One homeowner's association board member was disturbed when their organization proposed destroying a beautiful natural feature of their community to avoid the expense of upkeep.
They sought help with their situation on r/HOA. "A small pond in a common area of our property parcel has become overrun with vegetation (lily pads) that are suspected to have been planted by one of the original homeowners in the development," they said. "Our pond vendor said the only option is to have the pond dredged, and the one quote we've received was costly (nearly $20k)."
According to the original poster, the HOA has the funds, and the pond is worth saving. "The pond is part of a natural common area near my home, and it's been here as long as I can remember (years prior to the development of the neighborhood)," they said. "I enjoy it, and paid a premium for a lot near it. I know it also supports wildlife in our adjacent wooded common area, as well."
The original poster shared that three basic courses of action have been proposed. One is to simply leave the pond as it is and let it "go wild." One is to dredge it as recommended by the expert. And one is to fill it in entirely.
"I'm in the minority on the board who believe the pond should be maintained appropriately and cleaned out," said the original poster. "Can the board legally vote to have the pond filled in? Do I have any recourse to stop this from happening?"
Unfortunately, many HOAs aren't concerned with making homeowners happy or benefiting the environment. Keeping the neighborhood uniform and adhering to strict rules tends to be of greater concern to these organizations. That's true even when a lapse on their part could damage a homeowner's property, like when this HOA failed to maintain a pond of its own and subjected a resident to unnecessarily severe hurricane damage as a result.
Luckily, it's sometimes possible to change the rules and improve the situation — and the original poster, as a board member, is already in a good position to speak up.
Commenters were very much in favor of maintaining the pond in its traditional state.
"My number one thought, messing with water systems can have all sorts of 'downstream' complications," said one user. "If they fill it in they could be looking at millions to recreate it down the line."
"Your state probably has some sort of regulations about protection of wetlands," agreed another commenter. "It would be good to know these before any action is taken."
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