Wood-burning fire pit near Condo building

If the land is privately owned, how can the tree belong to the association??? That doesn't make any sense - maybe you should take another look at that deed and perhaps the property may in the county recorder's office.

if they have a permit for the pit, there may not be much you can do. Then again, maybe they lied about who actually owns the tree to get the permit. You could also talk to the fire marshal - maybe he or she can talk to these people and persuade them to st least try to take some safety measures.

Amending the documents may also work - there are five units so you should be able to outvote this one. he might protest, but if you explain your concerns to the a judge, his "it's my property and I'll do what I wanna do" argument might not go over very well.

You may get useful advice from the local fire department. In my state, open flames are prohibited within 10 feet of a multi-unit building unless the building is equipped with an automatic sprinkler system. The fire department has more "teeth" as far as enforcement goes and may be able to solve this problem for you.

We've had a few questions in the past from people in very small condo associations (one building with a few units). Things can work differently there than they do in the larger, multi-building communities were all of the land is common elements. As far as making the ground floor owner liable for something like this probably a legal question. You'd have to get a lawyer involved anyway if you plan the amend your governing documents, so it would make sense to ask if what you want to do is even lawful.

I agree with Cathy on her advice. Just a word of advice on if you do call the proper authorities such as the local fire Marshall. Be aware that it could be the HOA facing a fine if it's illegal. It will depend on a few factors but if it was "common area" owned by the HOA, then the fire fine for a code violation could fall on the HOA to pay. If it's private property then it can fall directly on the owner and their homeowner's insurance policy.

It is NOT that this situation doesn't need to be addressed and fixed. Just understand that the fire department does have to do it's job. It could mean giving the HOA a time period to remove the pit or face a fine. That fine maybe passed along to the owner by means of lawsuit or lien for cost of removal. That would take a lawyer advice.

We once had the city try to level a 10K fine against us for debris it was found that our HOA members were dumping yard debris. The ex President and Lawncare guy (who lived there) was using an empty lot next door to dump their debris from work they did in the HOA/area. I had to arrange to get volunteers and rent a dumpster to remove all the debris ASAP. Otherwise, we faced 10K fine and other violations against us. So it's important to have a plan in place to get the violation and/or violator in line before contacting officials...