One California homeowner took to Reddit to protest what they called "environmental destruction" by their homeowners association.
Their post, which appeared on an anti-HOA subreddit, had a bleak beginning. "Our HOA cut down 30 trees over 6 business days," the original poster said. "They have plans to cut down 72 trees total."
According to the homeowner, most of the trees were mature, 47-year-old specimens, and the HOA planned to leave the stumps. "They voted on a Thursday night, the tree cutting started the next morning," the mournful homeowner said. "They didn't notify the homeowners that they were planning on cutting the trees. The agenda item said 'tree trimming and maintenance.' … We have also consulted an arborist. He said the trees they cut down did not need to be cut down."
According to the original poster, they pursued every possible option to stop the destruction. "There are laws on the books in California, our County, and City regarding trees," they said, but sadly, that didn't help them.
"Apparently, tree laws only apply to public lands, not private properties. We were unable to stop them even with a cease and desist order. We spoke with our local City Mayor who asked the City Attorney to respond. We also spoke with our Congress woman. They couldn't do anything to stop the cutting of the trees."
The original poster said that the impact of the tree removal was already being felt. "We have lost the owls, red tail hawks and other nesting birds in our development," they complained. "The increased freeway noise and heat reflecting off the concrete driveways are already noticable. It's been overcast the last couple of weeks it's going to be unbearably hot this summer."
HOAs often take steps to keep their neighborhoods looking tidy, but when it's as dramatic as tree removal, it can have a terrible impact on residents. Preventing tree removal can sometimes mean working to change the HOA's rules from within, or sometimes means a lawsuit.
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In this case, the original poster's lawyer recommended a lawsuit, and homeowners were also trying to remove the board members responsible for cutting down the trees. "We have started a recall of the three HOA board members who spearheaded this action. The other two board members voted 'no,'" they said. "Even with a recall petition, it seems we are stuck with these Board members until replacement Board members are elected."
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