tree roots pushing sidewalk, Homeowner's tree

-- Who owns the sidewalks?

-- Nationwide the courts have given much treatment to who is responsible for what when Neighbor Richard has a tree that encroaches onto Neighbor Cornelia's lot, causing damage to property. The case law has even evolved some over time, on account of communities changing from rural to urban or suburban. I think the variation from one state to another is meaningful.

-- From a 2020 Idaho news site:

Can a Russian olive be removed from adjacent property if it’s growing on yours?

A: “Under the common law, which Idaho has adopted, landowners are limited to removing the ‘penetrations on their own land.’ Lemon v. Curington, 78 Idaho 522, 524 (1957),” said Grant Loebs, the county’s prosecuting attorney.

“That means that a landowner can cut off the boughs or roots growing on his or her own property,” he said.

However, Loebs cautioned “Going onto the neighbor’s land to cut down a tree may constitute civil trespass (Idaho Code 6-202), misdemeanor trespass (Idaho Code 18-7008), or misdemeanor injury of a shade tree or ornamental plant (Idaho Code 18-7021).”

“If a tree is on the border of the two properties and is damaging one landowner’s property (such as roots growing into the foundation), that landowner can sue for nuisance. If the judge agrees the tree is a nuisance, the court can order the tree to be cut down. Lemon v. Curington, 78 Idaho 522, 525 (1957),” said Loebs.

-- Introduction to how Idaho courts think about tree root damage, from one neighbor's lot to another's (look for subsequent Idaho case law citing this decision):

https://casetext.com/case/lemon-v-curington

We have that problem in our neighborhood. Just the beginning. Our neighborhood was built 16 years ago and some of the trees planted way back then are starting to lift sidewalks.

We haven't discussed this as a board. It's not a problem at the moment - will be one in the future - and sometimes hard to get the other board members to think about future problems. They are most interested in problems that I can photograph and present on my monthly powerpoint slides. A sidewalk raised by .25 inches doesn't make for great photography.

Is this inside a gated community or non gated? If this is a gated community and the tree is on common property then the responsibility lies on the HOA. If the tree is on private property then the responsibility
is on the homeowner. Are the sidewalk owned by the HOA? If so the HOA has a legal obligation to fix the raised slab, that would also include cutting the roots of the tree that cause the hazard.
I would also reach out to the homeowner with a courtesy letter about the tree.

In my HOA we are responsible for the sidewalks and the grassy strip between the sidewalks and the road. When trees lift up the sidewalks we are obligated to fix it, and it's not always a cheap fix. We just got a bid for close to $3000 for two areas. If the tree was in the grassy strip we would probably take it out if possible. If it was in the homeowner's property, we would trim back roots.

In the HOA where we own a condo the street trees are a mix of oaks and palm trees. The oak trees got large enough to start causing problems. They are currently in the process of cutting down all of the oak trees that are anywhere close to the sidewalk or street. The residents are up in arms about them destroying the trees. They are going to replace them with all palm trees that generally don't lift the sidewalks. While I don't think the palm trees look as good, my board member side says this was a smart decision to save a lot of money in the future.