explain to me this practice and the associated annual fees to lot owners?
   1. The practice of Vacant Lot Grass Cutting is something that the HOA inherited from the Developer of Sunset Dunes and it comes directly from the Restrictive Covenant that states:
      1. For any lot purchased and remaining vacant, the Grantee shall pay the Developer [now HOA] an annual fee for the purpose of maintaining the Lands in a manner acceptable to the Developer [now HOA] including, without limitation, seeding, watering and mowing of the lawn and pruning and cutting of all trees and shrubbery.
   1. As you can see from this covenant, it is the HOA that determines for each vacant lot what maintenance activities are required to make the lot acceptable and what the annual fee is for maintaining each particular lot.
   1. To be clear, once a lot owner has begun construction on their lot, the lot owner becomes fully responsible for their own maintenance and grass cutting.  The HOA has no direct involvement as it is no longer a vacant lot.
   1. Any owner of a vacant lot has the ability to notify the HOA that they will take on the responsibility of maintaining their lot, cutting the grass and keeping the lot in good condition.  In this situation, there is no invoiced annual vacant lot grass cutting fee for that owner.  The only involvement of the HOA is to ensure that the lot is maintained in good condition.  For 2021, there are some vacant lot owners that provided this notification and have been maintaining their own vacant lots.
   1. Many of the vacant lots at Sunset Dunes are entirely tree covered lots.  It was determined that these lots would not be invoiced an annual vacant lot grass cutting fee in 2021, consistent with how these lots were treated in previous years.
   1. There are about 20 lots at Sunset Dunes in 2021 that were invoiced in April for an annual vacant lot grass cutting fee.  These are vacant lots with a substantial amount of grass area where the owner did not indicate that they would take on the responsibility for their own grass cutting and maintenance.
   1. The Board’s goal in 2021 with this vacant lot grass cutting program has been to balance the two objectives of keeping the community looking well maintained for all to enjoy, while also attempting to minimize the expense to the vacant lot owners.
   1. One difference in 2021 that the HOA has made on the vacant lot grass cutting practice has been to keep track of the work effort required on each individual vacant lot, recording the number of times each lot is cut during the year and making a general assessment of the time required to cut each individual lot.  By doing this detailed record keeping, the objective is that each individual vacant lot owner will only pay for the expenses actually incurred at their individual lot.  It is expected that as the year progresses, vacant lot grass cutting fee adjustments will be made to some individual vacant lot owners based on the actual work and expense incurred at their individual lot.

Chickens!

• I would like to keep two laying hens in my backyard this summer.  I understand that the Restrictive Covenants for Sunset Dunes prohibit “cattle, hogs, sheep, poultry, horses or other livestock or animals other than household pets permitted in private homes in urban residential areas”.  I do not consider the chickens to be livestock or commercial poultry, but rather pets that live in my backyard during the summer months.  I see no difference between having a couple of pet hens and the situation where a family has pet guinea pigs or pet rabbits in a hutch in the backyard, which would clearly be allowed at Sunset Dunes properties.  How does the HOA Board feel about lot owners at Sunset Dunes having a couple of backyard pet hens?
  • This type of activity is not considered by the Board to be prohibited by the referenced Restrictive Covenant.  Two chickens with pet names and no visual, aural or nasal impact on neighbours should not be a concern to anyone.  If there are no roosters, only laying hens, and the hens will not run freely, but be restricted to their backyard coop and confined run area, there is no issue.

Roadway Ownership

• I understand that Campbells Way is currently a private road owned by the HOA.  Why can’t we have the province assume ownership of the roadway?  This would eliminate the need for annual snow removal and paving maintenance expenses to the lot owners.
  • The HOA Board has discussed this question on several occasions over the past six months, always ending with the conclusion that the extreme expense and disruption required to bring the road up to provincial standards makes this option practically impossible to achieve.
  • In order for a private road to be taken over by the provincial government, the owners of the road must have the road brought to the standard required of a provincial paved subdivision road standard.  This work must be done at the owner’s cost and then the road must be deeded to the provincial government.  A reference on this subject can be found here How do PEI private roads become public?.
  • The following summary includes the basic requirements for a private road to be considered for transfer to the PEI Provincial Government as a public road:
    • The road right-of-way (ROW) must be 20.117 metres (66 feet) wide and consist of the following:
      • A 6 metre wide asphalt surface consisting of 2 layers of asphalt totaling 100mm in thickness
      • Gravel shoulders on each side which are 2 metres wide.
      • A minimum of 150 mm thickness of gravel under the asphalt and gravel shoulders.
      • A minimum of 150 mm (preferably 300 mm) sandstone under the 150 mm thickness of gravel.
      • A drainage ditch on both sides that is approximately 1metres in depth and approximately 5 metres wide.
      • A circular cul-de-sac with a right-of-way diameter of 40 metres or other acceptable form of turnaround, will be required at the end of any dead end roads.
    • All costs associated with bringing the private road up to these standards shall be covered by the private land owner(s) serviced by the private road.
  • Campbells Way does meet the requirement of a 66 foot right-of-way for most of its length, but it is clearly seriously deficient when it comes to gravel shoulders, drainage ditches and cul-de-sac dimensions and likely also deficient in terms of asphalt surface requirements.

Owner Activity on the Common Area Lands

• I would like to start cleaning up and collecting firewood from some of the downed trees from Hurricane Dorian on the coastal common area.  I understand that I will be responsible for my own safety.  Can I do this activity on the common area lands?
  • The Board supports owners activities on the common areas such as collecting firewood where there are fallen and dead trees from previous storms or helping to keep Lila’s boardwalk accessible and clear of sand, contingent upon the following:
    • you are responsible for your own safety
    • you are respectful of lot owners’ private property, aware of what entails the layout of the common areas (including any provincially regulated Buffer Zones) and the adjacent owned lots in the area
    • you follow the PEI Provincial requirements for what can and cannot be done in a Watercourse and Wetlands Buffer Zone area, knowing that much of the Sunset Dunes PEI HOA owned common area is covered by these provincial regulations.  Within such a Buffer Zone, according to the PEI Coastal Property Guide, activities that can be carried out without a permit are:
  • prune trees and shrubs;
  • plant grass, trees, and shrubs as long as you only use hand tools;
  • mow an existing lawn;
  • remove or cut down a dead tree (standing or fallen);
  • alter or otherwise disturb the ground or soil using hand tools only