20 / 80
20
J U L Y , 2 0 1 6
© iStockphoto.com
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.”
LIVING AT PEACE
WITH YOUR
TREES
By Rick Close
The Davey Tree Expert Company
• “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