Homeowners association rules can be confusing. One HOA member shared their recent concern online, seeking advice on how to address land erosion affecting their property.
The Redditor explained their situation in the r/HOA subreddit, writing that their neighborhood has a creek winding through it, which runs along the back of seven homes. The original poster said, "that area is creating massive problems with flood-generating rains."
Residents with properties along the creek, including the OP, are experiencing erosion and flooding in their yards.
"There is a dispute of ownership and who would be financially responsible for creek repair," the OP said. Over 20 years ago, the developer had a lawyer add an amendment declaring the HOA owned the creek property, but residents would be responsible for maintaining it.
The OP is a board member and explained that some members believe they should turn the creek's banks to concrete.
Not only would this be an environmental hazard, but also, the OP added, "I'm pretty sure they're setting us up for litigation and/or a financial disaster."
Across the country, homeowners have been calling out HOAs for refusing to maintain the properties they oversee. Some have even been caught preventing homeowners from making money-saving, eco-friendly updates.
Other residents have encountered nature-related issues like the OP, in which they were not permitted to install natural lawns and native plants. There have also been HOAs that stopped homeowners from adding rooftop solar panels to their own houses.
In this Redditor's situation, putting in concrete on the creek banks would be an expensive eyesore and harmful to the environment.
Cement dust is an aquatic pollutant, and the creation of concrete produces massive amounts of carbon dioxide — a planet-warming gas. An aesthetically pleasing and eco-friendly solution could be to install appropriate plants for flood and erosion control instead.
Homeowners experiencing issues with their HOAs, especially about eco-friendly issues, can check out TCD's HOA guide for tips on working with their HOAs.
Other Redditors offered advice to the OP. One user said, "If you go head first into this trying to 'fix' nature, [you're] opening up the individual owners and the HOA to a world of problems."
Another user wrote, "You'll want to find out what, if anything can be done, based on environmental laws, to stabilize the creek bed. Pouring concrete is NOT the solution."
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