CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Briarwood Hearth homeowners said for months they have been frustrated over numerous problems plaguing their Chesterfield County community.
These problems include rundown tennis courts, speed bumps with chunks of concrete missing and dead trees hovering above homes.
“It’s sure not making a good impression on the neighborhood,” Tom Berndt, who lives in the community, explained.
Alice Anderson, pointing to the cracked speed bump, said she believes that’s unsafe for children and people who walk their dogs in that area of the community.
“It’s no pride when you walk around here and see this place. It’s dirty,” Anderson added.
The property owners tell CBS 6 they’ve pressed their homeowner’s association to take action.
“I don’t get answers. I have called time after time and nothing has come back,” Judy Ford explained.
Ford and nearby neighbors said they have one big concern with a muddy area behind their condos. She says they have a problem with constant drainage and flooding issues.
“It’s nothing but red clay and it has washed all the way down this hill. I can’t go in my back door at all. I have to bring my groceries in the front now,” Ford said. “I just had a stroke about three months ago, so it’s difficult for me.”
Robert Anderson, who lives a few doors down from Ford, said the muddy area prevents his and other children from playing freely in their back yards.
He said he’s frustrated that it has taken property management so long to fix it.
“They stopped all work the same day they started. They said they would get an engineer to evaluate the area and drainage issues,” Anderson said.
That was in March. Two months later, homeowners contacted CBS 6, upset that the area still hadn’t been fixed.
We contacted the community’s homeowner’s association President, Yancey Snavely.
He explained that recent rains have made that part of the property look messier than usual. He said that the association now has a solid plan of action.
They’re also ready to take bids from contractors to do the work.
“This is a process with several moving parts,” Snavely said. The area where the work will take place is also full of utilities. All of these utilities run perpendicular to the area of repair making the project more difficult. This is far more involved than most of the neighbors realize.”
“We put in our dues every month, but we don’t see anything that’s being done” Ford added.
Snavely said they have a fiduciary responsibility to spend the community’s money wisely.
As for the other issue neighbors have with dead trees in the area, Snavely said they pay $10,000 per year for tree removal.
“This neighborhood is heavily wooded and taking care of dead trees is an annually budgeted line item. Our landscaper is responsible for low lying tree and shrubbery issues. We handle dead trees on a case by case basis as they come to our attention” Snavely said.
He added they are in the process of formulating a plan to update the tennis courts.
The area with drainage and flooding issues should be addressed in the next three weeks.
