Just received this post from Marjorie Murray, President of the Center for California Homeowner Association Law, that I am passing along to all per her request. It is an interesting situation and I think many of you may have some thoughts to contribute:
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Evan: We've had many conversations about how CIDs function
as local governments (without the restraints we expect of local
government.) But this query (below) illustrates too well that California
local governments are going a step further: they are shifting costs to
homeowners that they -- city councils and county supervisors -- don't want to
bear. No doubt this was always true, but I think the practice may be
accelerating, given the budget crises in every level of California government.
Please post the query (below); we would appreciate reader feedback on this homeowner dilemma.
Marjorie Murray, President
Center for California Homeowner Association Law
www.calhomelaw.org
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Please post the query (below); we would appreciate reader feedback on this homeowner dilemma.
Marjorie Murray, President
Center for California Homeowner Association Law
www.calhomelaw.org
***************************************************************************************************************************************************
Here’s
a troubling question from homeowners in a rural California county.
Their
association is in a national forest. It owns its own water system: a
complex network of tanks and pipes carrying water throughout the subdivision to
each home. (There is no supply of public water to the
subdivision.) The pipes are buried beneath the subdivision’s roads.
The
subdivision roads, however, are NOT owned by the association. They are
owned – but poorly maintained -- by the county. “Poorly maintained” means
the county will occasionally fill some of the potholes, but only if the
association begs county public works.
The
roads are public, meaning they bear traffic from campers, SUVs, and HUMMERS on
their way to campgrounds in the forest. The weight of these sport
vehicles damages the roads, but most of the damage is inflicted by logging
trucks carrying their heavy loads of pine and redwoods out of the forest.
The
traffic damages not only the roads, but also the association’s water system
beneath them. A proposal is now before the membership to drain its entire
reserve account to repair the water system damaged by the traffic and to repair
the roads, which will remain open to public -- and to future damage.
So…who
should pay for this half million dollar project and future maintenance?
The county (because these are public roads)? The trucking
companies? The association (because it’s their water system at risk)?
This
scenario is a good example of the quasi-governmental nature of common interest
developments: they provide services that local governments (counties and water
districts in this case) used to provide. With one big difference: the services
are now privately financed – by homeowners.
So
let us know what your think about the homeowners’ quandary….
CCHAL
NewsBrief
July
26, 2012, copyright
2 comments:
1. They have no business "repairing" county roads. This is probably not just unlawful but illegal.
2. The trucking companies owe the HOA nothing.
3. The campers owe the HOA nothing.
4. If the water system qualifies as a utility, then the utility is responsible for the repairs and it recovers its costs from the customers, i.e., the homeowners and the HOA corporation.
5. There are numerous questions that should be looked at in this case including whether the utility ever had easements in and around the county roads and whether the pipes were buried as deep as they should have been.
6. I learned long ago that no HOA corporation should ever be between the homeowner and any utilities including water, gas, and electricity. Undoubtedly, the HOA corporation's source of water is groundwater in this area. They can eliminate or at least alleviate problems if the system is segmented or homeowners have their own wells.
If in the national forest - perhaps there are federal programs.
There is a federal program called Legacy Roads and Trails that might be of use.
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