Does exterior wall surface of my unit clarify as 'common area appurtenant to the separate interest'?

Have a unit in four-plex building. Inspector reported fungus organisms destroying siding - outside wall surface.
HOA manager claims it is my responsibility according to Civil Code §4775.
Checking the doc I see
"(3) Unless otherwise provided in the declaration of a common interest development, the owner of each separate interest is responsible for maintaining the exclusive use common area appurtenant to that separate interest and the association is responsible for repairing and replacing the exclusive use common area."

So my question is - does exterior wall surface of my unit clarify as 'common area appurtenant to the separate interest'?

Many Thanks,
Eugene

So 4775 states:

(a)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (3), unless otherwise provided in the declaration of a common interest development, the association is responsible for repairing, replacing, and maintaining the common area.

(2) Unless otherwise provided in the declaration of a common interest development, the owner of each separate interest is responsible for repairing, replacing, and maintaining that separate interest.

(3) Unless otherwise provided in the declaration of a common interest development, the owner of each separate interest is responsible for maintaining the exclusive use common area appurtenant to that separate interest and the association is responsible for repairing and replacing the exclusive use common area.

(b) The costs of temporary relocation during the repair and maintenance of the areas within the responsibility of the association shall be borne by the owner of the separate interest affected.

(c) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2017.

Essentially 1, 2, and 3 all note “unless otherwise provide in the declaration” ... therefore, what does your declaration state??? HOWEVER, under (3)(c) it also notes that this section “shall become operative on January 1, 2017” ... so when was the situation first reported???

Our HOA also is attached condo units. The exterior walls are common area according to our CC&Rs and are the HOA's responsibility to maintain and repair.

It's important to know that the CC&Rs and "declaration" are the same thing. Your HOA prop. mgr. certainly should have a copy. You should have received a copy when you closed the escrow in your condo.

Is your entire HOA one fourplex?

Got a copy of Homeowners Association CC&Rs from manager.

Still confused - the paragraph states exactly:
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Exterior Maintenance of Residences:

The Association shall provide maintenance for Each Residence on a Lot in the Project. Such exterior maintenance shall include the painting, repair, replacement and care of exterior building surfaces, gutters and downspouts. Such exterior maintenance shall not include maintenance, replacement or care of any glass surfaces, exterior doors, or any skylights of a residence, nor any utilities wires, pipes or other such conduits which may be located on the exterior of the Residence. Furthermore, such exterior maintenance shall not include any structural repairs or maintenance of the walls, foundations, other structural elements of the Residences. The Board shall have the absolute discretion to determine whether the painting, repair or other maintenance of a Residence is necessary or structural in nature.
==========================================

So:
1. Is fixing fungus issue in siding piece of wood considered as structural repair?
2. Does it mean Board can overrule whatever is stated in CC&Rs?

Siding is covered. Contact the Building Inspector, ask him 2 things. 1 he writes a violation letter on this and sends it to the President of the HOA. OR 2-give you a letter that says that it is deteriorating the siding and that it needs cleaned and painted to stop the deterioration of the siding. Inspector should be able to do number one IMO. I'm doing it right now to stop water intrusion city send violation letter and their fixing it Thursday or Friday. Once you get either done you have given the HOA knowledge of the problem and if any damages occur from this they will be responsible especially if it damages your property. Keep all correspondences and get pictures with dates on them, letting the board know sets a date and they should act promptly on it.

I don't know much about such things, Ben. But I think siding is ON the structural walls. Guy's approach looks good.

But as a last re sort, you may need to consult with an attorney, Eugene.

This is excerpt from official reply form Association manager:
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The Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (Declaration) define the unit maintenance
responsibilities of each owner. Responsibility for damage caused by wood destroying pest or organisms is
further addressed in California Civil Code Section 4780, which state:

... In a planned development as defined in section 4175, unless a different maintenance scheme is provided in the declaration, each owner of a separate interest is responsible for the repair and maintenance of that separate interest as may be occasioned by the presence of wood-destroying pests or organisms...

Please be advised that dry rot and fungus and fungus damage are wood destroying organisms. Section I termite
report items (those requiring correction to obtain termite clearance) which note of presence of termites, dry rot, or fungus in the siding or other wood members of a unit are the repair responsibility of unit owner.
-----

Looks like he considers Civil Code having higher precedence over CC&Rs.
What has higher priority CC&Rs or Civil Code?

The civil code would always take precedence if they conflict but in this case the statement, "unless a different maintenance scheme is provided in the declaration" gives the declaration higher priority if it has a different maintenance scheme. So, unless your declaration specifically puts the responsibility on the HOA, you have to follow the civil code which seems clear that it is your responsibility.

The way I read all, the HOA is responsible for the outside wall surface thus anything growing on it like a fungus as the OP originally said.

The key question now is: What is the definition or description of your unit, also known as your separate interest, in your governing docs (CC&R)?