TREE MAINTENANCE MATTERS: CUTTING LIABILITY RISKS (BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE TREES)

BY: SUSAN ELMORABIT, ACTION PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

What were they thinking when they planted these trees?! Imagine you are managing a 20-year old community with over one million square feet of landscape. Common area trees, in some cases just inches away from and hanging over association walls, are dropping debris into homeowner pools, cracking the association-maintained wall, and wreaking havoc with city-maintained sidewalks. Frustrated homeowners want the trees removed. Per city planning, they can be removed but should be replaced with another tree. The Board is worried that removing too many of the trees will have a negative visual impact on the community. How can we responsibly approach the multiple layers of problems created by misplaced or otherwise problematic trees and assure beautiful and healthy aesthetics for generations of homeowners to come?

The Forest of Bureaucracy

It is easy to blame developers for overplanting a community but in reality, they are often required to install a quota as established by city planning departments. Thus, before contemplating any removals, it is important to find out if permission is required from the city and what other conditions may be imposed. It is not unusual for a city to require a tree removal permit and even replacement with another tree, unless there is immediate danger to life or property. Sometimes, municipal planning will negotiate with the association. For example, one community was asked to replace a rotting ancient white oak with 13 new trees, but there was no room on the already overcrowded landscape, so the association board offered to donate 13 trees for the city to plant on city property.

Administrative Branch

To avoid risk exposure, regular inspections by management are critical. Before undertaking tree maintenance, walk the property with the vendor. Some things to look for while inspecting:

• Do trees need trimming? “Wind sailing” can reduce the crown of the tree to allow more wind to move through it, lessening the stress on the tree and potential for falling debris in a storm.

• Have your landscape company or arborist take inventory of the number of trees and various types. This will assist management and the board in scheduling maintenance, repairs, etc.

• Not all trees require the same level of maintenance. For example, some pines need to be pruned during the coldest months of the year to avoid a bark beetle infestation, which can kill the tree. Pines typically need pruning every two to three years, but palms may need twice-yearly pruning.

Have your tree trimming service provide a three-year plan for the board. This will provide “economy of scale” pricing while considering the needs of different species of trees. On the topic of tree pruning, sometimes the most expensive tree trimmers will be the regular landscape maintenance company. Consider getting bids from outside vendors but vetting them with references.

Getting to the Roots

Are roots lifting any concrete or asphalt? Are roots on the surface choking out other plantings? Some problems can be temporarily resolved by cutting offending roots but it may eventually be necessary to remove/replace trees with something more appropriate for the space. The larger a tree gets, potentially more expense and community pushback can happen when approaching removal. If privacy or shade is a concern, the community may find itself spending more money on the replacement trees.

Legal Limbs

Messing with trees (or not!) can have real legal considerations. Consider the following scenarios:

• An association tree falls on an owner’s car. It is the second such incident in the community in months. The manager should alert the board immediately, and the car owner should contact their insurance company.

• A tree in proximity to homeowner property is dropping debris picked up by the wind, that leads to higher pool maintenance costs and even a fire in the pool pump. The board in this case determined the association was not responsible and left the tree in place.

• A manager has the wrong tree removed. Walking with the vendor and a board member could have prevented this.

• The board approves emergency removal of a tree which one member was very concerned may fall on some homes in the upcoming stormy season. As it turns out, it was not on association property at all, but outside. The tree owner’s son was an attorney and the board almost immediately received a letter from him. In this case, the board ended up cutting a check for damages to the owner.

• A neighbor complains that another neighbor’s untrimmed trees are blocking his solar panels from receiving light. California Code §§ 25980-25986 prohibits someone from blocking 10% of a neighbor’s solar collector between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

• One owner’s roots damage a neighbor’s swimming pool. Neighbor-to-neighbor dispute policy, anyone?

• An association ignores a letter from a homeowner who thinks a tall association pine might fall on his house. (Looking for trouble! Have your arborist on speed dial!)

• A historic white oak in a community was about to be featured in a local magazine. The board had their arborist check the health of the tree, whose largest limb extended over a community carport. Nothing appeared wrong on a visual inspection, even to the arborist. To everyone’s surprise, on a still, fall morning, the massive limb fell off the tree, badly damaging the carport. Fortunately, there were no injuries or car damage. There was rot occurring from the inside of the tree that may have been detected by taking a core sample or other technology.

• Management sends a violation letter to a homeowner, informing them they need to trim the tree in their front yard. It turns out the city owns many of the front yard trees throughout the community and fines the homeowner for following the management directive.

Solutions are not usually that complicated, but navigating conflicts can be. Keep calm and call the community’s legal counsel, when needed.

To avoid being lost in the woods, be sure to make use of your “team of experts” when handling tree maintenance issues and ask lots of questions. Your Board will be well informed when it’s decisionmaking time and as manager, you can help avoid costly and embarrassing mistakes.

Susan Elmorabit, AMS, PCAM, is a Senior Community Manager at Action Property Management. Her career roots stretch back to 2006 in a rain forest. She happily relocated back to the palms of sunny southern California in 2016.