A Consistent Negligence on HOA-Owned Trees. Will that Change?

UPDATE 8/8/2022: The HOA has had a tree company survey all of the trees on the common-ownership property and identify hazardous trees that need removal. This looks like progress. We are hoping this new list of targeted trees overlaps 100% with the (shorter) list of trees that residents have expressed concerns about, such as those described here. Stay tuned. –S.L.

"Despite clever advertising and public relations campaigns, HOAs do not exist for the benefit of residents." --Independent American Communities

A resident on Grosbeak Terrace writes:

It is so sad and disheartening to see what has become of Quail Valley HOA, here in Montgomery County, Maryland. The community leadership was once friendly and responsive. I have been a homeowner since 1991. There is an old Bradford pear tree near my townhouse (photo 1) on Grosbeak Terrace that has caused damaged to my car (photo 2) and other property. This HOA-owned tree hangs over my parking spot and drops little fruits, which badly stains the surface every year. It also drops branches and whole limbs, which Bradford pears are notorious for doing.

Since 2017, I have been asking that the tree be removed. I've sent photos by email directly to the property manager, and there is no helpful response. Instead, I get what appears to be retaliation. The HOA issues property violations against me that are so inconsequential, like a broom behind a bush at my front stoop ... that I use to sweep the leaves from said tree.

The HOA continued to add penalties to this fine which now amounts to over $4,000. I have filed complaints with our county's Commission on Common Ownership Communities, who referred me to the services of the court. So I tried the route of the court, and a legal mediator then tried several times to contact the property manager, who has not responded to those communications, to my knowledge.

I then filed a complaint with the BBB (Better Business Bureau), and they sent a copy to the property manager for response. She "explained" that she had told me they had a budget shortfall, and there were no funds trim the tree. I don't recall that claim ever being mentioned to me. When they inspected the tree in 2018, my neighbor just happened to be out there and heard the property manager telling the other people nearby, “This is a healthy tree, we are not cutting it down.” Yes, it has green leaves, but any tree over 20 feet high must be inspected by a licensed arborist, according to Maryland State law. It was not apparent that any of the people present were licensed arborists. The property manager seemed to be calling all the shots.

A large branch broke off this same tree exactly over my parking space during a September 2021 thunderstorm. Luckily for me, I was not parked there that night. I sent an email to the property manager, and a worker came and removed the branch. Other branches, emerging from the same unstable spot on the tree, were not trimmed, and I received no further explanation.

I have, however, received a violation notice for "green stains" on my concrete steps. My response was, “ I wonder where the green stains are coming from?” I've received no reply to that.

This is the quality of service many of us receive from this HOA. I have been a homeowner since 1991, and I recall a time when resident-leader relationships were cordial and constructive. Families with young children are moving in. They want a friendly community to live in. Let's hope that things will change for the better.

--Monica Jackson, of Grosbeak Terrace, is a 30-year resident of the Quail Valley community who works as a property management professional

A Neighbor across the valley offers commentary

When we bought our house on Purple Martin Lane, there was a Bradford pear in the front yard. After a few years, and after some study, we had the tree removed (since we owned it, not the HOA). After getting advice from an arborist, we replaced it with an ornamental tree that's bred to always stay small. It's just large enough to shade the windows of our house all summer with its purple leaves.

The above testimony is yet another powerful story about HOA negligence. It's also an example of a financial attack, sustained over years, against an upstanding member of this community.

The HOA collects about $600,000 per year in monthly assessments from the 592 property owners in Quail Valley. The HOA has claimed lack of funds to do urgently needed tree maintenance. During these same years, the HOA has spent tens of thousands of dollars on (for example) a new picket fence along borders of the community, as well as a new gutter, with leaf baffles, on the community barn, which has no useful function that I can discern.

It is crucial that the Quail Valley HOA awaken to its true responsibilities. The board must immediately hire a licensed arborist to survey ALL of the trees over 20 feet high, as required by law, in the community--to discover which ones are a hazard to the residents. It must not rely on our current, or any, property manager (or anyone who is not an LTE, licensed tree expert) for guidance in this matter. All residents (not just the board) need to the see the arborist's report, posted online, labeling the location and risk level of every tree that could pose a hazard to human life and property. We need notification; we seek guidance on how to be safe now, in our homes, if a high-risk tree is next to our home, until that tree is removed.

Finally, it is the HOA's responsibility to publish a plan--a timeline--for the removal of the many legacy, hazardous trees (many of these are huge white pine trees); construct a plan to pay for executing a project that will probably span months; and accelerate the work of removing the hazardous trees without delay. The HOA may need to take out a loan to pay for this urgent work. The HOA must post this plan online. The time for obfuscation is over.

See the opening quote. Do HOAs exist for the benefit of residents? Who does benefit from this mess? Is there an agency or office anywhere that stands up for citizens when they are abused by an HOA?

The next falling tree or limb might take a human life. Please do not give us pablum about insurance policies covering the HOA's liability in case of a disaster. We value human life over money. I wrote earlier this week about a huge pine tree that (to my amateur eye and measurements) appears to be very unstable as it leans toward, and looms over a house. Its flaws can be diagnosed. Its falling is predictable and would not be an "act of God." Last week, a workman showed up and cut a few branches off that tree--a cosmetic tweak, a bandaid on a fractured bone.

A quick course correction, by the HOA board members, is needed on their approach to tree management, on their budget priorities ... and on their respect for their neighbors.

The new path would involve the HOA board adopting a new attitude toward its residents: Ms. Jackson is a senior citizen, African American, and property management professional; I'm a senior senior citizen, a white American, and an amateur admirer of trees. Do not dismiss any resident. Do not penalize us, year after year, as we alert the HOA about various dangers to the health and safety of the residents--from compelling possible exposure to a virus in the days before COVID-19 vaccines were invented, to unstable overgrown trees, to rodent infestation of a house that burned (a few years ago) and aggravated (most recently) by the bizarre HOA confiscation of our trash receptacles.

As a first step, the new path would involve the HOA board being in close communication with, and taking guidance directly from, an LTE (a licensed tree expert), as well as relying on county and state agencies that might offer advice on the funding of emergency public health projects overseen by local governments, such as an HOA. An apology might be given to a resident and fines rescinded. There's not a moment to lose.

Steven Sellers Lapham, of Purple Martin Lane, is a 21-year resident of the Quail Valley community, and has worked as an editor at civics education and science journals. The "Living on Cuckoo Court" collection of essays is on Patch.com.