The HOA has faced a major challenge with the park strips in our community since inception. The struggle: in some areas plants have never thrived. We hope homeowners recognize the efforts of the Board over the past 5-10 years with renovation, planting, renovation, planting, in a seemingly endless loop. The good news is much of the replanting was done under warranty after the previous landscaper recognized their original work was not up to par. The bad news is the replanting effort was nonetheless unsuccessful. 

 

The Board discusses this dilemma at nearly every Board meeting. Over the years, they’ve come to the conclusion that the likely culprit for the plant failure is the trees. This is most obvious on Casablanca where nearly all the plant material has failed except for one location - where the Ash tree was removed the Myoporum ground cover is flourishing. It is with this information and knowledge that the Board is basing decisions on for correcting and improving the state of the park strips. 

 

Earlier this year, the trees along Carmen Way and Carmen Court were removed and replaced with Chinese Pistache. The Myoporum was monitored to see if it would rebound after the removal of larger trees. The hope was that the removal of the larger trees would decrease the competition for water and nutrients in the soil allowing the ground cover to flourish. Unfortunately the Myoporum has not recovered substantially. 

 

The Board approved the replanting of Carmen Way and Carmen Court with Carex grasses instead. Carex is a hardy, slow growing grass that typically doesn't need much supplemental nutrition to thrive. If successful, this process - tree removal and then replanting - will be repeated on Casablanca and then on other streets where trees seem to be impacting the success of the ground cover. 

 

The replanting of Carmen is scheduled to take place around the week of September 29. We appreciate your patience and efforts to not step on the new plant life as it gets established.

As shared in previous updates and newsletter, the Board approved the installation of mulch throughout most of the park strips in the community. Jet Mulch will use blown in mulch to add mulch to all streets excluding Carmen Way. Carmen will be monitored for plant growth with replanting and mulch reconsidered in the fall.

 

The mulch installation is scheduled to begin on Monday, July 14. There may be some debris and dust during the installation of the mulch so you may want to park your vehicles in the garage or driveway away from the street. 

 

Thank you for your patience with this project.

 

We shared in our last newsletter the recent Board decision to remove the trees on Carmen Way and several underperforming trees on Blue Spur Circle. The majority of the trees on Carmen Way and Carmen Court are Chinese Elms. According to the Association's arborist's report, this tree species has a fast growth rate with a mature height of 40-60 feet tall. It does best when planted in an area that allows ample growing space. The Root Damage Potential Rating is Moderate but over the life of the tree conflicts can be expected. When picturing ideal trees for our park strips, trees in the 40-60 feet range which thrive in areas with ample growing space would make the list. We've seen several of these trees fail already due to not being able to spread their roots sufficiently to stabilize the tree and we're seeing sidewalk damage occurring from some of these trees as well.

 

For all these reasons, the Board has decided to remove the trees on Carmen Way and Carmen Court. They have decided to replace the trees with Chinese Pistache. The Chinese Pistache, according to the arborist's report, has a slow to moderate growth rate with a mature height of 25-35 feet. The Chinese Pistache is also adaptable to growth in a restricted root zone and has a Root Damage Potential Rating of Low. 

 

Monarch Tree Services will be out beginning June 5 to remove the trees on Carmen and 5-6 trees on Blue Spur. The stumps are scheduled to be ground on June 11. Because of the depth of stump grinding, an Underground Service Alert will be requested which requires markings in the street. Monarch will use washable white paint to indicate areas where they need alerts. Utility companies may use flags or colored paint to mark utility lines.

 

As shared in the newsletter, new mulch will be installed throughout most of the community after the tree removal, however Carmen Way will remain unmulched as a test for the resurgence of the Myoporum ground cover. If the ground cover does not rebound, replanting will take place with a different plant option. This will be repeated on Casablanca and then on other streets where trees seem to be impacting the success of the ground cover. 

 

Thank you for your patience and understanding during this project.

Do YOU Care About Community Aesthetics?

Join the Architectural Committee! The Board of Directors is looking for 2 members to serve on the Architectural Committee and review architectural plans to ensure that they are in compliance with the Association's standards and Governing Documents. 

 

This process is done fully remote via email and, on average, we see about 2-3 architectural applications each month. That means, the time commitment is likely less than 30 each month. Plus, involvement in the Architectural Committee means you get to have a say in the look and feel of the community. 

If you are interested, please contact Stacey Lint (slint@hoaservices.net) for more information!