No one wants to claim responsibility for a crumbling retaining wall encroaching on the backyards of homes along Sandhurst Street in the Waterstone development.
If you ask homeowner Chad Martin, the approximately 15-foot-high rock wall that separates his backyard from the northern portion of the Oxford Township Cemetery was improperly built and it’s the responsibility of the developer to fix it.
‘The developer created the wall by eliminating a large, sandy hill in order to have enough property to build the majority of homes on Sandhurst Street,? according to Martin. ‘In other words, without the wall they would not have (had) room to build the houses.?
If you ask the developer, Oxford East Village LLC/MJC Ivanhoe/Huntley Homes, each homeowner owns the section of wall sitting on their individual lots, therefore the residents are responsible.
‘We don’t want any of our customers to be unhappy, but at some point people have to take responsibility for their own property,? said Barbara S. Gates, customer service for the Macomb-based MJC Ivanhoe/Huntley Homes.
Martin, who moved into his newly built Lake Ridge subdivision home in 2002, said a portion of the wall collapsed last winter leaving large stones ‘jutting? out of the wall, crumbled pieces laying on the ground in his yard and numerous ‘If cracked rocks.
‘It is a major hazard,? he said. ‘The wall’s pushed out at least six feet. I’ve lost my whole backyard.?
‘Erosion of soil around this wall? is pushing the rocks outward, ‘causing the wall to collapse,? according to Community Association Underwriters of America, Inc. ? the company which insures the Lake Communities at Waterstone Association, of which the Lake Ridge sub is a part.
‘It looks terrible,? Martin said. ‘I can’t do any of the yard work I want to because of the wall.?
As the wall continues to deteriorate, Martin fears remains from the township cemetery could end up in his backyard.
‘It’s gotten progressively worse,? he said. ‘I believe the whole thing will come down this winter.?
Martin said he’s consulted with various professionals who deal with retaining walls and they agree there’s something wrong with the way it was constructed.
‘The landscapers all agree that the wall was never built properly,? he explained. ‘All of the experts that I talked to insist that a large rock wall like the one built along our property line should require no maintenance and should last a minimum of 50-100 years.?
One of the out-of-state experts Martin consulted, Myles Johnston, wrote him an August e-mail stating, ‘There is no maintenance to rock walls. They last forever.?
After viewing the photos of the wall Martin sent him, Johnston wrote, ‘From what I (can) see, the guy who built it did a awful job. Looks like no filter cloth was used and all the dirt came through the rocks. The only fix would be to take it all apart and do it again.?
Despite Martin’s assertions, Gates said the wall was indeed properly constructed with the correct rocks for the purpose of retaining the earth behind them. ‘We’ve used them at many other projects and not had a problem with them,? she said.
Each retaining stone is approximately 8-14 inches high, 3-4 feet wide and 2-4 feet deep. ‘These stones are cut for the purpose of land retention,? according to Gates.
To tear down the existing wall and construct a new one, the Oxford-based Lantek Development & Construction quoted Martin a price of $122,500.
Just last week, Martin learned his homeowner’s insurance through Farm Bureau Insurance does not cover the damaged retaining wall because the policy excludes earth movement and weather conditions.
On January 9, Martin contacted the Auburn Hills-based LandArc, the management company for the Lake Communities at Waterstone Association, about the collapsed wall.
‘LandArc told us that they were going to fix the problem,? Martin explained. ‘They said everything would be taken care of ? wall, grass, sprinklers, a deck that is being encroached on, landscaping, etc.?
But those promises never happened as LandArc was replaced with the Troy-based Kramer-Triad Management Group in March. Kramer-Triad informed Martin they would not be fixing the rock wall as it was his responsibility, not the homeowners association.
‘The insurance company has denied the claim to fix the rock wall behind your home,? wrote Amber Brenneman, community association manager in a June 6 letter to Martin. ‘They have denied the claim due to the fact that the rock wall is not an association responsibility. The documents have been reviewed and it is found that this rock wall is the homeowner’s responsibility.?
‘That particular wall belongs to the homeowners that actually purchased it from the developer as part of their lot,? said Jeff Gourlie, chief operating officer for Kramer-Triad.
Martin said he was never told it was his responsibility to maintain the wall.
Because the wall sits on individual private lots and is not considered a ‘common element? ? like a subdivision entrance or park ? the association bears no responsibility for its maintenance, repair or replacement, according to Gourlie.
‘It’s totally beyond the realm of authority of the association to (fix) it,? Gourlie explained. ‘It would be inappropriate to spend money on something that doesn’t belong to them.?
Because the wall sits on private property, Oxford Township has no way to intercede on Martin’s behalf, according to Building Official Mike Darling. ‘I can’t do anything for the guy,? Darling said.
Darling confirmed the retaining wall did not appear in the original plans for that subdivision. He also said there was no approval or inspection required from the township to build such a wall. ‘We’ve never done it before,? Darling said.
Even though MJC Ivanhoe/Huntley Homes had the wall built, the company claims it was the homeowners? responsibility to maintain it.
‘Our investigation discloses that the retaining wall conditions results from lack of proper maintenance for which we are not responsible,? wrote Gates in a June 21 letter to Martin.
In a Nov. 3 letter to the state’s Consumer Protection Division, Gates wrote, ‘The growth of weeds, and other vegetation as high as one foot indicates that the wall was in a state of decay for a period of time, which gives the indication of a lack of maintenance on the part of the homeowners.?
‘It does need to be maintained to some degree,? noted Gourlie, of Kramer-Triad.
Gates speculated the collapse could have been caused by animals burrowing behind and between the wall, creating channels for flowing water, a powerful source of erosion. ‘Water can do that type of damage,? she said.
However, Martin said the landscapers he spoke with agreed that ‘chipmunks and flowers between the rocks would not cause a 15-foot wall to fall down.?
Gates said if Martin or other homeowners had contacted someone about the problem prior to January 2006, before it got worse, the developer may have been willing to help. She provided a Feb. 22 e-mail from LandArc which she claimed was the first time MJC Ivanhoe/Huntley Homes was informed of the problem.
‘If it was a few thousand dollars to fix it, we probably would have come out and done it,? Gates said.
But now that it could cost anywhere from $60,000 to $100,000 to solve the problem, Gates said, ‘We’d like to help him, but we’re not going to go to that extent of rebuilding the whole wall.?
Martin contends the majority of the damage ‘pretty much happened all at once? last winter, when he reported it to LandArc in January. Martin said it seems his only option now is to file a lawsuit against MJC Ivanhoe/Huntley Homes. Such a lawsuit could cost $15,000 to $20,000, according to what Martin’s been told.
But Martin believes he and his neighbors shouldn’t have to take the issue to court, the developer or association should replace the wall.
‘We shouldn’t have to litigate it,? he said. ‘We pay our (association) dues.?
Anyone with information pertaining to Martin’s situation or advice can e-mail him at rockwall134@yahoo.com.