Landscaping - Trees

Hiya,

Our community is HOA run and our fees include lawn and landscaping maintenance. We have a tree on our lot which has got huge over the last couple of years. I know for a fact it has been trimmed in the past but clearly that hasn't happened recently and I've had this confirmed by the owner of the currently contracted landscaping company. I've asked the HOA/management company why this is the case and they have said that trees are owners responsibility and that there is nothing in the sub-division documents which state that they have to maintain any trees at all. I've checked the documents and that seems true as it does state that "they have the right but not the obligation, to assume and perform any and all functions relating to maintaining the lawns and landscaping on the lots and common areas. To the extent the Neighbourhood Association elects to undertake and of these functions, all related costs shall be assessed against owners as part of their annual assessment'.

The thing is that the contract with the landscaping company includes trimming palms twice a year but makes no mention of trees. This to me seems to be discriminating between owners that have trees and those that have palms. When I mentioned this the response from the HOA was "We can stop doing the palms or alternatively at the next contract review we can look at including trees but that would put the fees up substantially for everyone not just the homes with trees." I don't believe that fees would increase substantially as there are very few trees on the resort and they are already paying for 10 days lift rental to get to the high palm branches anyway. They then went on to say that "The fronds of a palm tree need trimming otherwise they fall off and can be a danger." The same could be said for the tree outside our property as well.

To be honest I'd be more than happy to remove the tree completely but the cost of this is prohibitive now because of the size it has become.

Any comments/advice would be most welcome.

Regards,
Lawrence

LawrenceN, what your HOA's board is doing is baloney. You can take threaten legal action and so on or let it go.

What kind of tree is it? Many here have given accounts of problems with large trees, from their roots lifting sidewalks and foundations and destroying sewer lines, to branches overhanging common areas posing a hazard. If I were you, I would be saving up to have it removed. Though you could ask the HOA to remove it as well, per the terms of your HOA's governing documents.

Here is the line we drew in our HOA. IF the tree was planted by the HOA and/or original developer, then we took responsibility. IF the tree was planted by the owner (NOT HOA), then the HOA was NOT responsible. We would recommend permission prior to planting a tree and had a arborist list of recommended trees to plant.

We have small yards so the potential growth was a factor if one was to plant a tree. Plus trees like Bradford Pears are subject to breakage. Careful consideration and acknowledgement that tree is yours was important.

Now if that tree got infected or a danger, then the HOA would have the power to ask the owner to remove the tree. We would not maintain it. We basically treated similar to how we did fences.