Trees / Landscape

Hi, We are currently making R&R's for our neighborhood. As our CCR's are now, there's nothing about landscaping. Our community is different from many others in the area b/c the developers left the nice old oak trees that were already on the lots. Well, it's becoming a "fad" in our neighborhood for everyone to cut their trees down, and leave an UGLY stump. One is my neighbor, and the tree was 1/2 mine, he didn't ask, cut it down and left a stump. Another is at the front entrance, and effected the whole look of our entranceway which also has a 3 FOOT stump sticking up for everyone to see as they drive in.

My question is can I make and enforce a rule that states no one can cut down their trees w/o first asking the landscape committee? AND if the tree is cut down the stump must be removed as well?

I'm curious b/c all the hurricanes in FL. Do the homeowners have a right to cut them down to protect their home that would over-ride the proposed rule?
OR can the rule state trimming is ok. as long as the whole tree is not removed?
Please advise..

KrystaT: You state that they are 'their trees'. Is this correct? I would want to learn who owns the ground the trees are on...is it considered common ground and the Assn.'s responsibility for lawn maintenance/tree pruning, etc.? Or, is the ground on which the trees are planted deeded to the owners with proof of lot dimensions shown on the plat plan?

If the trees are on common ground, no resident owner has the right to do anything since they do not own the ground or the trees.

Some counties have arborists that have to approve this and in some cases were the home might be within 1000ft of a watershed or in a RPA (Resource Protection Area), they may need special permission.

Although your docs don't mention landscaping specifically, the residents ARE definately making changes to their lot or home per se. Most docs specifically say that major landscaping plans must be approved. I'm surprised that there is nothing at all in your docs.

That's really sad.

I wonder if they realize how important those trees are? Probably not.

At any rate, our HOA's CC&Rs do not allow ANY tree removal without first getting WRITTEN APPROVAL from the board of directors.

To be honest, no one has ever cut one down yet, and I have NO idea how we would handle/process the request. In other words, I have NO idea on what criteria we would base an approval or denial.

No, the trees aren't on the regular common areas. I have to check with the state/county/city to see if they are protected in any way on the plat and are indeed common areas in the terms of a governing agency.

When I refered to "shared property" I was noting the fact that the tree was on the lot line. The tree was 1/2 mine, 1/2 my neighbors. HE cut it down, without so much as a word to me.

One of the other trees was on the first lot at the entrance to the subdivision. There was one tree on each side on the lots near the street, and it made a beautiful natural canopy entranceway, one at the entrance, one at the exit. It's hard to explain...but in cutting down that tree, it ruined the whole look of the front entranceway. A stump is the first thing you see when you enter into our neighborhood.

The thing is, when if I write a letter and make these people remove their stumps, and even replant, there's nothing to replace a 100 yr old tree. (I know it's that old, I counted the rings.)There's nothing that can make our entranceway look like that again.

KrystaT: Nothing can be determined from "No, the trees aren't on the regular common areas." The defining factor is if any resident actually OWNS ANY GROUND other than perhaps what their unit sits on. Very often they do not.

A tree on a lot line may appear it belongs to 2 owners, however, the ground may not belong to any owner, but common ground to the Assn. Keep us posted!
The County will be helpful to you.

NEW TWIST....After examining the front what used to be a tree, I noticed that the tree was ON THE COMMON AREA!!! His fence marks his property, and the tree was on the outside of the fencemark.

The lot is the first corner lot when you drive in, so the wall and landscape area are adjacent to his lot. Also there's a 10ft easement. Where the tree was in NOT w/in his lot parameters...

What can I do? Make him but a new tree and replant?? Does it have to be the same size/description tree?

While it's true that the tree really cannot be replaced, I suggest that you work with a Tree expert and try to figure out what's fair. Just do what municipalites do whenever a buider, developer or resident cuts a tree or trees in a RPA (Resource Protection Area) which is normally located within a 1000 ft of a watershed. Although you can't get them to replace the ONE tree, you can certainly get them to replace it with MANY OR SEVERAL TREES.