FAQ

• Pepper Ridge Civic Association (PRCA) By-Laws
• PRCA Constitution

The civic association is responsible only for maintenance of the three neighborhood common areas. Pepper Ridge is not a deed-restricted neighborhood so the civic association has no enforcement power over individual properties.

Individual property maintenance must comply with New Castle County code and is enforced by the NCC Department of Land Use.

• Lawn mowing: McDonald Lawn and Landscaping Contractors maintains our community common areas is offering a discounted rate for weekly mowing, $25 for end units and $20 for center units. For details and to sign up, please call McDonald at 302-239-2180.
• Waste removal: Evergreen Waste Services is offering a discounted fee of $87.00 per quarter for weekly trash and recycling pickup. For details and to sign up, please call Evergreen at 302-635-7055.

Pepper Ridge is not a deed-restricted community so property regulations are governed by New Castle County. You can search the County laws and code here.

After 14 years of litigation between New Castle County and the developers (Onix Group), the final judgement by the Delaware Supreme Court allowed the developer to build approximately 60 homes while preserving 130 acres open space. This is significantly fewer than the 200+ homes Onix was suing for.

Please visit our Annual Dues page for complete information.

While there are no deed restrictions, the preference is for Pepper Ridge homeowners to maintain their properties in accordance with the original appearance of the neighborhood.

The original intent of the neighborhood was to preserve the views of the golf course and natural areas. In keeping with that, split-rail fencing (with green wire mesh if needed to contain pets) is preferred over privacy/solid fencing. Homeowners should ensure that their fencing complies with New Castle County Unified Development Code regulations.

It is preferred that homeowners try to match the original roofing and siding colors established by the developer and still in use throughout most of the neighborhood. Using these colors maintains the overall visual cohesiveness of the neighborhood. Over the years, people have changed siding and roofing colors slightly but have stayed within the brown and gray range.

• New Castle County
  • Code Enforcement and Property Maintenance
  • County Council (Pepper Ridge is in District 3)
  • County Executive
  • Clerk of the Peace
  • Recorder of Deeds
  • Register of Wills
  • Sheriff’s Office
• State of Delaware
  • Find the branch, department, or state agency you need
  • General Assembly: Pepper Ridge is in House District 21 and Senate District 4

Pepper Ridge is not a deed-restricted neighborhood and it does not have a Homeowners Association. It has a voluntary civic association instead. There is no master insurance policy or rental cap. All New Castle County rental and property maintenance codes apply.

Visit the Delaware Solid Waste Authority website for information on:

• Curbside recycling (what you can and can’t put in your bin)
• Household hazardous waste and document shredding collection events.
• Household electronics recycling.
• Latex paint disposal.
• Landfill, transfer station, and collection station locations and fees.

Each home in Pepper Ridge has a driveway which is within their property lines. Some homes have two parking spaces while others could have up to four. Residents and guests should avoid parking in other resident’s driveways.

There is a limited amount of on-street community parking in areas that aren’t marked as no parking and that don’t block driveways or mailboxes. The civic association has no enforcement power over parking disputes but asks that residents and guests park in a way that honors property lines and avoids creating dangerous situations (such as by parking on both sides of a street).

PRCA contracts for snow plowing each year with a private company. Because snow removal is very expensive, we generally do not plow accumulations of less than 4″, although we do have the option to have the contractor apply sand and/or salt for smaller events.

When total accumulation from a storm event is 4″ or more, PRCA submits for reimbursement for a percentage of the snow removal costs by the State of Delaware. (Official snow totals can be found on snow.deldot.gov; we are included in the 11 Kiamensi area.)

We have to pay the snow removal contractor up front and then submit for reimbursement. This is why it is crucial that all households pay their dues — we need money in the bank before it snows!

Residents are responsible for removing yard waste from their properties and failure to do violates New Castle County property maintenance codes. Property maintenance violations could mean a ticket for each violation.

Yard waste can’t be put in regular trash bins so your removal options are:

• Add yard waste pickup to your waste removal contract.
• Haul it to the community yard waste site on Polly Drummond Hill Road (click here for directions).
  • Accepted materials: Loose yard waste (no bags!) such as leaves, grass, brush, branches no more than 4″ in diameter, and Christmas trees. No stumps or logs, no lumber, no dirt, and no rocks.
  • Open Saturdays and Sundays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed mid-January through March (dates may change).
  • Call 302-739-9403 for more information.