Phil Querin Q&A: Hazard Trees & The Root of the Problem
Question. Our park has Ash trees on most of the spaces, planted by the owners when the spaces were first occupied. Most of the trees are between thirty and forty years old.
We routinely maintain the above-ground parts of the trees. We prune and repair the trees as needed, and occasionally remove trees when necessary. In some cases the roots have damaged walkways or street curbs, creating potential trip hazards. When that happens we hire contractors to remove the damaged concrete and the intruding roots, and replace the concrete. The park absorbs these costs.
My question has to do with other types of root damage. We recently repaired damaged walkways and curbs at several spaces. In addition to the damage we repaired, two residents complained of additional damage.
In one case it appears that a root was lifting a pier block under the deck, causing the deck to rise at one corner. I had the contractor cut the root while they were repairing the walkway, which should stop the root from growing, and the deck from lifting. The resident has now demanded that I remove the root and re-level the deck. This looks like a pretty big job that could easily snowball.
In another case the homeowner has noticed that the floor of the home is out of level. It appears that a root is lifting one or more of the supports under the home. I expect her to ask me to pay for getting the home re-leveled.
As the park owner, what is my responsibility for damage such as this to the manufactured home structure caused by tree roots? These trees are all greater than 8 inches DBH. It seems to me that if root intrusion issues are brought into the mix, any tree over 8 inches DBH would automatically be a hazard tree. Is that really how we should be interpreting the law?