Thirteen of the big old trees in our neighborhood were cut down this week. To me, it was a sad day. But, our homeowner’s association recently hired an arborist who identified the victims. Thirteen big trees. In a neighborhood of eighty-eight homes. That’s a big percentage.
So much water needed
I doubt if anyone hasn’t heard about California’s water issues. They’re big. We’d need record amounts of rainfall for multiple years in a row to make it past the drought. So let’s be honest. It won’t happen.
There are still those who deny the issue of climate change. Seriously folks? It hardly seems possible, but I know you’re out there. By now, you may have figured out I’ve been a believer for a very long time.
A small neighborhood for big trees
Ours is a small neighborhood. There’s not a lot of space for big green things. But, they were here. In some cases, they had been planted within a few feet of sidewalks. It was a bad decision made almost thirty years ago. And though the trees had caused few problems so far, the arborist felt they might cause some future sidewalk up-lifting. With no water below, I suppose he could be right.
What surprised me most, though, was the lack of a replacement plan. The announcement telling us of the impending removals had two very big caveats. First, the board had to wait until there was money. There had been no long-term plan to pull the trees, it just sort of happened over the past year or so.
The second issue was the board needed to figure out what to replace the trees with. To me, it makes sense to know what you want to put in when you pull something out. I wonder if anyone thought to ask the arborist.
A sea change coming
This isn’t a huge social cause, but it is indicative of a sea-change coming to Southern California. We’ve had drought restrictions for years and will likely see them again after this winter. So, bear with me and lament the loss of our big trees. This is probably just the beginning of a change in California’s urban landscaping, but it’s sad when a thing of beauty falls.
You lose your lovely trees, you lose your lovely shade, and your air conditioning and heating bills jump exponentially. Somebody, somewhere really didn’t think this through very well. Mature trees like those cut down need a lot less water than people give them credit for. In the case of being too close to the sidewalks with possible sidewalk upheavals in the future, to me, the solution is simple: move the sidewalk to accommodate the trees, especially since it looks like they were there long before the sidewalks went in! You have my sympathy.
Poor trees! That’s why we would never purchase a home where there is an HOA. I know they may have some good points, but all I hear are the restrictions, rules, etc. No common sense, just the power of the HOA board. My son had his trash barrel in his driveway as he was trimming his front shrubs. Someone from the HOA stopped to talk to him about a neighborhood matter and saw that my son was working on his yard. When done with the trimming he returned the barrel to the approved area behind the block wall. The next day he got a warning from the HOA for having his barrel in the driveway. If there is a true concern or safety issue in our neighborhood, we can contact the city and they will contact the homeowner.