South Down Shores

[bigdog]

Can folks provide some comments about South Down Shores community.
- Amenities
- Regulations
- Assoc Rules, etc

I'm looking at possibly purchasing property in S.D.S.

Thanks... And 'Happy Thanksgiving' to all !

[fatlazyless]

Some South Downers will probably disagree with me but the new www.wowtrail.org will be a big benefit for South Down. South Down will have direct access to this 9 mile long, pedestrian-bicycle-roller blade-cross country ski-no motorized vehicle, 12' wide-paved asphalt trail that will skirt the lengthy railroad, state owned, right-of-way, shorelines of Lakes Winnisquam-Opechee-Paugus Bay- Meredith Bay- Lake Winnipesaukee, from Belmont-Laconia-Meredith. It should be passing right through the heart of Weirs Beach over or next to the boardwalk and existing single, railroad track.

Could be a good time to start cruising those garage sales and go find an old ten speed, racing bicycle for the new Wow trail. No better way to stay in shape than bicycling, and a flat trail with basically no hills is easy enough that even older and out-of-shape, motor-boaters & motor-cyclists could benefit from the exercise. .:):D:)

If nothing else, just picture the young teenage and 20-something women in their bikinis as they roller blade past the South Down waterfront on a hot & humid, July morning. Would you call that a local amenity for South Down?

Building that 12' wide x 9 mile long, asphalt trail, will be an excellent use for the proposed NH state gasoline tax increase, especially now that gas prices have plunged.

[brk-lnt]

Can folks provide some comments about South Down Shores community.
- Amenities
- Regulations
- Assoc Rules, etc

I'm looking at possibly purchasing property in S.D.S.

Thanks... And 'Happy Thanksgiving' to all !

We own in SDS and have been very happy the 2.5 years we've been here. Keep in mind that within SDS overall there are several different villages, each is independently managed financially as a sub-association, and they were all built by different builders. Some have a reputation for being run and built well, others, not as much.

The overall rules and amenities and such are pretty standard. I think like any large association, some of the board members seem to get off on power trips over stupid things, but for the most part things are handled well.

[secondcurve]

Bigdog:

Search for Wow trail on this forum and you will find a thread about how the potential trail impacts South Down Shores. Some of the information is good, some of it is not so good. You will also find comments from members who own property at South Down. You may want to send private messages to those forum members who own property to get their input. Good luck with your purchase.

[SAMIAM]

Watch out,Big Dog....you might end up with a big,ugly chain link fence in your front yard.If you want to bike,there are miles and miles of nice quiet streets in SDS.

[fatlazyless]

When viewed from the waterfront homes, a five foot high, chain link fence should honestly do little to nothing in the way of blocking or impeding their view. A dark color like dark green vinyl coating would make it just blend into the sloping hillside.

Next time you drive down route 3, along Paugus Bay, and while going past Ganong Realty and Paugus Bay Sports take a good look across the bay to South Down Shores. The South Down waterfront homes closest to the water have a setback of 200-300 feet, way up on the hillside. They are not directly on the water. Their combined setback and hillside elevation would let the residents look out over any five foot fence with little to no loss of their view.

Building a nine mile pedestrian-bicycle trail with a very small amount of the proposed state gasoline tax increase would quickly become a welcome waterfront venue for everyone to enjoy. Non-motorized trails like this are a federally approved and welcome use of state gasoline taxes which get co-funded by the federal gasoline taxes. I believe every gallon of New Hampshire gasoline includes a 14.5 cent federal, and 14.5 cent state gasoline tax that is built ino the current price of 1.74/gal. The 14.5 NH gas tax is lower than what's charged in neighboring states and the NH DOT needs more money (don't we all).

Just like the water in Lake Winnipesaukee belongs to all the people of New Hampshire, so does the nine-mile railroad embankment right-of-way. An attractively designed trail would be a great fit for both local residents and tourist visiters.

[brk-lnt]

When viewed from the waterfront homes, a five foot high, chain link fence should honestly do little to nothing in the way of blocking or impeding their view. A dark color like dark green vinyl coating would make it just blend into the sloping hillside.


As per usual, you have an interesting opinion based on lack of direct experience and a misinterpretation of basic data.

You also have a penchant for hijacking threads. Thanks for your opinion on the under-funded WOW trail. Per the topic of this thread, if you have some valid first hand experience about SDS, please post up. If you have non-factual slanted opinions, please shut up.

[Skip]

As per usual, you have an interesting opinion based on lack of direct experience and a misinterpretation of basic data.

And he simply has his facts wrong. The NH portion of the gasoline tax is $.18, and has been since 1992. The feds garner another $.19 for a total impact of $.37 a gallon here in NH.

As a sidenote and not to further hijack this thread, one of the oft stated reasons that many NH road repairs go unfunded year after year is a lack of revenue from the gasoline tax to fund such repairs. And one of the problems cited with the revenue stream? The constant siphoning off of funds by the legislature to build non-highway projects.

This proposal is an excellent example of a diversion of tax funds for a purpose never intended when the tax was formally implemented.

[SAMIAM]

No matter how you spin it......chain link fences are ugly,whatever the color.Also a fence would cut off all boating and snowmobile access to the lake for the SDS residents.Another thought.....even though the area is developed,there is still a lot of wildlife.Residents report deer,moose,fox and many other animals moving through there and I wonder what effect that would have. Not a resident,just MHO.

[jetskier]

First, a legitimate question was asked and of course the thread got hijacked. Really bad form!

Anyhow, We have property in SDS and can speak to ownership there:

Ammenities:


Shared Beach
Walking Trails
Access to State Snowmobile Trails
Boat Club/Marina
Tennis Courts
Basketball Courts
Walking/Skiing Trails


Regulations/rules:

There are a number of regulations governing construction, facilities use, roads etc...If you have particular interests or concerns just ask. As for the WOW trail, that has been discussed here ad nauseum. If you want my opinion, feel free to send a private email.

Incidently, we very much like SDS and this is the second property that we have owned here.

Jetskier:cool:

[Winopt]

We have owned our condo in SDS Highwood Village for 1 year. We love SDS! We have our boat in the rack storage and couldn’t be happier with the services provided. Once I drive through the gates, I don’t typically leave the grounds other than boat until I am heading home. The people who we have met all seem to enjoy and respect the property as much as we do. Good Luck in your hunt for a property! It is a great place!

[donnamatrix]

We owned in SDS for several years. As was stated earlier, there are several "villages" that have condo associations with dues, etc., and then there is the umbrella association of South Down Recreation, which also gets dues for road clearing, etc., Then there is the Boat Club, yet another fee. However, we did like living there. It's just that the rules and regulations from everyone got a little out of hand. You need to look at the covenants for whichever village you buy into. Find out who manages the board, how much capital funding they have and what's been done for improvements.

[Living the Dream]

Big Dog-

I live in SD. Great villages. People are fantastic for the most part. Lots of little happenings going on. Nice beach with marina access for boats. Walking and hiking trails in there as well. They have a website.

As for the WOW trail. It's awful for SD. We're going to have a nice big fence right in front of the water. So now when we sit on those adirondack chairs, we'll be able to look at two beautiful fences instead of the water. One to protect the bikers from the road and another fence to keep bikers out of SD. Plus I'm sure when you're riding a bike, you might get hot, so hop in at our beach. As you can sit this subject has ticked many of us off.

But honestly, besides that, it's a great place to live!