Frequently Asked Questions

Vandalism should be reported as quickly as possible:

• Seeing vandalism “in the act” or vandalism to your private property – CALL MPPD to report the activity.
• Vandalism on POA property – If you see vandalism in your neighborhood or to common areas, please report as soon as possible to the POA. Call the office at 843-881-8488 and if you have pictures, email these to the POA (manager@duneswestpoa.com, board@duneswestpoa.com).
• Vandalism on Club property – if you observe vandalism on club property (golf course, athletic club, pools, tennis courts, playground adjacent to the pool, boat storage or launch), you need to report to club management (contact info). The POA has no authority to take action on property they do not own.
• Vandalism on other private property, such as the developer’s signs or utility company boxes, should be reported to the appropriate owner.

Please note: Posting observations to social media is not the same as reporting to MPPD, the POA, or the club. Social media posts or private messaging may not be monitored by any of these organizations, or followed in a way to create a timely response. However, posting to social media does support creating awareness, potentially surface video of the act, and perhaps help to identify the vandal(s). Please take time to speak to your children about vandalism.

As of August 1, 2019, the DWPOA maintains 86 retention ponds. It is estimated that there will be a total of 95 ponds when the developer finally completes the build-out. As the Declarant develops areas within Dunes West, they continue to add retention ponds and surrender them to the Dunes West Property Owners Association. As such, the total number of ponds are always changing. 

As of August 1, 2019, the DWPOA owns more than 890 acres. 

As the Declarant develops areas within Dunes West, new parcels continue to be turned over as common property to the Dunes West Property Owners Association. As such, the total number of acres owned is always changing. 

At the inception of Dunes West, the Club (golf course and the pool) was established as defined in Article 3 of the CC&R. Much later, Wieland (a former Declarant) purchased the golf course. Wieland bought the club as a separate purchase after buying the remaining development property and role as the (then) Dunes West Declarant. 

In subsequent years, the club properties (golf course, pool, and boat storage/launch) were sold again and today continue to be privately owned and operated under the name “Dunes West Golf and River Club,” completely independent of the Dunes West POA.

Access to the many miles of paved multi-purpose paths and sidewalks; open spaces; the Riverview Pavilion, dock, and playground; the crab dock; and ponds are free to most residents.

The golf course, pools, tennis courts, boat yard, and gym are privately owned and require separate “club membership.”

Yes, everyone operating a motor vehicle who comes through the gate must have and present a valid, non-expired driver’s license. The purpose of this policy is to reduce the DWPOA’s liability risk in the case of an unlicensed driver on our private roads. The policy also provides a higher level of access control by identifying those coming into Dunes West. Please see the “Driver’s License Required For Access Control” policy dated August 2013.

Families are welcome to order food for delivery to their homes behind the gate. Residents should create a gate pass for their vendor who will be delivering. Dunes West does not charge gate access fees for food delivery; however, drivers must follow all normal processes, provide proof of drivers’ license, and state the owner’s or resident’s name and address(es) they are delivering to.

Additionally, catered events on private property are allowed.

The covenants do not allow for “commercial activity” on POA property, including roads or POA owned amenity spaces. Vendors who seek to obtain customers after entering the gated sections of the community and engage in commerce are not permitted.

New owners and renters will need to visit the POA office at 3850 Bessemer Road #200 to obtain decals. In preparation:

• Visit this page on the POA website to access the appropriate decal application form: https://duneswestpoa.com/dunes-west-security/
• Owners should bring their closing statement and renters should bring their lease or rental agreement (must be for one year or greater). 
• Have make, model, and license* info for each vehicle. *If you are new to the state, create a reminder to update vehicle license info after reregistering vehicles.

While at the office, new residents for gated areas should ask how to create gate passes for guests and vendors. Office staff will help you add our ISN gate app to your smart phones.

Yes, in accordance with South Carolina law, the POA records all incoming and outgoing phone calls to and from the POA office and both guard houses. We record phone calls for training purposes, quality control, to verify how the staff interacts with the public and residents, to correct improper behavior, enforce consistency of response and to verify the accuracy of reported incidents. If you have any questions about this practice, feel free to contact the POA office. 

Dunes West is a private community and as such, full access to this website is only granted to verified residents. If you are a Dunes West resident and do not have an account or are having trouble accessing your account, please visit the Dunes West POA office at 3850 Bessemer Rd, Mt Pleasant, SC or call 843-881-8488, Mon – Fri 8:00AM – 5:00PM.
If you are not a resident of Dunes West, we have many resources and documents available to the general public. Please feel free to browse this website. 

Vandalism should be reported as quickly as possible:

• Seeing vandalism “in the act” or vandalism to your private property – CALL MPPD to report the activity.
• Vandalism on POA property – If you see vandalism in your neighborhood or to common areas, please report as soon as possible to the POA. Call the office at 843-881-8488 and if you have pictures, email these to the POA (manager@duneswestpoa.com, board@duneswestpoa.com).
• Vandalism on Club property – if you observe vandalism on club property (golf course, athletic club, pools, tennis courts, playground adjacent to the pool, boat storage or launch), you need to report to club management (contact info). The POA has no authority to take action on property they do not own.
• Vandalism on other private property, such as the developer’s signs or utility company boxes, should be reported to the appropriate owner.

Please note: Posting observations to social media is not the same as reporting to MPPD, the POA, or the club. Social media posts or private messaging may not be monitored by any of these organizations, or followed in a way to create a timely response. However, posting to social media does support creating awareness, potentially surface video of the act, and perhaps help to identify the vandal(s). Please take time to speak to your children about vandalism.

The Declarant has an estimated 216 homes left to build. They originally estimated these would be completed by 2021; however the Town of Mt. Pleasant has taken legislative steps to slow the pace of construction. The Declarant now estimates completion in 2025 or 2026.

The Dunes West Property Owners Association and the Board has no legal authority to accelerate this timeline, nor does it have the authority to prevent further construction. 

We do have a notary. There is no charge for services. We request that you call the office before you visit to be sure a notary will be available.

The CC&Rs cover the rights and obligations of the DWPOA to its members and vice versa, and also detail the protections of the Declarant (developer). The CC&Rs and the Bylaws are legal documents that declare the “what and how” of Dunes West.

The CC&Rs and the Bylaws specifically establish areas, authority, and certain restrictions and rules applicable to homes, owners, and residents within this Planned Urban Development (PUD).  The documentation includes function and rights of the Club; establishment of the Architectural Review Board; turnover by the Declarant to the DWPOA; and authority to set budgets, borrow money, buy land, issue fines, hold elections and annual meetings, have committees, and craft policy. 

Yes. In fact, we were mostly compliant with this act even before it became law. As the ruling was approaching its implementation date, the attorneys for the DWPOA reposted to the Charleston County RMC (Register of Deeds) office all of our documents (By-Laws, Articles of Incorporation, CCR’s Policies and other relevant documents).  The attorneys reviewed our filing and prepared additions to be in full compliance.   

Our new website also complies in ways that might surprise users.  Our website has many of our documents (CCRs, ARB, and others) publicly accessible to prospective buyers, government agencies, and people wanting to do something on our property.  Other documents are inside the firewall, meaning users must sign in to view them (or file a subpoena as part of active litigation). People who can sign in (generally property owners and DWPOA staff) have access to financial records and other documents or information for which confidentiality or restricted access by members of Dunes West Property Owners Association is appropriate.

Yes, the DWBOD voluntarily subjects all accounts and financial related matters to an independent audit. A full audit is performed in alternating years; a comprehensive review is performed each intervening year. While not legally obligated to do so, the DWBOD believes this is in the best interest of the community to establish trust, transparency and accountability. Very few POAs/HOAs in America subject themselves to this level of scrutiny.  The results of the audits, performed by Elliot Davis CPA, financial statements and budgets are available for property owner review by visiting the POA office on Bessemer Road or through our website (logged in users).

We address long range oversight for Dunes West in three ways:

1. Known factors – As we look forward into the future, Dunes West has invested in a routinely updated Reserve Study (you can find this on the website) to assure we appropriately account for managing and maintaining our common areas and infrastructure, as well as assuring timely replacement of key components when required. As we make new capital investments, these are added to the reserve study so the community will benefit into the future.
2. Conceptual/Actual rolling 5 year planning – In our financials (also online at the DWPOA website), we include a section where we list projects under consideration and planned. Depending on the phase, these may be listed with or without budget projections. For example, if we’re simply exploring an idea and whether it might benefit the community, we may list an item with no budget yet assigned. As we approve and mature a concept, budget is added and projected into future years, based on estimates and expected timing. These plans are fluid and refined/adapted in response to real time inputs. So, for example, we had moving the gate at Dunes West Blvd in the plan with budget assigned for 2019. With the announcement that Alternative 7A would be one of the two final choices for HWY 41 expansion, the board put this project on hold. Then, when Charleston County Department of Transportation (CCDOT) released updated 7A alignment maps, the DWBOD reinstated the project. We brief residents on projects at the quarterly evening board meetings and annual meeting; these venues allow owners to ask specific questions in person.
3. “Unknowns” – The Dunes West Futures Committee considers both “known unknowns” and conceptualizes “unknown unknowns.” In addition to leveraging this resource, the board is able to look to insights from other POA/HOAs around the country (via the professional association, Community Associations Institute (CAI), as an example) to anticipate issues and solicit best practices.

POA (Property Owners Association) and HOA (Home Owners Association) are synonymous terms used to describe the legal entities set up by developers of planned developments to identify the group of all owners of land within the development, whether improved or not.

Within the Dunes West Community:

• POA is the all-encompassing organization, defined in the Dunes West Articles of Incorporation and associated governance documents. 
• The Board of Directors (BOD) is the group of property owners within the POA that is responsible for governance of the association.  The DWBOD is often mistakenly referred to as the POA, as is the office on Bessemer Road that is staffed by the POA’s Management Contractor. 
• Dunes West neighborhoods include condos and townhomes with a “sub regime” HOA, each with its own BoD for managing issues that solely impact these property owners and not the larger Dunes West community. 

The covenants of Dunes West do not allow golf carts behind the gates, on any path, or roadway. We do, however, allow “LSVs” or low speed vehicles on our roads. Although these look similar, LSVs are licensed by the state and have additional features a golf cart does not. According to South Carolina law, you cannot upgrade or retrofit a golf cart to an LSV.

For more information on Low Speed Vehicles, see the following documents: LSV, LSV Description, LSV Specifications.