HOA, Driveway, Cracks and Spalling

Kyle,

I see nothing in what you quoted that would require you to repair your driveway.

The passage you quoted refers to maintenance performed by the association on either its own property or on individual lots. I see nothing that even remotely addresses your issue. The entire passage is so vague that I doubt that it would be enforceable. Is this the section of your CC&R's they are claiming you are in violation of?

Kyle,

The section you quoted doesn't specify who's responsibility the driveway should be.
It says that the Association may maintain exterior items, but doesn't require them to do so. The closest section that may support the Associations position is the last sentence [emphasis added]:

Damage caused by fire, flood, storm, earthquake, riot, vandelism, or other causes other than normal wear from use and the elements shall be the responsibility of each Owner and not included in any maintenance provided by the Association.


However, as Bob pointed out, without access to other documents, what you provided doesn't allow us to actually answer your question. In fact, it raises others:

1) What exactly are they complaining about - problems with the full driveway or problems with the apron (the section from the sidewalk to the street), which you gave a little more detail about?

2) Does the Association normally maintain the driveways, paint your homes, etc.

Keep in mind that cracking, uplifting, etc. of concrete or asphalt due to roots, is not typically considered normal wear and tear. It's damage caused by the tree for failure to remove the tree or cut back the roots when the tree got too big.

Keep in mind that spalling normally occurs due to freezing and thawing of water. This is most often associated with the overuse of de-icers in the winter. There are other reasons, but determining the actual cause would require more expense then simply repairing the concrete.

Now, determining liability is a whole other issue. Perhaps the city/county/hoa is responsible for the spalling due to use of salt to clear the roads, which is then left to sit on the concrete. Perhaps the homeowner simply uses too much deicer. Perhaps the homeowner didn't keep the end of the driveway clear of snow/slush, allowing the accumulation of the deicer product. Perhaps keeping the driveway clear was the Associations job.

As for the tree roots, who owns the tree? Where they aware of the problem when it first stated? Did the tree owner or the home owner every have the tree inspected by an arborist over the years (if so, what was the report)?

Again, one may be able to argue a shared responsibility and split the cost. However, if one side disagrees with such an argument, the issue will need to be resolved in the courts. If it goes to court, it most certainly will be more expensive causing the fight to be over principal vs. the actual cost of the repair.

Oops, I guess those url tags didn't work. Hopefully these do.

driveway
Bylaws
CC&R's
Enforcement

Thanks Tim. Do you happen to see anything in the documents about the level of upkeep is required for driveways?

Tim offers sensible advice for an HOA environment. HOAs can be tyrannical but they also can ensure a higher standard of community maintenance that's inconvenient when you're subject to a repair request.