WPOA Survey of Property Owners 2022

Executive Summary

Two-thirds of surveyed property owners identified their primary property location on the mountain, while approximately 1/3 were in the valley.

Single family homes (71%) are the most common type of property among survey respondents, followed by condominiums (25%).

Most surveyed owners believe their property value to be between $500k and $1M, or between $250k and $500k. A majority have owned their Wintergreen property for five years or longer.

In addition, a majority of surveyed owners are over 60 years of age, and are either retired or semi-retired. Over a half of survey respondents are not Wintergreen Resort Club members, usually because they are not able to justify cost. Not spending enough time at Wintergreen to justify the membership is another common reason, especially among mountain property owners and among those who rent their Wintergreen property.

Property Usage

Surveyed owners typically use their Wintergreen property as a primary residence (34%), during weekends/holidays (23%) and as a secondary residence, residing there part- time (20%). Most use their residences year-round, with summer months seeing more use than winter and spring.

Most surveyed owners live in two-adult households with no children under 18. Their primary Wintergreen properties most often have three (36%), four (27%) or two (18%) bedrooms. The majority of owners (79%) do not rent their Wintergreen property; overwhelming a majority of those who do, rent it short-term.

Property Purchase

Rural setting / natural environment (84%), access to outdoor recreation (82%), beauty of the community (80%) and the resort amenities (65%) played the biggest role in the surveyed owners’ decision to purchase property in Wintergreen. When asked to identify the most important feature in their decision, rural setting/natural environment and resort amenities, such as ski, golf, tennis, and spa came in on top.

Resort amenities are more valued by mountain property owners, those who do not use their property as a primary residence and those who have vacationed in Wintergreen before buying property. On the other hand, rural setting / natural environment is valued more among valley property owners, respondents who use their Wintergreen property as a primary residence and those who have not vacationed in Wintergreen before buying property there.

Sixty-eight percent of survey respondents or members of their households vacationed in Wintergreen before buying their property in the community. This number is much higher among mountain property owners (79%) than valley property owners (45%). It is also higher among those who rent their Wintergreen property (84%) than those who do not (64%).

Amenities

With daily or weekly usage, Stoney Creek Walking Paths (16.8%) and Hiking Trails (16.6%) are the most often used Wintergreen amenities, followed by Stoney Creek Park (7.1%), Chestnut Springs Pavilion (6.1%), Tuckahoe Clubhouse & Pavilion (3.4%), and Rhodes Farm Pool (3.0%). On the other end, Rodes Farm Archery, Rodes Farm Playground and Rodes Farm Tennis are least frequently used. Approximately a quarter of survey respondents use other amenities, such as dog park, farmer’s market, fitness center, Lake Monocan, ski lifts and areas, Trillium Room and Stoney Creek Golf and Pool.

The most significant differences between mountain and valley owners are in their use of Chestnut Springs Pool, Rodes Farm Pool, Tuckahoe Clubhouse & Pavilion, Stoney Creek Walking Paths and Stoney Creek Park. Charts here.

A half of surveyed owners have never visited the Tuckahoe Clubhouse; those who did have done so for social events, WTG rescue events, lending library, organized card and other games, exercise classes, and other events such as bible study, book clubs, yard sales, vaccinations, elections, meetings and Here to Stay events. Valley property owners and primary residents are more likely to have visited Tuckahoe Clubhouse in the past than are mountain property owners, owners who rent their property, and non-primary residents.

Survey respondents are approximately equally divided between those who see a need for a Mountain Community Center/Clubhouse like the Tuckahoe Clubhouse located in Stoney Creek, and those who don’t see a need for it, with majority undecided.

Many who don’t see the need for a Mountain Community Center/Clubhouse believe that the current meeting/gathering choices inside Wintergreen are sufficient, that they would not use the facility personally, and that it is not a good financial investment for the Wintergreen property owners. Nearly two-thirds do not want to pay increased assessments to support this amenity. Mountain property owners are more likely to see the need for the center/clubhouse than are valley property owners.

Covenants and Rules

A vast majority of surveyed owners have, at some point, read Wintergreen Covenants and Restrictions. Nearly a third of those would like to see some restrictions changed or added such as restricting short term rentals, having fewer restrictions on tree pruning and trimming and outdoor fireplaces, and guest and dog policies. Valley property owners and primary residents are more likely to have read Wintergreen Covenants and Restrictions than are mountain property residents and non-primary residents.

Approximately one third of owners have, at some point, read WPOA ARB publication Maintenance of The Natural Environment at Wintergreen; of those 15% would like to see some restrictions or requirements changed or included, such as policies related to tree cutting and trimming and light pollution. Valley property owners, primary residents and, especially, those who own undeveloped lots are more likely to have read Maintenance of The Natural Environment at Wintergreen than are mountain property residents, non- primary residents and condominium owners.

Finally, 41% of owners have, at some point, read WPOA ARB publication Building or Modifying Your Home at Wintergreen. Nearly a quarter of the readers would like to see at least some restrictions or requirements changed or added such as policies related to paint colors and fencing, as well better and more consistent enforcement of existing policies. Again, valley property owners and primary residents are more likely to have read Building or Modifying Your Home at Wintergreen than are mountain property residents and non- primary residents. Nearly two-thirds of survey respondents who own undeveloped lots have read this publication.

Majority of survey respondents opposes changing mountain motorcycle policy to allow guests to arrive and depart by motorcycle. This number varies little among different demographic groups, including mountain and valley property owners and primary and non- primary residents.

WPOA Operations

Overwhelming majority of Wintergreen owners are likely to recommend purchasing a property at Wintergreen to a friend or colleague. This includes more than a half who are very likely to make this recommendation.

Overwhelming majority of survey respondents subscribe to the WPOA News & Update Newsletter and Alert Wintergreen notices, and nearly all of them are satisfied with the information they receive through these channels. Approximately three out of four survey respondents use WPOA website wtgpoa.org and those who visit it are overwhelmingly satisfied with the information they find there.

Large numbers of respondents believe that website and newsletter coverage of the differences between WPOA and Wintergreen Resort (80%), community rules and regulations (61%), community groups (45%), Architectural Review Board process and procedures (44%), wildlife (39%), trash (38%), Wintergreen Police (37%) and Fire and Rescue Services (36%) would improve their ownership experience at Wintergreen. Mail and package delivery, weather, and trash are topics of greater interest to mountain than valley property owners, while community rules and regulations and ARB process and procedures are topics that interest more valley than mountain property owners.

Wintergreen owners believe that WPOA is the most effective in managing roadway snow removal, road surfaces, mowing, roadway storm clean-up, and road signage. Administering the Architectural Review Board (ARB) was seen as comparatively less effective (27% rate it as “very effective”), while also including the largest percentage (40%) of “not sure” responses.  Combined, this suggests there is considerable confusion over the ARB’s role and responsibilities.  WPOA effectiveness is perceived similarly among valley and mountain property owners – the only notable difference is maintenance of WPOA parks and pavilions. In most categories, primary residents rate WPOA effectiveness higher than do non-primary residents, most notably maintenance of WPOA parks and pavilions, WPOA administrative support, ARB and WPOA facility conditions.

Short-term Rentals

Majority of surveyed Wintergreen owners would oppose changing the Covenants to prohibit short-term rental use on their property. This includes 44% who strongly oppose such change. Support to prohibit short-term rental use is much higher among valley property owners, primary residents and those who did not vacation at Wintergreen before buying property than among mountain property owners, non-primary residents and those who vacationed at Wintergreen before buying property.

Also, only a quarter of respondents would support changing the Covenants to prohibit short-term rental use in Stoney Creek only. Again, support to prohibit short-term rental use in Stoney Creek only is much higher among valley property owners (52%) and primary residents (47%) than among mountain property owners (15%) and non-primary residents (16%).

Majority of Wintergreen owners would oppose changing the Covenants to give WPOA legal authority to increase oversight, place limits on short-term rental use and establish additional rules for their individual property. Consistent with other findings, a support for this measure is higher among valley property owners, primary residents and those who do not rent their Wintergreen property than among mountain property owners, non-primary residents and those who rent their property.

Finally, nearly a half of respondents believe that the August Board Resolution placing new rules on short-term rental use along with WPOA recent efforts to educate owners and their guests, are adequate to address current needs of the community. Mountain and valley property owners, as well as primary and non-primary residents, gave very similar answers to this question.

Amenity Upgrade / Improvements

Upgrades to Chestnut Spring Pool (29%) and additional walking paths in Stoney Creek (29%) engender most support among surveyed Wintergreen owners. However, most do not support any of the proposed projects. When those respondents are set aside, additional walking paths in Stoney Creek (26%) come on top followed by upgrades to Chestnut Springs Pool (21%). When comparing mountain and valley property owners, the most significant differences are in support for additional walking paths in Stoney Creek, upgrades to Rodes Farm Pool, upgrades to Chestnut Springs Pool and adding additional tennis/pickleball court at Chestnut Springs Pool area. Adding walking paths in Stoney Creek is a clear favorite among valley property owners, while upgrade to Chestnut Springs Pool is the most popular project among mountain property owners. Similarly, additional walking paths in Stoney Creek and upgrades to Rodes Farm Pool are most popular among primary residents, while upgrades to Chestnut Springs Pool and additional tennis/pickleball court at Chestnut Springs Pool area are most popular among non-primary residents. Support for proposed projects is very similar among Wintergreen Resort Club members and non-members, as well as owners of undeveloped lots and the rest of the owners.

Approximately a quarter of survey respondents made additional suggestions for improvements and amenities such as additional restaurants and eateries, electric car charging stations, dog parks, additional hiking and biking trails, more/better/indoor pools, recycling bins, a gathering place at the mountain, a package delivery facility, arcades, basketball courts and more.