Frequently Asked Questions
We are often asked if there is an application that needs to be filled out to buy in Sugarhill. There is no application process in Sugarhill for new potential buyers.
You may want to review these FAQ's for further information.
If you need further assistance please use this website's contact page . We do not publish any contact information in our website. Once you have contacted us through the website, we will reply and after that you will have phone numbers and email contact information.
Welcome to Sugarhill.
This is a covenant restricted community meaning the appearances of our properties are controlled by legally binding written covenants and bylaws. This also means that in order to change your property you will need an approval for that change. Examples of these changes, but not limited to these items are, new construction, additions, swimming pools, roofing, landscaping, and any exterior painting. Select this for a complete list of activity that needs approval before start.
The covenants also require you to maintain the streetlight with your address on it and make sure it stays illuminated after dark. Also the street light's design and lamp needs to stay consistent throughout the neighborhood and it's paint color needs to be approved.
If you need further assistance please use this website's contact page . We do not publish any contact information in our website. Once you have contacted us through the website, we will reply and after that you will have phone numbers and email contact information.
The Association Dues are a one time per annum fee of $700 2022. Sugarhill has been fortunate to have an exceptionally low homeowners fee. This is the result of community understandings that amenities like bulk tv cable, clubhouses and other items do not necessarily enhance the values of our lives above high association fees.
We are a privately owned association that allows us to control certain aspects of our surroundings maintaining the unusual beauty of this community. With those benefits come responsibilities that regularly cost the association money.
The number one expense is our association-owned roads and their signs. This has always been the biggest expense that has to be reserved from the association fees.
The roads are followed closely by the need to keep our drainage systems functioning at top performance, another high level expense.
Finally we have lots of common grounds that require regular maintenance such as the entrance walls area, the mail boxes, the tennis courts and various walking paths mowing, roadway mowing, irrigation systems, and tree maintenance.
Billing of the once a year fee is done on May 15th and is due on or before July 1.
We also offer a two payment option that has a $12 fee attached to it. It requires that you fill out a short form here to qualify for the plan. The form needs to be submitted prior to the July 1 past due date.
There is an entire section of this website devoted to the annual fee located here and in the Website MENU under "Annual Assessment Fee".
One portion of our covenants states you can't have any trailer on your property.
ARTICLE 4USE RESTRICTIONS SECTION (A)
... A construction shed may be placed on a Lot and remain there temporarily during the course of active construction of a residence; otherwise no trailer, tent, garage, shack, barn or other portable or temporary building may be placed on a Lot at any time.
But, another area of our covenants attempts to control the relentless issues the Association has always had with this restriction. Bothersome enough for previous Boards to adopt a change that was included in the 2004 revision requiring items like a trailered boat (or trailered anything including RVs) to be hidden from the view of the street and neighbors.
Section IX Architectural Control Checklist 2. Site Work
Boats and motor homes stored on the property must be shielded from direct view from the road and adjacent properties.
Obscuring from the road and other objectionable views for these items will be enforced.
Yes, On January 20, 2022 the community voted in covenant control on length of time owners could rent out their property. 4 months is the minimum and only 3 times per year maximum.
This was passed to deliberately stop vacation rentals by owner such as VRBO.com and AIRB&B.com.
If you need further assistance please use this website's contact page . We do not publish any contact information in our website. Once you have contacted us through the website, we will reply and after that you will have phone numbers and email contact information.
Yes you are required by our legally binding covenants to submit the color/s for approval. Don't spend money on anything that is not approved. This includes but is NOT limited to new construction, add on construction, exterior repair, exterior painting, siding, fencing, roofing and landscaping including driveways. Also, please remember, it takes a complicated process to change a covenant and written covenants are legally binding.
We have developed a page in this website to assist homeowners with this covenant color selections.
We also have a project approval request form to speed up color approvals. We recommend you use this form when considering a project needing approval.
This is a link to the "essentials package" Current Essential Covenants and Bylaws 2018 in PDF format of the Sugarhill POA Documents & Procedures Guide. It is currently only available now at this website as a PDF Document of almost 90 pages.
The lamp fixture, if it needs to be replaced, will be provided by the association but not installed by the association. This is done so they will all match.
All that being said, we will help you in any way we can. We are looking for feedback from the community so we can develop a list of competent contractors to recommend for the post repair or electrical etc. work. Please send us your success story with light post repair.
Is your street light mysteriously off some nights and on other nights? Some houses in Sugarhill were built with a switch that turns off the street light. Not everyone in the household may know what the switch is for because it only works at night because of the daylight sensor so they just unintentionally turn it off. If this is the case we have a great solution. At Home Depot there is a very inexpensive product called a switch guard. these photos show how it works:
As with most of Florida, there are dangerous animals that exist in Sugarhill. Sugarhill is surrounded by Savannas State Park and undeveloped land. Wild animals live in all these areas and can't be kept out of Sugarhill. Here is a list that we have compiled:
| Animal | Hazzard |
|---|---|
| Aligators | They have been sighted near all Sugarhill water areas. Specific places are NE Savanna Vista and the tennis court area lakes. Keep dogs, especially small dogs, on leash and away from the water. Don't approach alligators, even the small 2 footers. |
| Diamond Back Rattle snakes | There have been sightings in all areas of Sugarhill. They are common throughout Florida. These are generally timid and won't attack. They will bite if they are harassed or stepped on. They rattle their tail before strike so listen for it. |
| Bobcats | There have been sightings in all areas of Sugarhill. They are common throughout Florida. These are generally very timid and won't attack. Possible rabies if acting unusual. |
| Panthers | There have been sightings in all areas of Sugarhill. The sighting in Sugarhill are rare. I have lived here for 9 years and only seen 3 panthers. They are common throughout Florida. These are VARY timid and won't attack unless provoked. Possible rabies if acting unusual. |
| Coyote | There have been sightings of pacs in many areas of Sugarhill that are near wooded areas. They are common throughout Florida. These mostly nocturnal animals are generally very timid and won't attack. Possible rabies if acting unusual or away from their pac in daytime. |
| Raccoons | They are everywhere and will make a big mess of your trash. These mostly nocturnal animals generally won't attack. Possible rabies if acting unusual and out in daytime. Sugarhill has had a rabid raccoon reported 10-8-20. |
| Bats | They are everywhere and will try to invade your attic. These mostly nocturnal animals generally won't attack you but they are big rabies carriers. They fly around at sunset gobbling up bugs. Finding one on the ground wandering around during the daytime means it very possibly has rabies. Bats have a major reputation as rabies carriers. |
| Wild Pigs | They only come into Sugarhill from the Savannas Preserve during very dry drought times. They're looking for food and that's the problem. Their favorite food is just about anything in the ground like grubs, specific roots, and possibly garbage (although nothing like the raccoon when it comes to garbage). Their favorite food is under your lawn. They can dig up a lawn in one night like the best garden tiller can in a week. It's very unlikely they will harm you but it's possible so keep your distance. Please report sightings to this website Contact Us page. |
| Armadillos | They are everywhere and will burrow trenches into your lawn. These mostly nocturnal animals won't attack you but they dig small trenches into your lawn. They are known as carriers of leprosy. Leprosy is a disease that has excellent vaccines It is recommended that people not handle armadillos. |
If in doubt best thing is call Animal Services at (772) 463-3211
This Information is from Florida Department of Health in Martin County regarding rabies.
Take precautions and avoid being bitten:- Do not handle, feed, or unintentionally attract wild animals with open garbage cans or litter.
- Call your local animal control agency to remove any stray animals from your neighborhood. Martin County Animal Control at 772-463-3211. (We believe this pertains to stray domestic animals like dogs and unusual behaving wild animals. There are way too many wild animals to be calling every time one strolls through your yard).
- Never adopt wild animals or bring them into your home.
- Keep rabies vaccinations up to date for all pets.
- Keep your pets under direct supervision so they do not come in contact with wild animals. If your pet is bitten by a wild animal, seek veterinary assistance for the animal immediately and contact Martin County Animal Control at 772-463-3211.
- Prevent bats from entering living quarters or occupied spaces in homes, schools, and other similar areas, where they might come in contact with people and pets.
- Persons who have been bitten or scratched by wild or domestic animals should seek medical attention and report the injury to the Florida Department of Health in Martin County at 772-221-4000, option # 6.
- Information about Bats in Buildings: https://myfwc.com/conservation/you- conserve/wildlife/bats/bats-in-buildings/
Waste Management, a company contracted by Martin County to remove foliage debris, recyclable trash and other trash, covers Sugarhill for those services. Here are their normal service days:
| Type of Waste | Service Days |
|---|---|
| Trash & Recycling | Tuesday Only |
| Foliage Waste | Wednesday Only |
| Just Trash | Friday Only |
Holidays and unknown reasons will often change their schedule. We recommend you link to their schedule here. Also you can call 772-546-7700 to request a pickup of large piles of foliage waste. If the Wednesday foliage waste pickup doesn't pick up your pile and doesn't place a "Green Card" on the pile you should definitely call the number for the pickup. Every year Waste Management improves their service so some of this information may change.
Our experience tells us post-hurricane pickup is likely to be delayed for an exceptional time.
Also for your information the foliage waste does not include construction debris this is considered trash. Construction debris with nails sticking out and longer than 5-6 feet generally will not be picked up by the normal trash truck. When you have this kind of waste and anything that would have freon like a refrigerator you will need to call the 772-546-7700 to schedule that special pickup. The doors must be removed from refrigerators. They have specialized trucks used to pickup those items.
ALSO, be sure to face the opening side of the recycle bin towards the road and with nothing very close to it. The truck uses hydraulic equipment to grab and dump the bin.
The keys are kept at the Association President's home office. Contact us and we can make sure you get a key. Owners are entitled to their own key.
entitled to their own key.There is a Key Box at the tennis/pickleball court that will allow OWNERS access to the court if you forgot your key. This type of box is commonly used by realtors to access vacant homes. You will need to phone or text the number on the box to get the combination. You must IDENTIFY YOURSELF because only owners are allowed to use the court. If you use the key lock box you will need to tumble the combination and slide up the black weather cover when you are done.
The annual members meeting is held on the last Thursday of February at 7:00pm.
Unless notified differently, the monthly meetings are held the last Thursday of the month at 7:00pm. Monthly meetings may not be held every month depending on need. Due to holidays in November and December only one meeting may be held in early December.
The current location for all our monthly and annual meetings is Pineapple Chalet, 3427 NE Savannah Rd., Jensen Beach, FL., 34957
The association Bylaws and Covenants are in this website under the "≡ Website Index" located on the right side of the green bar at the top of each page under the beach sunset banner.
When you select that index you will find the section "Covenants and Bylaws", select that and you will open another set of items, select the one that says "Current Master Document".
Our bylaws allow every Property Owner access to the Association's records. This is from the bylaws:
ARTICLE X
BOOKS AND RECORDS SECTION 1
... The books, records and papers of the Association shall at all times, during reasonable business hours with 72 hours of the request, be subject to inspection by any member. The Declaration, the Articles of Incorporation, the By-Laws of the Association, Architectural Control Committee Guidelines, and, other major guidelines, rules and regulations as issued by the Board of Directors of the Association from time to time, shall be made available within 72 hours of the request, and in all instances, for inspection by any member at the principal office of the Association as determined and announced at the annual meeting, where copies may be purchased at reasonable cost.
Because our Association does not have a physical office every board assigns a principal office usually at a Board member's residence. In the case of this Board the office is at the President's home and the records are in a fireproof filing cabinet. The office has easy access and won't disturb the residence. Contact Us for that address and to request an appointment.
The most effective way to get the dog back to it's owner is to wait a little while to see if someone is looking and calling for the dog.
Next best thing is call Animal Services at (772) 463-3211
They will send a van out and they can scan the dog for a microchip that will ID the owner.
The Animal Services Unit works closely with the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast, which is the holding facility for all animals impounded by the unit...their number is (772) 223-8822.
More questions and answers are always coming...
