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How do I bring a problem to the attention of CCOBH? How do I report potholes, debris in the road, or any other urgent street problem in my neighborhood? Whom do I call to replace missing or damaged street signs? Who is responsible for removing fallen branches or trees from our neighborhood streets? The paving and curbs on my street are deteriorating. Whom should I call? Some of our community's street trees are damaged or dying. Who is responsible for caring for them? Who is responsible for maintaining and repairing my neighborhood's street sidewalks? Can a community organization or property owner be sued if someone is injured because of a poorly maintained street sidewalk? Who can help me deal with flooding and storm water runoff problems? How do I report sewer problems? If I have water service problems whom should I call? How do I report a phone outage? How do I report an electrical outage or a natural gas emergency? Whom must I call before I dig in my yard? Whom do I call to report traffic problems or to report graffiti and other vandalism? I want to report a Code violation, but I don't want to start trouble with my neighbors. What can I do? Where do I go to find out if snow depths qualify for snow removal reimbursement? I want to get streetlights in my neighborhood. What should I do? County parklands near my community need attention. Who can help me? I need advice regarding my civic association's deed restrictions. Where do I get help? Who are my State Senator, State Representative, and New Castle County Councilman, and how can I contact them? Who are my US Senators and Representative, and how can I contact them? How can I find out about my taxes for New Castle County and Brandywine School District? Do community organizations need to carry insurance? How
do I bring a problem to the attention of CCOBH? CCOBH
Attn: _____________ P. O. Box 753 Claymont, DE 19703-0753 Our Board members are also available at all our public meetings to hear your concerns and answer your questions. If you would like to speak at one of our Board of Directors meetings, read "A Note About Board Meetings" at the top of the "Events" page, and get in touch.
How
do I report potholes, debris in the road, or any other urgent
street problem in my neighborhood? Whom do I call to replace missing or damaged street signs? DelDOT Transportation Management Center will take reports of missing or damaged signs, but the quickest way to get signs replaced is to call one of your local state legislators. Back to top. Who is responsible for removing fallen branches or trees from our neighborhood streets? DelDOT is responsible for removing any obstacle from streets they are required to maintain. DelDOT crews will cut the tree or branches into manageable pieces, remove them from the right of way, and stack them so as not to block the street or sidewalk. The community organization is then responsible for properly disposing of the debris. DelDOT will not remove stumps, regrade and reseed turf, or plant new trees. All those things must be arranged by the community organization. Contact DelDOT to report fallen trees or limbs, or to report any other road conditions. Back to top. The paving and curbs on my street are deteriorating. Whom should I call? DelDOT will do the repairs, but the funds will come from one or both of your state legislators' Community Transportation Funds. Contact your legislators to arrange repairs. Funds are very limited, and repairs may take some time to complete. Back to top. Some of our community's street
trees are damaged or dying. Who is responsible for caring for them? Many community organizations realize that healthy and attractive street trees beautify their communities and improve property values, so they organize themselves to care for street trees with the help of individual property owners. To learn more, read the "Street Trees" section of the Civic Association Handbook. Back to top.Who is responsible for maintaining and repairing my neighborhood's street sidewalks? Sidewalks are part of DelDOT's rights-of-way but, as is the case with street trees, DelDOT has no funding available for sidewalk repair. Homeowners are, therefore, left to maintain their sidewalks as best they can. Unfortunately, the state offers no grants or assistance of any kind for sidewalk repair. Sidewalk repair can be very expensive, and most homeowners will not agree to higher dues to pay for a community sidewalk repair program. Therefore, almost all repair work is done by individual homeowners. There is a lesser role for community organziations, however. Concrete is less expensive when delivered by the truckload. Community organizations can coordinate the efforts of several neighbors by working with a contractor to do all the repair work at the same time. Many reputable contractors will then pass along the lower cost of concrete to the homeowners. If done this way, each homeowner is responsible for his or her own bill. Back to top. Can a community organization or property owner be sued if someone is injured because of a poorly maintained street sidewalk? Neither State nor the County statutory law requires property owners to
maintain the sidewalks adjacent to or on their property. Absent some type of
special circumstance (such as destroying it or creating a hazard themselves), a
homeowner who does not have a sidewalk on their property is not liable for the
maintenance of that sidewalk. It is, however, abundantly clear from Delaware
case law, that homeowners on whose property sidewalks do exist, are liable for
the injuries caused to users of that sidewalk when the sidewalk is not properly
maintained. Thus, a prudent homeowner will take steps to know whether the
sidewalk is on their property, and will make sure that the sidewalk is
maintained to prevent or correct any reasonably identifiable hazard on that
sidewalk.
If a homeowner has any doubt about whether the sidewalk is on their
property, they can check the Mortgage Inspection Survey they received when they
purchased their home. Please note, a sidewalk that is in the DelDOT right of
way, but on property owned by the homeowner, does not relieve the homeowner of
liability.
A homeowners association that has not undertaken to repair sidewalks on its
own initiative does not have any liability with respect to such sidewalks, but
if sidewalks are part of the common elements that are owned by and the
responsibility of a maintenance corporation, such maintenance corporation is
responsible for the upkeep of the sidewalk and is liable for hazards
thereon. Back to top. Who can help me deal with flooding and storm water runoff problems? Individuals and associations can get help from New Castle County, DelDOT, or DNREC, depending upon the problem. The New Castle County NDPES page is a good place to start. This page has the phone numbers you will need, and this page discusses both maintenance organization and civic association responsibilities. Back to top. How do I report sewer problems? If I have water service
problems whom should I call? How
do I report a phone outage? How do I report an electrical
outage or a natural gas emergency? Whom
must I call before I dig in my yard? Whom do I call to report traffic
problems or to report graffiti and other vandalism? I want to report a Code violation,
but I don't want to start trouble with my neighbors. What can I do? Where
do I go to find out if snow depths qualify for snow removal
reimbursement? I
want to get streetlights in my neighborhood. What should I do? "As a community, you must determine the style of light standard desired by the members of your community. To do this, contact Delmarva Power at 1-800- 375-7117, and communicate to them that the community is seeking information about streetlights. A packet of information will be remitted. Once you have made your decision, contact Denny Hardman, New Castle County Office of Treasury, 87 Reads Way, New Castle, De 19720. Mr. Hardman can also be reached by dialing 395-5083. Mr. Hardman will provide the
following: Upon receipt of the above
information, the community members must circulate the petition and obtain 51% of the property owners'
signatures endorsing the installation of streetlights. County
parklands near my community need attention. Who can help me? Park maintenance crews are understaffed and may not be able to respond quickly except in emergencies. Community organizations can help, however, by organizing volunteers to hold park clean-up days. A well organized event can clean trash and debris from a park, leaving it safe and attractive. Call ahead and the county can send trucks to pick up bagged trash and bundled debris left in a pre-arranged location, usually alongside the nearest road. You can also help by urging your neighbors not to dump trash or yard waste in county parks. Most of the trash and debris that accumulates in parks is dumped by nearby neighbors who are either too careless or unwilling to dispose of it properly. Back to top.I need advice regarding my civic
association's deed restrictions. Where do I get help? Who are my State Senator, State
Representative, and New Castle County Councilman, and how can I contact
them? Who
are my US Senators and Representative, and how can I contact them? How can I find out about my taxes
for New Castle County and Brandywine School District? Do community organizations need to carry insurance? There is no easy answer to this question. "A Guide To Insurance Issues For Homeowner, Condo And Civic Associations" , is published by the Delaware Insurance Commissioner's Office. It attempts to answer this question. If you think that your organization might need insurance, give the Commisioner's Office a call at 1-800-282-8611. Back to top. © CCOBH. All rights
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