<p>Shortly after we moved into our house, the landlord of the house next door cut down two trees on our side of the property line. Claimed he “thought” they were on his side. Since we live in a very urban area, and have a very small lot, every tree counts, and it was really sad. Police said we could file a small claims case, but what would’ve been the point. The trees were gone.</p>
<p>H and I will never live in a home with an HOA. Will not give up that much autonomy. There’s much less recourse and more control than with other forms of government. And the houses all look the same–or different in a regulated way–yuch.</p>
<p>The various different players have varying roles in different situations. The HOA I mentioned cut down trees (in “common area” property along the roads) without discussing it with the homeowners (and in violation of the HOA CC&Rs.) In the more typical situation it’s a homeowner who wants to cut down his tree(s) and the HOA won’t approve it. Again, neighborhood CC&Rs typically require home and yard maintenance to a certain level, but that can be subject to interpretation. In my city it’s illegal to cut down certain types of trees (oaks, mostly) which are over a certain trunk size without a permit, which has to be justified by good cause. On the other hand, sometimes the city itself cuts down trees for unclear reasons. </p>
<p>I think the basic issue is the same old “individual rights vs. common good” conflict which typically drives local politics. Add in the fact that HOA boards have many of the powers (and budgets) that used to be in the sphere of elected officials, with few if any of the many laws governing real elected officials, like open meetings, financial disclosure, etc., and you have a recipe for abuse. (Which I’ve seen.) </p>
<p>The thing about large shade trees is that they are (in my opinion) undeniably a community asset, and also undeniably an individual burden. If everyone agrees to shoulder their share of the burden, you’ve got nice tree-lined streets, and everyone is happy. If a homeowner decides that he’s tired of raking leaves, or dealing with problem roots, or whatever, he can get very angry and self-righteous about anyone telling him he can’t just cut it down. (Which I’ve also seen.) In my neighborhood most people don’t care about shade for their homes - they just run their air conditioners 24/7. I’m not sure there’s an easy or clear solution to the conflict.</p>
<p>Garland - you might have been surprised at the value that will be assessed for the loss of a mature tree. I’ve seen four and even five-figure awards for cutting down or otherwise killing other people’s trees.</p>
<p>I don’t know what kind of trees they were- decidous trees grow faster than evergreen, but still it takes a while for their root systems to get established- they are larger below the surface I beleive.</p>
<p>THe house next door is a rental, and so has a landlord, but they are very careful to keep our goodwill- bad blood between neighbors is hard to overcome.
My mother lives in a condo and the condo board makes all kinds of decisions but that she has to pay for, and doesn’t benefit from.
Like the plantings and landscapers that are hired to take care of them( not that she doesn’t benefit from plantings- but they seem to change their mind every year & so have to redo it), or when there were ( are) problems with the construction of the building, and the condo board, either didn’t take care of it promptly or correctly and all the tenants are having to pay out thousands of dollars for it to be fixed- something that the builder should have had to fix.</p>
<p>Its sad, that she sold her 5 bedroom house, because she didn’t like the expense of having someone in to cut her grass, and now she is paying hundreds of dollars more a month to live in a one bedroom condo and doesn’t have a lot of say over what that money goes to.</p>
<p>Even though we don’t have a housing assc, I try to respect my neighbors wishes. FOr example I plant the kind of flowers my elderly neighbor across the street likes- and although I did plant a tree in my parking strip ( she doesn’t like trees- too messy), I also wacked on my shruberry just for her.</p>
<p>I never put up a ( small) fence around my front yard, although I have wanted to ever since the kids were small ( we face south so it gets the most sun), because our neighbor didn’t like front fences- but frankly I didnt realize she would be around this long- she is now 93! & I still want a fence.</p>
<p>Kluge, hopefully those homeowners will do something about their HOA violating the CC&Rs. Unfortunately probably their only recourse is to try to recall their elected board members, but, even if such an action is successful it won’t bring back the trees. </p>
<p>I’m guessing it would be pointless to sue, would guess that would mean the homeowners would have to take up a special assessment to fund the lawsuit, let alone construct an award if they won…doesn’t seem to be any productive recourse here at all.</p>
<p>Emeraldkity, I’d speculate that neighborhoods where people work to cooperate with each other are far happier places than those where the rules are issued and enforced under threat of suit or foreclosure. I have one neighbor who obsessively cuts down everything she can; another who frantically grows everything she can think of to plant. Both are lovely, kind people but they drive me insane with their obsessions - there’s no middle ground. But then in the apartment we rent, the landlord is an over-the-top environmentalist, and the property is so overgrown it looks like the woods at Hogwarts. He cannot bring himself to trim anything or part with even one small leaf. We put up with him because the shade keeps everything so much cooler, and the trees, bushes etc. are very beautiful. But we have to shove growth out of the way to park cars, and even to get inside the front door.</p>