We'll confirm the boundary and recorded rights before further discussion. Vanessa responded 20 minutes later. The association reserves all rights associated with historic maintenance and view preservation. That sentence sounded expensive. It also meant almost nothing.
I forwarded the exchange to my attorney, Paul Hensley. He checked the deed. No scenic easement. No vegetation easement. No maintenance easement.
No HOA covenant. Nothing. Paul sent Silver Ridge a letter stating exactly that. That should have ended it. Instead, Vanessa changed the story.
The trees were suddenly a fire hazard, then a storm hazard, then a drainage problem. Then she claimed roots were threatening a retaining wall on HOA property. A county arborist came after someone filed a complaint. He inspected every tree, healthy, stable, no immediate hazard. I asked him, "Can I get that in writing?"
He smiled, "Already doing it." I sent the report to Silver Ridge. Martin replied, "Thank you." Vanessa said nothing. For almost a month the issue went quiet.
Then one afternoon Carol Bennett stopped me at the mailbox. Carol owned one of the six lake view homes. "Jack, can I ask you something?" "Sure." "Did you agree to selective tree removal?"
I looked at her. "No." She frowned. "Vanessa told us the HOA was negotiating a view restoration plan with you." "She told you wrong."
Carol hesitated. "We approved $12,000 for it." "For what?" "The view corridor." "On my land?"
"She said the association had maintenance rights." "It doesn't." Carol looked back toward Silver Ridge. "Then why did we vote on it?" "That's a good question."
That night I checked every camera on my property. Then I photographed the tree line, every trunk, every survey marker, every boundary pin I could locate. I measured distances from the recorded stakes. I saved the arborist report in three places. Then I pulled the latest survey out of my safe.
It felt excessive. 1two days later it didn't. The next HOA meeting was on a Thursday. Martin invited me. Vanessa clearly hadn't expected that.
She stopped speaking when I walked into the clubhouse. "This is a members-only meeting." Martin pointed toward an empty chair. "I invited Jack for the boundary discussion." "Invited him?"
"Yes." "Without asking me?" "I'm treasurer, Vanessa, not your assistant." A few people laughed. Vanessa didn't.
The tree issue came up. She put a map on the projector. A shaded strip ran along the edge of my parcel. At the top were the words "Historic view and maintenance area." I raised my hand.
"Where did that map come from?" "Our management files." "Is it recorded?" "It reflects long-standing use." "That wasn't my question."
Martin looked toward Vanessa. "I asked management the same thing." "And?" "They couldn't identify a recorded easement." Vanessa shifted.
"That does not eliminate prescriptive rights." I said, "Who maintained my trees? The HOA?" "No." We have landscaping records."
"For landscaping on your side of the property line." She pointed at the map. "Residents remember contractors trimming this area." "Branches crossing the fence, maybe." "Exactly."