Dear Avenel Residents:
This past weekend's high winds and resulting damage has certainly taken a toll on the community. As previously reported, the last several days have been focused on addressing emergency situations for residents and the Association alike. McFall and Berry crews, as well as Avenel Site Personnel were on site Friday and tree crews were also working all day Saturday. We have made a great deal of progress, but certainly more remains to be done. As the Association continues to evaluate common area damage, undoubtedly many of you may also be faced with evaluating your own landscape damage, as well as potential damage to personal property that resulted from fallen trees.
In order to assist you in navigating through some of the inevitable questions relating to who is responsible for tree removal, resulting damage, replacements, etc., I have linked to an article written by Robin Manougian of the John Manougian Insurance Agency, Inc., originally published in the March 2013 issue of the Washington Metropolitan Chapter of CAI's monthly publication Quorum magazine. In addition to her involvement in a variety of roles with the Community Associations Institute, Robin is also the Avenel Community Association's insurance agent. Robin has confirmed that although the article was published several years ago, the information in the article remains current. To read the article, please
click here.
While insurance policy language is clear involving coverage and responsibility, we encourage owners to apply the "good neighbor policy" whenever possible. If a tree from your property has fallen onto your neighbor's property, whether it resulted in covered property damage or not, there is a cost involved in the removal of the tree. Please take a moment to stop by and speak with your neighbor and perhaps reach a compromise of shared cost.
Where damage to your own landscaping is concerned, you may wish to contact your individual insurance agent regarding coverage for lost/damaged trees, plants, shrubs, and lawns.
As mentioned previously, the Association has started the process of evaluating the damage to our common area landscape. Additionally, the ACA is in the process of clearing downed trees and limbs that have fallen across common area walkways, fences or other common area features. At this time, any trees or limbs that are encroaching on the walkways and/or fences may be cut back just enough to clear walkway access. This may mean that an owner whose tree has partially fallen on a path or onto a fence will notice that the portion of the tree that is on their lot remains on their lot; the responsibility to remove trees, limbs, root balls, etc. on an individual lot is the property owner's. McFall and Berry will be removing "minor debris" from owner lots, however, removal of excess debris is the responsibility of each owner. Residents may wish to contact McFall and Berry (or another contractor of your choice) for a proposal to remove and/or replace your own damaged trees or excess debris. It is expected in almost all cases that fallen trees be replaced with comparable like kind trees. If a homeowner wishes not to replace a tree that has fallen, a request for non-replacement should be submitted to the Association office for evaluation and approval.
After our initial evaluation of tree damage, the ACA will begin the process of evaluating the replacements and working with our insurance carrier to proceed with the replacing and/or repairing damage of common amenities and landscape.
