Our Community and Guest Privileges
by Karen Pacifico

Living well is the ultimate reward and all of us have made the journey to Sun City Hilton Head to fulfill a dream.   We didn’t just buy a home, we bought into a very active, growing community that offers first-class amenities, activities and a lifestyle unlike any other community in this area.  We know we made the right choice and in speaking with so many friends and neighbors, there is absolute agreement on this point.  

However, as you can well imagine, this community will face many challenges in the days and years ahead.   One specific challenge relates to us having a unique and exceptionally attractive living environment that creates our lifestyle.  We obviously are proud of it and want to share a piece of the good life with family and friends.    And, that’s a good thing.   However, all of us as owners should be mindful of the fact that anyone utilizing our facilities who is not a resident is a guest in our community.   The impact on our operations and the ultimate wear and tear on our facilities, is directly related to the combination of resident and guest use.

We want to provide a community environment that welcomes all those owners yet to come, loved ones and friends.   Creating a community environment comes over time and is a process that requires effort on our part.  In our attempts to build a community, we need to be sensitive and considerate of fellow residents when extending invitations to those people we meet along the way who reside outside our gates.   They may be sports enthusiasts, friends of the library, good bridge players or interested in any one of our many activities.   Please keep in mind that this community will grow to be that of a small city and with the continued growth we need to change our emphasis placing a priority and commitment on the use of our amenities and the needs of fellow residents.   Many of us are aware that some residents call passes in for friends to join them for various activities and that non-residents drop in to attend club meetings and to enjoy the good times.  We have space limitations and resident interests to accommodate.   Our community should come first.  Therefore we need to foster an attitude that protects what we have for us and those yet to come while accommodating our guests as best we can.

While our Community Rules include specifics on a guest’s use of the facilities, I think it’s fair to say that this is one area where we have been quite lenient.  However, recognizing that there is a need to address the policy on guests means there will be a comprehensive review of the Community Association fee structure including the establishment of guest fees where appropriate.  In that way, we will benefit by keeping our lifestyles affordable, and others will benefit by being able to use our facilities without being at unfair cost to the residents.