Beavers damaging trees of home owners. Should the HOA pay the costs?

I live is a 20 year old community that has a large pond (5 acres) located in our common area. There are beavers that are attracted to the pond and then go onto the adjacent homeowner’s property and significantly damage their trees (not in common areas). I’m not sure, but I believe they actually have their ‘lodges’ located on one of the homeowner’s lots.. not in the common areas. (Not sure if that even makes a difference.)

For the last few years, our HOA Board has arranged for and paid $2,000+ a year for the removal of the beavers. New beavers come to lake each year and cause us to have to repeat the process and expense.

I have two concerns:

CONCERN # ONE> Only a small percentage of the homes are actually on the pond, however the whole community continues to foot the bill. Since it is not damaging the 'common areas' I don't think everyone should have to pay these costs. How is it different from other pests that come onto my personal property like squirrels in my attic, gophers in my yard or even termites?

CONCERN # TWO> I am a little concerned about opening ourselves up to increased liability for ‘owning’ this issue. If the HOA continues to work on the beaver issue because it damages the property of homeowners (not the common areas), are we at risk of turning this into a liability issue for the whole subdivision if the effort fails? Examples: Costs to restore someone’s landscaping or what if a tree (damaged by a beaver) lands on someone's house or hurts a child?

Any advice on whether or not we (as an HOA community) should continue to cover this expense for the few homeowners that live next to the pond?

Thank you for your help!
Georgia Subdivision

Thanks for the response. No one has yet mentioned lawsuits (Other than me in my original post). I believe the decision to pay the costs to continually remove the beavers was because at the time, there were board members who lived on the lake. So they simply voted to use HOA money versus their personal money. Since no damage is occuring within the 'common areas'owned by the HOA, I am inclined to ask the board that we stop paying $2,000+ each year.

Thanks JohnC46 for your reply.

The water (pond) is for sure common property owned by the HOA, but no damage is actually happening in the water. All the damage is occurring with the trees that are on the land. The land is owned by the individual homeowners. There is some common areas of land on the pond but no trees on that portion.

My thinking is that where the water line stops, is where the HOA’s responsibility also stops. No different than if squirrels that live in my neighbor’s trees have babies that then move into my attic. My neighbor would not be obligated to pay to have the squirrels removed from my attic.

This is my first lake/pond community. Being on a pond yourself, have you ever had pests that damaged your property that you own directly (not common property) that your HOA was obligated to pay to remove/repair?

If it were not for the lake the beavers would not be on your neighbor's property. Beavers are not like squirrels. My Daniel Boone husband said that beavers only lodge in the water and do not stray far from their lodge. Which means homes located by the lake are at risk for damage caused by the beavers.

IMO since the lake is a common area, I believe the HOA is responsible to continue to remove the beavers. Have you consulted with the Department of Natural Resources to see if there is something that can be done to keep the beavers from lodging there? Just a thought.

Sharon

All good points. I still think that there must be something that can be done to deter the beavers from building there which would solve that problem. Daniel Boone didn't have an answer for that. LOL!

Georgia,

I read through the booklet that Tim linked to. Interesting reading. While I do not recall it saying so explicitly, it sounds like removing beavers from an attractive habitat is a never-end job because once the area is rid of one group of beavers another will move in to take their place. This sounds like the hazards of building your home in their environment.

Since the beavers are attacking trees on individual lots those owners should be taking steps to protect their trees. The booklet suggested wrapping the trees with rigid wire mesh fencing up to about 3 feet above ground. That sounds more effective than continuing a half-baked beaver removal project. One definition of mental illness is to keep doing the same old thing but expect a different result.

Your HOA should get out of the beaver removal business and assist owners with protecting against the beavers to the extent that no one gets cited for fencing his trees from the beavers.

I see no more liability for your association if a tree falls due to a beaver eating it than if the wind blew it down. The property owner is responsible for maintaining his trees in sound condition.

As I said above, you built homes in a beaver habitat. Therefore, you should not be surprised that they are there munching away on their favorite food: trees!

I see this as a win, win, win situation for all. The beavers get to keep their habitat, the association doesn't have to spend money removing them, the homeowner protects their trees. Great solution guys!!!

We have the same problem in our HOA in Longs, SC. We tell homeowners to place chicken wire around the base of their trees (the 3 ft. high wire). Problem solved. If they do not wish to protect their own property, it is not up to the HOA to do so.

'POND', my rear end

'Mandated ENGINEERED STORM WATER RETENTION AND DISCHARGE FACILITY' would be accurate

don't matter WHAT the developer called it, charged lot premiums to build next to it, that is what it actually is

the beavers MAY or MAY NOT be interfering with the engineered design and operation of the retention pond

if they ARE interfering (which is common), the HOA must eliminate the problem and restore the retention pond to original design

should the HOA not take action (assuming the beavers ARE an operational issue) a case for malfeasance could be made with the directors becoming PERSONALLY responsible for any subsequent damages

ergo; perhaps association are REQUIRED to be spent on the beaver issue

perhaps not

? what did the engineer you consulted say ?

either way, the HOA is no more responsible for any beaver damage to individual property than they are for an alligator or squirrel or Eagle

Very true about the "pond" concept lol! We are in the same boat with drainage areas. However, our state conservation management mandates that we "maintain" these bodies and make repairs to the banks as necessary. Our declarations are also very specific about the responsibilities of the Association for pond and lake management and easements with the state conservation management. In some instances it has been a headache. We had one homeowner demand repairs to a pond bank and we had to do it, but the person who assessed our problem suspected the homeowner was backwashing his pool filter into the pond.