History

 

The first meeting of the South Gulf Cove Homeowners’ Association was held on November 17, 1978. Seven of the eight families in South Gulf Cove attended. Burham “Bud” Cowdery was selected President. Membership was limited to those who owned homes in South Gulf Cove. The focus of the Association was in dealing with General Development Corporation in fulfilling the promises made when marketing the waterfront community of South Gulf Cove. 

 

In February of 1982, Articles of Incorporation were approved by the State of Florida and business meetings were held every other month. In 1986 there were 80 homes built within South Gulf Cove.

 

By 1989 the social aspect of South Gulf Cove started to blossom: meetings were held every month, a card club, boat club, and craft club were established, and the association held a yard sale!!

 

In the early 90’s, General Development went into bankruptcy and development was turned over to Atlantic Gulf Communities. In May 1994 Atlantic Gulf Communities

assigned South Gulf Cove Homeowners Association the right to enforce our deed restrictions.    

 The Association opened up its membership to property owners as Associate (non-voting) Members who would receive quarterly newsletters keeping them informed as to what was happening in South Gulf Cove. A Building Fund was established to provide for facilities as outlined in the Articles of Incorporation and the Association’s Bylaws.

 

The late 1990’s saw an effort by the Homeowners Association to amend the deed restrictions to prevent manufactured homes and increase the required square footage for new construction. The amended deed restrictions were approved by a majority of all property owners and were filed with Charlotte County in 2001

 

In November 1999, the Association purchased a 14-acre parcel on Ingraham Boulevard and received a special exception to develop the property for community use. A ribbon cutting ceremony and celebration was held in September 2003 at the newly completed Homeowners’ Pavilion.   Plans for the next phase, bathrooms and storage were begun.

 

Early in 2004 the Association was faced with a challenge involving a modular home installation. Litigation ensued and was settled in favor of the homeowners association which required the removal of the modular home and a financial payment to the homeowners association to offset its legal costs. Our Architectural Review Committee is steadfast in the enforcement of the recorded deed restrictions.

 

August 2004 presented the challenge of Hurricane Charley. While South Gulf Cove was spared the devastation that many of our local communities suffered, we were challenged with property damage as well as emotional scars. Neighbors helped neighbors to cope and recover. 

 

In 2005, Homeowner Association voting rights were opened to all property owners within South Gulf Cove significantly increasing our membership. Our recent effort has been the change in the voting requirement to enact deed restriction changes so that we can consolidate and conform our deed restrictions to the County’s zoning and future land use. 

 

We have come a long way since that meeting in 1978 and we are proud of the progress we have made and will continue to make. We are thankful for all of the wonderful volunteers in this unique community for their efforts to make South Gulf Cove the paradise we all envisioned when we chose this as our home.