Out of the woods on Tree Disputes

As my two years as RMCA President come to a close, I have been reflecting on all experiences.  It has been a pleasure getting to know my fellow RMCA residents. We have a delightful neighborhood.

If there was an overall theme to the types of issues the board has faced during my tenure, it has been who covers clean up costs when trees fall down (as they tend to do).  As I have learned, there is a good deal of confusion surrounding who pays.

Virginia tree law states that the property owner on whose property the tree falls bears the cost of cleaning up the portion of the tree residing on their property, providing they elect to do so.  For example, if one of my neighbor's trees falls on my property, I bear the cost of cleanup of the portion of the tree on my property.  I know this sounds counter-intuitive which is why I am blogging on the issue.  The one exception could be if the tree was clearly dead or dying and I brought the tree's poor condition to the attention of my neighbor before it fell, in which a case may be made for negligence.

To add another layer of confusion, there is the matter of insurance. Depending on your policy, the nature of any damage and the condition of the tree (dead or alive) when it fell, your homeowner’s policy might cover costs to cleanup. My advice would be to call your insurance and have your neighbor do the same - let the insurance companies sort out who pays.

So, where does the Association come into this?  As you know we have over 50 acres of common ground that the association manages. When fallen trees involve common ground, the association is involved.  If the fallen tree resides only on private property, the association will not get involved.  So, for example, if a tree falls on one the privately maintained pipe stems (one off of Neuse, another off of Beach Mill), even if it blocks access, the association will not act to remove the tree.  It is incumbent on the property owners to come up with a plan to remove the tree, including allocating costs.

I would hope that as good neighbors we can come up with solutions to our tree problems that promote the neighborhood peace, but if the fallen tree becomes a dispute you now know the ground rules.

Finally, here are a few more fun tree facts:

1) If a tree falls across a publicly maintained road, the county will cut up and remove the tree once informed.

2) Trees fallen on any of our gas pipeline easements will eventually be cut up by the gas company owning the easement as a part of maintaining their access to the pipeline.  In my experience, they are not in a rush to make this happen, but they do eventually address the fallen tree.

New Complaints Procedure

In 2009, Va. Code Ann. 55-530 established the Common Interest Community Ombudsman. The legislation required associations to implement a Complaint Procedure pursuant to regulations. The statute and the Ombudsman Regulations require the association to have a Complaint Procedure and a Complaint Form.

In September 2012, Riverside Manor created a complaint procedure and complaint submission form for use by the association members. If you want to file a complaint with the association, please refer to the RMCA Complaint Procedure and Complaint Form.

Additional References:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+55-530

Welcome to the Riverside Manor Civic Association Blog!

We would like to make this a living, useful reference for RMCA residents.  If you see anything that needs to be added or changed please send us an e-mail -or- come join us at 7 PM, 04 February 2013 at the Great Falls Library meeting room for our annual association meeting and tell us how it looks.

Greg