FAQ

Directors elected or appointed after July 1, 2013, to the board of a homeowners’ association, which meets the definition of section 720.301(9), Florida Statutes, are required to either certify in writing to the secretary of the association that he or she has read the association’s declaration of covenants, articles of incorporation, bylaws, and current written rules and policies; that he or she will work to uphold such documents and policies to the best of his or her ability; and that he or she will faithfully discharge his or her fiduciary responsibility to the association’s members; or the director may submit to the association an educational certificate from a Division of Florida Condominiums, Timeshares, and Mobile Homes’ approved education provider attesting that the director has completed the educational curriculum. 

PUDs are communities of homes, which can include single-family homes, condos, commercial property like retail stores or all of these property types. The most common kind of PUDs, however, are comprised predominantly of single-family homes. Like a condo project, a PUD will be operated by a homeowners association (HOA) to which every homeowner contributes monthly or quarterly fees based on their percentage ownership in the overall project. And also like a condo project, those HOA fees go toward covering amenities and maintaining services associated with that PUD.

Amenities can include parks, playgrounds, pools, tennis and basketball courts, hiking trails,private gated common land and street lights. Services can include street cleaning, landscaping and security.

All of these amenities and services are for the exclusive private use of homeowners within that PUD.
Like condos, PUDs are also governed by a set of rules and restrictions specific to each community. There isn’t a specific set of rules that governs all PUDs, so if you’re buying a home in a PUD, you need to review all of the HOA documents that are part of that PUD, including:

• Budget
• Bylaws
• Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (sometimes called CC&Rs or declarations)
• Articles of incorporation
• Anything else related to PUD noted on title report

Reviewing the budget will help you understand the full cost structure of the PUD, and determine how much shared community maintenance will need to be kept up over the years. This will help you make decisions on whether a PUD is right for you and your budget. For example, maybe you’re looking at a detached home in a PUD, and find the dues to be expensive for amenities you don’t intend to use.

Or maybe you can find a single-family home that’s not a PUD, yet offers similar public amenities nearby such as pools, parks or playgrounds.

In these cases, you might choose to forego the PUD’s HOA dues and just buy a single-family home.

On the other hand, you may opt for buying a home in a PUD because a PUD’s HOA dues offer perks like yard maintenance and extra security to keep your kids safe when they’re out in the neighborhood with their friends.

As for the bylaws and CC&Rs, those documents tell owners what they can and can’t do. They might restrict pets, the ability to run businesses of a certain size out of your home, or the number of cars you can park on the street. They may even get as specific as stating that if your car leaked oil on your own driveway, the HOA could fine you.

Again, you’ll need to read all these documents to determine whether that specific PUD is right for you. And remember, all PUDs are different, so each one will have its own set of rules and restrictions.

Martin County has enacted wetland and upland protection measures to preserve wetlands and native upland habitats and maintain their ecological functions. The Growth Management Department is responsible for the implementation of these protective measures.

All wetlands in Martin County are protected. A 50 foot buffer zone (75 feet if the wetland is connected to waters of the State) is required around wetlands to provide an upland transition area which can protect the wetland from negative impacts. Where possible, these buffers contain native upland habitat. If no native vegetation is present in the buffer zone, then planting of appropriate vegetation is required in accordance with a site-specific Preserve Area Management Plan (PAMP).

Upland protection measures have been implemented in Martin County to prevent the loss of native upland habitats to development or to the spread of exotic invasive plant species. All parcels of land that have been platted since February 1992, and all Planned Unit Developments, large commercial projects and subdivisions are now required to preserve up to twenty-five percent of the total common native upland habitat or twenty-five percent of all unique, endangered, threatened or rare native upland habitats. In addition, each of these types of developments is required to provide a PAMP detailing an environmental management plan for its preserve areas.

A copy of the Martin County PAMP ordinance is available on our download page.