Hilarious arrogance of HOA Board and Management (Temecula: lawyer, maintenance)

[TheExitCrash]

I have a Road Maintenance Agreement (RMA) with the Oakridge Association, Temecula CA. It is an odd situation, but I am not a member, and the fees that I pay them are for road maintenance only, as is clearly outlined in the agreement.

After being treated poorly by the Association board, I recently demanded that the HOA justify why I was being charged for horse trail maintenance. They use the horse trail funds for both maintenance and the creation of new trails. As I say, the RMA clearly states that my fees are to be used for road maintenance, period.

Well, I found their response to be at first enraging, and then quite humorous. These board members have gotten so used to pushing around the members that they just make up whatever nonsense they want to justify their actions.

Here is their response, word for word;

“Bridle Trail Maintenance — You are correct, the Road Maintenance Agreement (RMA) does not specifically provide for the maintenance of the Bridle Trails. Prior boards have decided to incorporate the cost of Bridle Trail Maintenance into the RMA. The idea being that inclement weather does often times bear compromise to the Oakridge Ranches Roads from water run-off that originates from the adjacent bridal-trails. This condition typically exists from a lack of properly maintained Bridle Trail topography. When water flows are improperly channeled from the Bridle Trails, virtually thousands of dollars in road damage may occur when such adverse conditions exist.”

So;
1. I pay for roads to be made and maintained
2. They come along with membership funds and create (poorly designed?) horse trails
3. During bad weather, (poorly designed?) horse trails cause excessive water to run onto the roads that I paid for
4. I have to have my assessments increased to properly maintain their horse trails so they don’t ruin my road

Would this situation be acceptable with anyone other than a HOA? If my neighbor altered his/her property in a way that caused damage to my property during inclement weather, would I have to pay to fix his/her property?

Let’s all marvel at the arrogance of the HOA and its board members.
Mark

[ferretkona]

You are not a member of their HOA, so it sounds like you have ajoining property with a common road.
Why pay anything?

[TheExitCrash]

Actually, I'd rather not. Unfortunately, some years back the Association sued 50 or so property owners in the area claiming that they should pay for road maintenance, since they shared the roads with Association members. This is actually allowed for in California law, and in many cases it would be appropriate. The result of this suit was the Road Maintenance Agreement (RMA). Although I was not the property owner at the time, the RMA runs with the land and not the owner, so I am stuck with it.

My problem is that I get very little for my money. My property is one of the edge properties, and I only use a small stretch of two of the Associations roads. The road I live on is in horrible shape, but the association spends most of the money elsewhere. I believe that the spirit of the RMA was to assist, financially, in maintaining the roads that I use. Unfortunately, the RMA was written just vague enough that they have distorted it into using my funds to maintain ALL Association roads, even if they are not feeder roads and I never use them. You add to this the fact that I am treated like a second-class citizen, I have no voting rights, I cannot even talk during Association meetings, and the use of my funds on horse trails just sends me over the top.
Mark

[ferretkona]

I would talk with a lawyer.

[BennyPhoenix]

I second that. Talk to an attorney. A smart attorney could get you out of it and might even get you some money back.

[Donn2390]

Agreed about the lawyer. If the contract is written as vague as you contend, it should be a breeze to overturn in court. You have 50 or so property owners in the area to join you in a class action suit.

[BennyPhoenix]

I wish I were an attorney. I would take this case pro bono just to annoy the HOA. I hate HOAs. Most are run by retired busy bodies with sticks up their rear.

[evolutionrules]

somewhere, right now, a lawyer just read this and will be smoking a cigarette in 10 seconds.

[TheExitCrash]

"retired busy bodies with sticks up their rear." Oh, then you have met my HOA board.

[BennyPhoenix]

Originally Posted by TheExitCrash

"retired busy bodies with sticks up their rear." Oh, then you have met my HOA board.

99% of hoa boards are like that.