I have had trees fall before and I have had neighbors trees fall onto my property. Assuming it is an act of God event, I have always had the responsibility for cleanup/repairs fall onto the property owner where the tree landed...
For instance, in this recent hurricane, I had a tree fall across a fence that my neighbor owns and into her yard. She took care of everything on her side of the line and I took care of what was on my side of the line.
During the same storm, I had several trees fall in the back portion of my lot as well. They fell across a creek and onto a lot that the county now owns. They bought it and tore down the house due to flooding. The majority of my property is 30+ feet above this area so I have no risk of flooding where my home is.
I received a letter from the county letting me know that they are 'asking me to remove the fallen trees as soon as possible'. A neighbor near the creek is worried the downed trees will cause more flooding if we have another big event.
My position is that I would be responsible for anything I want to do on my side of the property, but I have no obligation to do anything on the county's property. In fact, I would not want to take on the liability of being on their property with tree removal equipment. To get equipment where the trees are would be a huge issue on my property and I don't care if they stay down and rot. I get that I may need to remove the portion over my 1/2 of the creek maybe... I think property lines run down the middle of the creek but my survey isn't clear and I haven't reached out to my surveyor yet.
Anyone have any experience with this kind of scenario? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
For instance, in this recent hurricane, I had a tree fall across a fence that my neighbor owns and into her yard. She took care of everything on her side of the line and I took care of what was on my side of the line.
During the same storm, I had several trees fall in the back portion of my lot as well. They fell across a creek and onto a lot that the county now owns. They bought it and tore down the house due to flooding. The majority of my property is 30+ feet above this area so I have no risk of flooding where my home is.
I received a letter from the county letting me know that they are 'asking me to remove the fallen trees as soon as possible'. A neighbor near the creek is worried the downed trees will cause more flooding if we have another big event.
My position is that I would be responsible for anything I want to do on my side of the property, but I have no obligation to do anything on the county's property. In fact, I would not want to take on the liability of being on their property with tree removal equipment. To get equipment where the trees are would be a huge issue on my property and I don't care if they stay down and rot. I get that I may need to remove the portion over my 1/2 of the creek maybe... I think property lines run down the middle of the creek but my survey isn't clear and I haven't reached out to my surveyor yet.
Anyone have any experience with this kind of scenario? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
