I really feel for this woman, stuck in a community where the management appears to be, umm, not well educated in one of their areas of responsibility. She writes:
No one that I spoke to at the Board of Directors or Manager level was concerned about the replacement of our trees which were lost in 2005. They admit that they do not know what the native trees and plants are for SE Florida. They are completely unaware that trees control the water table, prevent flooding around the retention pond, give shade and cool relief to the unit owners, increase the value of the property up to 20%, reduce Co2 levels, oxygenate the air and are beautiful to look upon as the seasons change; if native are planted in the right location. . . . And no one can give me an answer on how much money there is for landscaping, only that the budget has a $10,000. line item for tree removal and none for replacement.
Desiring to do the right thing, this woman set out to educate herself, attending plant shows, reading books, talking to experts, even buying a few small plants to donate to her community. Alas, her efforts were quashed by the "chairwoman of the beautification committee":
We don’t need any more trees, where would we put them, won’t they block the view, oh, they are too big. No we won’t be buying trees. There is no money for trees, who told you there was any money for your building. No, you can’t plant trees even if the money is donated. We are planting bougainvilla (non-native). Would you like to plant crotons (non-native).
I ran into the same anti-tree attitude from a few people when I was coordinating our neighborhood tree project (funded by a county grant). One woman attended a neighborhood meeting and complained constantly about "leaf trash"; she was from NY, she told us repeatedly, so she knew how ugly leaf trash would be even if the rest of us didn't, and was the hoa going to rake her leaves? Why couldn't she get the kind of shade tree that didn't ever drop its leaves or need to be watered? And who was going to pay the bill when the tree roots destroyed our sidewalks? etc. This is the woman who uprooted her "Yard of the Month" sign during a screaming episode while we were planting trees. A few other neighbors were convinced that trees would lower their property values by blocking the view of their houses from the street. Bear in mind that these trees were planted a year ago and their trunks are still only a few inches in diameter.
Fortunately, our hoa board at the time was enlightened, so I had the ok to gather neighborhood support. Also fortunately, it's easier to manage such projects in an hoa than a condo because individual homeowners can opt out. Even good things should not be forced on people who don't want them, and people who worked hard to achieve a certain look to their landscapes understandably might not want a streetside tree. Condo owners have less autonomy.
I don't know what I would have done if the board had the same attitude as the chairwoman of the Lakeside Village beautification committee. Maybe I'd have tried to organize the project anyway--but it would have been a lot harder.
Don't get me wrong--having served on my hoa board, I fully appreciate the fact that not every idea from a homeowner can be supported. Plus there might be some aspect to this decision that I don't know. However, when someone is willing to work this hard, and when she has evidence that her efforts will benefit the community, a board would do better to encourage her rather than issuing an autocratic "no."
These people are really patriotic. They have been flying this flag since 9/11.
This confusing slogan was left on our doorknob the other day: "We Take Care of Your Lawn. Not Your Neighbor!" Huh? The flyer arrived shortly after one of our neighbors sold his lawn care business, but we don't think these expensive-looking glossy door-hangers were printed just for our block.
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