Terms of Service

Treeline is a community-built marketplace that connects homeowners in the Sierra Foothills with skilled trades providers for work like defensible space clearing, fire hardening, tree work, electrical, plumbing, carpentry, and related services. These terms explain what you can expect from us, and what we expect from you.

Why Treeline exists

California's wildfire-urban interface has been caught in a compounding crisis: insurers pull out of high-risk ZIP codes, homeowners struggle to afford or obtain coverage, and the regulatory-and-insurance apparatus that's supposed to protect communities has instead become a drag on the very work that would make them safer. A neighbor with a chainsaw and decades of defensible-space experience can't be paid to clear another neighbor's 100-foot zone without a contractor's license, workers' comp coverage, and a liability policy whose cost often exceeds the job. Meanwhile the houses burn.

We believe the answer is investment in the community itself — not extraction from it. The economics back this up. Published cost-benefit studies (FEMA, IBHS, CalFire) consistently find that every dollar spent on home hardening and defensible space prevents several to dozens of dollars in losses — and in high-risk WUI areas, the ratio is dramatically higher. A $1,000 defensible-space project that reduces the probability of a total structural loss on a $400,000 home produces returns on the order of 50× for the insurer writing the policy. We'd rather see that math drive insurer investment back into the community than see it disappear into premium hikes and non-renewals.

Treeline exists to create a transparent record of that work: who did it, where, when, and with what outcome — photos, acres, dwellings served, zones cleared. The goal is a platform that insurers can underwrite against, that counties can use to target support, that state agencies can reference for Firewise and Safer-from-Wildfires compliance, and that neighbors can actually use to find and compensate each other.

The terms below include legal language that protects the platform and its users today. We'll say plainly: we don't love all of it. Some of the compliance requirements described here are exactly the burdens we think should shift. But we're building inside the system that exists while working to change it. Using Treeline doesn't waive anyone's legal obligations — and it doesn't diminish our commitment to the community-first vision above.

1. Who we are

Treeline is operated by a small community-focused team in El Dorado County, California. The platform is currently a pre-release service provided as-is, free of charge, while we build it out with the community it serves.

2. Accounts

To post a job, submit a bid, or exchange contact information, you need an account. When you create one, you agree that:

• You are at least 18 years old and have the legal authority to enter into agreements.
• The information you provide — name, email, phone, payment methods, certifications, service area — is accurate to the best of your knowledge.
• You will keep your password confidential and promptly notify us if you suspect unauthorized access.
• You are responsible for everything that happens under your account.

3. How work gets arranged

When a provider's bid is accepted, both parties can see each other's phone number and preferred payment methods. From that point, the arrangement is between the two of you. Treeline does not:

• Process payments, hold funds in escrow, or serve as a party to your agreement.
• Guarantee that work will meet a particular standard, schedule, or budget.
• Vet providers' skill, licensing, or insurance beyond what they voluntarily disclose.

You are responsible for verifying licensing, insurance, references, and work quality directly. For California contractors, the state license board (CSLB) maintains a public lookup at cslb.ca.gov.

4. Provider conduct

If you offer services on Treeline, you agree to:

• Comply with the legal requirements that apply to your work. In California, most trades work over $500 in combined labor and materials requires a CSLB contractor's license, and most paid employment requires workers' compensation coverage. We think these thresholds are too low for neighbor-to-neighbor defensible-space work and we advocate for reform — but until that reform happens, it's your responsibility to know the rules that apply to what you're doing.
• Bid in good faith and honor accepted bids or communicate clearly when circumstances change.
• Accurately represent your certifications, qualifications, and prior work.
• Perform work safely and in accordance with applicable codes, including California's defensible-space requirements under PRC 4291 and local ordinances such as El Dorado County's Fire Safe Regulations (Title 8, Chapter 8.09).

A note on thresholds: California law exempts small work (currently under $500 in combined labor and materials, with no required permits) from contractor licensing. Much neighbor-assistance work falls inside that exemption. Other work doesn't. Treeline does not verify which is which — that judgment is on you. If you're unsure, the CSLB's license-requirement guide is the starting point, and talking to your insurance carrier is the next.

Your voice matters in establishing a solution-oriented, community-first, non-extractive economy. The buck stops here. We need to redefine the regulatory language from extraction to mutual benefit.

5. Client conduct

If you hire through Treeline, you agree to:

• Describe the scope of work honestly, including site conditions, access, hazards, and prior attempts.
• Pay agreed amounts on the agreed terms, using the payment methods the provider has listed.
• Respect the provider's time — cancel early if plans change, and give reasonable notice for scheduling.

6. Photos and documentation

Photos uploaded to a job are visible to anyone viewing that job, including inspectors, fire councils, and insurers. This visibility is intentional — it's how Treeline supports defensible-space documentation. Do not upload photos that contain people's faces, license plates, or other personal details you wouldn't want public. You are responsible for having the right to upload any photo you post.

7. Content you post

Job posts, bids, messages, commendations, and board posts are your content. By posting, you grant Treeline a limited, non-exclusive license to display that content on the platform in connection with the service. You can delete most content through your account, and we'll honor reasonable deletion requests for anything else.

Don't post anything that is harassing, discriminatory, fraudulent, unlawful, infringing on others' rights, or dangerous to public safety. We may remove content or suspend accounts that violate these terms, at our discretion.

8. No warranties

Treeline is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. We don't guarantee uninterrupted availability, accuracy of listings, or outcomes of transactions arranged through the platform. Use your own judgment on every engagement.

9. Limitation of liability

To the extent permitted by California law, Treeline and its operators are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages arising out of your use of the platform. If a court finds us liable despite this, our total liability to you will not exceed $100 or the amount you've paid us in the past 12 months (which, at this stage, is zero).

10. Termination

You can close your account at any time. We can suspend or close accounts that violate these terms. Closing an account doesn't retract content already shared publicly with other users (e.g., completed job records, commendations), but we'll reasonably honor requests for further removal.

11. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California. Any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in El Dorado County, California.

12. Changes to these terms

We'll update this page as the platform evolves. Material changes will be announced on the site. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated terms.

13. A note to insurers, governments, and community leaders

If you're reading this page because you represent an insurance carrier, a county, a fire-safe council, an agency, or an elected office: we'd like to work with you.

Treeline is designed to produce the evidence you need to make investment-based risk reduction defensible on a balance sheet:

• Verifiable work records. Every completed job has a provider, a client, photos (optionally zone-tagged for defensible-space compliance), hours, crew size, acres cleared, and outcome notes. The data structure maps cleanly onto Firewise USA annual investment reporting and California's Safer from Wildfires framework.
• Photo documentation tied to the property. Photos uploaded at job creation, during work, and at completion are visible to authorized reviewers (inspectors, councils, underwriters) on a per-job basis — without those reviewers needing accounts on the platform.
• The ROI case, legible. Defensible-space and home-hardening work that costs hundreds to low thousands of dollars per property can reduce expected structural loss in WUI fires by tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars. At current California premium and loss levels, an insurer funding $500–$2,000 of mitigation work on a policy with typical WUI exposure can reasonably expect a 10× to 50× or higher return on that investment over the policy's risk horizon. The harder the ZIP code, the better the math.
• An alternative to extraction. Rather than pulling coverage or raising premiums on communities that can't afford either, insurers can direct those dollars toward the work that actually reduces loss — and document it. The community gets safer. The balance sheet gets better. Coverage stays available.

We're actively looking for pilot partners willing to fund a defined number of defensible-space projects through Treeline in exchange for the documentation package. If that's interesting to your organization, please reach out directly: michael@treeline.work.

14. Contact

Questions, concerns, or corrections: michael@treeline.work or use the Contact form on the site.