Design Review Information
Having your home built in a Sunset Lakes Community will be an exciting and rewarding experience for you. Your residence represents a major investment. The quality of your home and your neighbour’s home will be very important to you, not only to protect your investment, but also to maximize your overall enjoyment of your home and community.
The purpose of the Design Review Process is intended to ensure long-term community quality. Designs acceptable will provide more architectural interest than usually found in tract-designed or production homes.
Designs for every home in a Sunset Lakes Community must be reviewed under the Design Review Process of the developer or its appointee and accepted before construction begins. It is not the intent of the Design Review Process to make judgments as to what is or is not beautiful or to unduly hamper or restrict the owner. Rather, the Review Process is intended to promote individual creativity, encourage owners to thoroughly plan their home and to allow for the coordination of architectural diversity to create a blend of home styles which enhance the neighbourhood. The Design Review Process is supplemental to the requirements outlined in the Covenants and Restrictions for each community which provide the legal basis for reviewing and accepting design proposals. Design Review Applications for home construction are submitted to Sunset Lakes Developments (sunsetlakes@rogers.com).
Design Review for Home Construction Links:
If you are planning on making any improvements to your property, please keep in mind that a design review application must be submitted to your Owners Association for the following types of activities:
- Construction of sheds, pergolas, gazebos, play structures and exterior structures
- Erection of fences, hedges and privacy screens
- Satellite dish installation
- Tree cutting
- Exterior storage (of vehicles, boats, trailers, RV’s, etc)
- Changes to exterior finishing
- Installation of swimming pools
Applications to the Owners Association should include a sketch showing the alteration, the location of the alteration, dimensions, exterior finishing materials (if applicable), and how the alteration will be screened from neighbours (with shrubs or trees).
Design Review FAQ’s
We have invested a lot of money and time first in building our home and now in its maintenance and upkeep. What rules exist to ensure that others must do the same?
While everyone admittedly has a different idea of exactly what an “acceptable” standard is in terms of what our homes should look like and how we should maintain our properties, our deed restrictions give us a baseline and provide some guidance by specifying the following:
- No external television antennae are permitted.
- Satellite dishes must be adequately screened from view from road and neighbouring properties, and are not to be installed without prior consultation with and written approval of the Owners Association.
- No exterior clotheslines are permitted unless adequately screened.
- No signs, billboards or other advertising materials are permitted without prior Owners Association approval.
- No house, gardens or grounds are to be left in an unsightly or untidy condition.
- Properties cannot be used for exterior storage.
- No vehicle of more than ½ ton capacity or any derelict vehicle, motor home, bus or commercial vehicle can be parked on the property.
- No lawn and garden maintenance equipment, storage sheds or play structures are permitted on the front yard without written approval of the Owners Association.
I want to do some major landscaping work on my property this summer. Is there anything in particular that I should be aware of?
Our community, like all newer subdivisions, has been engineered so as to ensure that the normal water run-off from our properties is such that it does not negatively impact our neighbours’ ability to enjoy their properties. As a result, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- Changing the slope of your property is not permitted, especially if it alters the drainage pattern of the lands so as to impact on neighbours, etc.
- Ditches and swales are to be maintained (not filled in) and must be kept clear of debris so as to permit drainage.
In addition, any major landscaping work requires written pre-approval from the Owners Association, especially if it involves any changes to existing elevations or the planting of hedges or building of any fences or other such structures. Plans must be submitted and designs approved before work begins.
Please note that fences and hedges along the property lines that are a simple delineation of the property will not be approved.
We have lived here for a few years and it’s time for some renovations. What do we need to do?
To protect all of our investments, just as the original construction of our homes required design approval, so too does the construction of any improvement to the home or the grounds. Specifically, no addition (including shed or deck), fence (including hedge) or other structure can be erected on the lands without prior design approval of the WEOA design review committee, the general mandate of which is to ensure that the community continues to develop in a manner which will make all of us proud and will protect all of our investments. Plans (including specifications, elevations and exterior colours and materials) must be pre-approved and work must be completed in accordance with such plans.
We love our trees, but a few are dying and we want to cut them down and replace them. What are the rules?
Our deeds actually require each of us to plant and maintain at least one tree on our front yards, within 2.5 metres from the street limit and at least 2.5 metres from the driveway. In addition, there are restrictions on the cutting down of trees. Specifically, no living tree greater than 4 inches in diameter can be cut down without the consent of the Owners Association (except in relation to the erection of a building or the installation of a septic system).
As well, the use of trees as a “hedge” requires prior design approval by the Owners Association. Please note that hedges along the property lines that are a simple delineation of the property will not be approved.
Finally, there are specific restrictions on the planting of trees on waterfront properties. Specifically, no planting in excess of 1 metre is permitted within 23 metres of the waterfront property line.
We noticed that there are very few street lights in the subdivision. For safety and aesthetics, what are the rules regarding lighting?
To improve safety in our community and to add to the aesthetic appeal, each of us is required to install and maintain two automatic photo-cell operated lawn lamps at the edge of the lane-way and within 1.5 metres of the street limit.
