Front lawn / Mulch

We are a new HOA, The DRC is questioning requirements of the mulch in the landscape in front of the homes. Some have been here five years and have not replenshihed the mulch. Some residents are complaining about how bad they look. We do send reminders and violation notices out for lawn and palm trees that need attention. I think the mulch in front of the house should be also be included to keep up property appearance. As usual there is alway one person who disagrees. I would like feed back on how other HOA's proceed.

Joan:

As much as I believe that mulch is very good for the landscaping. You can't make people use mulch. It will have to be on the CC&R's. You can always suggest the application of mulch in your community newsletter.

Have a nice weekend,
Gordon

Our Covenants require the homeowner to maintain landscaped areas.

"Owner Maintenance- All owners shall keep their dwelling unit well maintained and shall keep landscaped portions of their lot well maintained free of disease, bugs and in a presentable condition, and shall not permit thereon any unsightly growth, weeds, or underbrush. Owners shall maintain that portion of easements, street rights of way or lots lying between the fence line and the abutting Lot line, or line between the curb of a street and the lot line. If any owner shall fail to maintain the landscaped portion of the owner's lot as herein required, the Owners association shall have the power to correct such omission and assess the cost thereof to such owner and place a lien for such cost against such owner's lot and improvements thereon. The Owners Association shall have the right to adopt additional rules and regulations to enforce this subsection".

We do enforce lawn maintenance and edging. Palm Trees need to be kept trimmed and fertlized. We don't allow basketball hoops on driveway. They must be placed behind front line of the house when not in use. Trash receptacles removed from street same day of pick up. We do assess fines for violations. The mulch is part of the original design of the builder. Homeowners cannot change this without DRC approval.

I agree "well maintained" is too subjective. It says nothing about mulch. Good try though.

What you could do, help the owner out. Offer the name of a couple of business that sell mulch along with a price and phone number. But offer it as a tip, not a demand. Let them know other home owners have had good luck with that mulch company. Make it easy for the homeowner to just make a call if they want more mulch.

Some people are happy with a mowed lawn and that's it. Some people don't want to spend every weekend in the garden weeding and high maintenance yards. They would rather do other things. Your opinion of landscaping is different, but you need to respect their idea of landscaping too.