Our Clients Ask Us: Conservation Areas

Q: Our Association has a “Conservation Area” that has some trees on it, some of which are very old. Our governing documents and a conservation easement require that we cannot disturb this area. If a tree falls from this area onto an individual lot and causes damage, who is responsible?

Answer: IT DEPENDS. If a tree is located in an area of a conservation easement, most documents prevent the association from disturbing the area, therefore, the Association cannot be held responsible for what occurs with assistance from mother nature. However, if, for example, the tree was on the edge of a common area whose maintenance was association responsibility and the conversation area, there may be an argument against the Association. More recently, however, a Court found that an Association was not responsible for damage done to an individual house from a tree that had fallen from the conversation area during a storm. The lot owners had to claim the damage on their homeowners insurance. Keep in mind this is a good time of year to take a walk through your Association and address any landscaping issues that may have come up during the winter. If trees in the common areas that are Association responsibility are in poor condition and may cause harm to property (and are not part of conservation areas), then it may be in the Board’s best interest to trim or cut down those trees. It’s not just a property damage issue, but also a safety issue depending on how close the trees are to inhabited structures.

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