One For All, All For One
Currently a discussion is taking place about allowing nonresidents to participate in a Charter Club activity not as daily guests, but as regular participants alongside residents. The Board, management, the Charter Club in question and the Charter Club President’s Council will review and resolve the issue.
The issue serves as a reminder that Sun City is more than just a place live. The community is a legal entity requiring that at least one qualified resident be 55 years of age. That requirement sets the tone for being a community with not only an age restriction but with other restrictions.
Upon taking possession of a household, new occupants agree to and sign a contract stating that he or she received and read the hundreds of pages of governing document.
The reality is that many rights relating to occupancy are surrendered. The legal identification for this contractual agreement is Quid Pro Quo. The English translation is This For That, meaning if you want to live in Sun City and enjoy its amenities, you give up certain rights as a homeowner and agree to abide by the restrictions.
If in your previous freestanding house in Franklin Park, Oak Lawn, Iowa City, or wherever you lived, and you wanted to plant tomatoes along the side of your home, no problem. You also had the right to hang bird feeders from the eaves, build a shed on the property, post a political sign on the lawn, or have your under the age of 19 granddaughter live with you. No problem. On the other hand, the Sun City governing documents you agreed to abide by prohibit those actions.
The Sun City Association encourages the creation of Charter Clubs resulting in both privileges and restrictions for resident members. The thought that the Sun City Charter Club structure would open its doors to share the benefits of Club activities with non-residents is a problem if one buys the concept of a contract.
The plea from some who prefer to ignore the nonresident restriction in order that residents and nonresidents get together to have some fun doesn’t fly in the face of a contract violation. Camaraderie and fun shared by residents and nonresidents should be pursued and encouraged, but not on Sun City premises.
Nonresident policemen and firemen playing softball on a National Night Out activity are onetime community guests, not participants in a Charter Club activity.
If the level of available fun is too restrictive in Sun City, then there is always the option to seek fun elsewhere.
Jim Darow
Neighborhood 5
