HOA Removing Trees on Homeowners Property, but on easement

Florida
The HOA board in my neighborhood is messed up. They board members do what they want and they never check with the homeowners. The board is planning on removing 125 trees in my small neighborhood (91 houses). The trees are on the homeowners property, but on the easement. The trees are all between the sidewalk and the street, and they are slowly damaging the sidewalks. The board's plan is to remove 25 trees per year for the next 5 years. They will remove the tree, grind the stump, and put in a very small replacement tree. The estimate for their plan is $25,000 to $30,000 per year. The project was never budgeted or funded, so we are looking at a big assessment this year, followed by a large increase in HOA fees next year. We have also had increases in the HOA fees twice in the last two years.

The board was planning this without getting any input from the homeowners. By the time the homeowners got wind of this plan, the board told them it was too late, because it was already a done deal. Shorty after that I attended a board meeting and I was the only homeowner there. One of the board members asked if the homeowners had a right to refuse to have the tree removed. The board president said yes, however, if they kept their tree, then they would be responsible for any damage to the sidewalks or street. That does not sound like it is legal to me. I don't believe you have to give up one right because you assert another right. The other homeowners don't even know they have the option of keeping their tree, and the board does not want them to know. They take the board at the word, and that is a big problem. I have seen the board shop around for a legal opinion in their favor, and then they have that attorney address the homeowners. The homeowners need to know they have the power to stop the removal of the trees, and that they should get an attorney who will represent their interests and not the board's interest.

My neighborhood is only 20 years old, and many of the homeowners have lived in the neighborhood since the beginning. They have watched those trees grow from little sticks to a beautiful canopy lining the streets. They do not want to wait another 20 years for new trees to grow into another canopy. There are many small neighborhoods in my development that are have the same trees and they are having a little bit of damage to their sidewalks too. None of the neighborhoods are removing their trees, they are simply doing maintenance to the sidewalks.

Initially, I wanted to have the trees removed, because the roots were messing up my brick paver driveway. However, my husband removed the offending roots, and the pavers will be easily fixed. We just had a block party and many of the homeowners were talking about the tree removal. They said they did not have any recourse, and I told them that I believe they did. They need to get together and fight this board. First give the board notice that their trees are not to be removed. This all happened today, so I suspect the board will have a real battle on their hands. Their is a good possibility that they may have a legal battle on their hands too.

Please tell me if your neighborhood has experienced anything like this. I would also like to know what kind of rights the homeowners have pertaining to the removal of the trees, and if the homeowners will be assuming the risk of the sidewalk if they deny the board the right to remove the trees.

This issue has been going on for 2 years. The board is ready to move on it. The board does not negotiate with the homeowners, so talking to them is out of the question. We are so far past that point. Thank you for your input.

Check the laws and other legal agreements that spell out the rights and responsibilities of interested parties regarding easements. There is probably a legal agreement recorded in your county that spells out the specifics of this particular easement. Does the party benefiting from the easement (HOA) have the right to make this decision? Does the owner have the land have any right to stop the HOA?

Contrary to popular belief, HOA boards don't usually sit around and come up with ways to ruin property or anger homeowners. There is probably a good reason they're taking this step. If this is an easement, the first thing I'd consider is utility pipes or drainage requirements. Are there other ways to address whatever issue is happening? Maybe/probably. It's very likely that the decision will come down to cost, both one time and ongoing. HOAs are notoriously underfunded because homeowners howl about assessment increases. There are consequences to this.

check with your city arborist. some have laws about removing trees.
In my North Carolina city, it is against the law if the tree is a certain diameter.
Also the city probably has control over this strip of land , it is called the right of way.

you can make up flyers and put them on people's doors letting them knnow they have a choice takes an hour.

It is unbelievable the percentage of ignorant home owners who think a piece of ugly concrete is more valuable then a beautiful living tree.

Some of the most expensive homes in my area have trees 80 feet tall that make the entire neighborhood home value increase.

your board is decreasing home values not increasing them.

it would be better to redo the sidewalks or root prune the trees every few years than to kill them all. that is just ridiculous

Check your documents to see who is responsible for the strip between the sidewalk and the street. In our community we call it the "grassy strip". We have the same problem - palm trees planted in the strip that 20 years later are way too large. It's a real dilemma because they provide a certain "look" to the community, but the sidewalk repairs are hugely expensive. We are taking them out where necessary and not replacing them.

As I said, check your documents. In our community, the homeowner has responsibility for the grassy strip but the HOA owns it. We would not have to get approval from the homeowners to take down the trees. Your HOA may be within it's rights to take the trees.

While it does seem a shame to lose all the trees, think of the money that is going down the drain by constantly repairing the trip hazards on the sidewalks, and there may be trip and fall legal cases against the community because of it.

Sometimes, hard choices have to be made. This may be one the board had to make. I always tell people in our community that the board makes strategic decisions - they see the big picture, most of the homeowners do not.

Yes, they could make you sign a waiver if you refuse to have your tree replaced. They could then bill you for any repairs and you might be responsible if someone trips because of the uneven sidewalk.

The good news in Florida is that our trees grow really fast - so the new trees may be decent size in just a few years.