July2016

LIVING AT PEACE WITH YOUR TREES By Rick Close The Davey Tree Expert Company

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TREES! Are you “at war” with them in your communi- ty? Because of their size, trees can often be the cause of many resident fears and complaints that associations and property managers have to address. And those resident fears can be fully realized when we experience storms such as “Sandy” in 2012. Here are some of the commonly heard concerns voiced by residents regarding their community trees: • “How do I know if those tall trees around my house are safe? They really sway in high winds, and I’m afraid they’ll fall.” • “When I moved in the trees were nice and small, and now they’re gigantic! They overwhelm my house; what can be done?” • “The tree branches rub against the side of my house when the wind blows.” • “The trees are so messy! They drop their fruit on my car and front walk and create stains.”

• “I’m afraid the roots of the trees on my property are going to crack my driveway and walk.”

Unfortunately with numerous managed communities, the trees are frequently dealt with on a strictly reactionary basis, taking a backseat to other annual landscape mainte- nance needs. As a result, the tree population (also called the community forest by professionals) is ignored until the trees have grown to a large size and become nuisances to residents, or even worse, a severe storm comes along resulting in serious tree and property damage. The reaction by boards and managers to these occur- rences can often become the equivalent of “going to war” against the trees by initiating a costly tree removal cam- paign that can quickly and drastically reduce the aesthetic appearance of the entire community. This often leads to a new round of complaints from residents. THERE IS A BETTER WAY – a way of consistently main- taining a safe, healthy, and beautiful community forest year after year, and hence “living at peace with your trees.” It

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