Wintergreen restrictions on residents called unfair

A decision by Wintergreen Resort to restrict access to its facilities has upset some Wintergreen residents who are not resort members but have used its amenities in the past.

Wintergreen Partners Inc., the organization that owns and operates the resort’s golf courses, ski facilities, open spaces, wooded areas, aquatics and fitness centers and Lake Monocan, began restricting non-member access May 22.

Previously, non-members had equal access to the facilities by paying per diem costs. The change has upset many of those who used that option. They’re concerned that the change not only limits their access but also could decrease their property values.

“We had access to everything and paid full fare to access the facilities while WPI members had free access and reduced fares for their guests,” said Sylvie Moore, who owns a second home in the private community and spends weekends there. “About 2,100 families no longer have access to the fitness and aquatics center during the summer, or the center at Stoney Creek.”

WPI officials acknowledged that non-members had similar benefits under previous policies. They say they made the changes to make sure paying members could be guaranteed access to the facilities.

To join WPI, owners purchase equity options that run with the deed on their property. Those options currently cost about $17,000. After purchasing the equity, members pay an annual fee to join the resort and, in exchange, have free or reduced admission for the facilities.

“They’ve paid for their membership and we want to make sure that the facilities are available for them at the times when they want to use them,” said John Coy, of WPI. “We haven’t suspended all access to non-members; we’ve just limited those times when members are most likely to want to utilize their memberships.”

WPI is a private organization founded by local homeowners more than 20 years ago with the intent of purchasing and operating the resort properties, which at the time were owned by a bank and up for sale. There is no requirement for those who purchase property in the private community to join the resort.

All property owners in the community are members of the Wintergreen Property Owners Association and pay dues to the organization. The association is similar to the homeowners’ organization at Lake Monticello in that it is charged with maintaining common areas and providing police and fire services and emergency medical care.

The association also operates two outdoor swimming pools and one set of outdoor tennis courts, but does not play a part in the resort.

The resort has reserved for members-only weekend and holiday tee times before 12:30 p.m. at its Devils Knob Golf Course. It also restricted its Aquatics and Fitness Center to members and guests every day from July 3 to Sept. 9 and on weekends and holiday periods around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The resort also closed its Stoney Creek Pool, Tennis and Fitness Center to non-members all year long, something Coy said has always been a matter of policy, if poorly policed.

Moore and other residents have formed an organization called Wintergreen Owners for Fair Use and hope to convince WPI to reconsider its decision. They say that Wintergreen residents who are property owners but not WPI members will have less access to the resort facilities than resort guests who stay for one night.

“We don’t feel we’re asking for special consideration,” Moore said. “We’re just asking for the same policy we had before.”

Coy said the decision was made only to “add value” to the memberships.

“We’re just making sure our members have use of the facilities when they want them,” he said. “We are not preventing others from joining, if they want to.”