LauraT4 (Georgia)
Posts: 6
Posts: 6
Posted:
Guidance if someone has feedback.
There is a 40 acre lot behind our subdivision, previously wooded, that has been cleared for a new construction. Naturally the wildlife is looking for places to go, and our neighborhood is the closest and is fairly wooded, as well. Anyway, the issue this week is the foxes. Our community has 3 lakes in which swans were purchased several years ago to run off the geese, these swans were paid for by the HOA and continue to have a budget line for food and upkeep. The swans are nesting, they do so somewhere different every year, but generally are on the easement between the lake and residential yards. The foxes have moved into a drain pipe on a private residents property, about 200 feet from the swans. The likelihood a fox would attack the actual swan is slim, those birds are mean and foxes don't do confrontation! Long story short, trying to determine which line of resolution puts the least amount of liability on the board:
The HOA is refusing to pay for wildlife removal, placing the responsibility on the private resident(s) to work together to eradicate the situation through modifications or they may get together and pay for a trapper. The Board does not want to set the precedent of paying for wildlife removal from private property; what if someone else in the neighborhood has a opossum they want removed, or a deer, squirrels, etc.? (the Board HAS paid for removal of beavers from the community property lake because of the damage they were doing to the dams, also common property)
vs
The homeowner states the fox is a threat to the swan eggs, so it is the boards responsibility to eradicate the threat and wants a trapper paid for by the association.
Our covenants and bylaws have no mention of wildlife specifically, just the associations responsibility is to maintain the cleanliness, upkeep and safety of the common areas.
There is a 40 acre lot behind our subdivision, previously wooded, that has been cleared for a new construction. Naturally the wildlife is looking for places to go, and our neighborhood is the closest and is fairly wooded, as well. Anyway, the issue this week is the foxes. Our community has 3 lakes in which swans were purchased several years ago to run off the geese, these swans were paid for by the HOA and continue to have a budget line for food and upkeep. The swans are nesting, they do so somewhere different every year, but generally are on the easement between the lake and residential yards. The foxes have moved into a drain pipe on a private residents property, about 200 feet from the swans. The likelihood a fox would attack the actual swan is slim, those birds are mean and foxes don't do confrontation! Long story short, trying to determine which line of resolution puts the least amount of liability on the board:
The HOA is refusing to pay for wildlife removal, placing the responsibility on the private resident(s) to work together to eradicate the situation through modifications or they may get together and pay for a trapper. The Board does not want to set the precedent of paying for wildlife removal from private property; what if someone else in the neighborhood has a opossum they want removed, or a deer, squirrels, etc.? (the Board HAS paid for removal of beavers from the community property lake because of the damage they were doing to the dams, also common property)
vs
The homeowner states the fox is a threat to the swan eggs, so it is the boards responsibility to eradicate the threat and wants a trapper paid for by the association.
Our covenants and bylaws have no mention of wildlife specifically, just the associations responsibility is to maintain the cleanliness, upkeep and safety of the common areas.
Appreciate the feedback.