outrageous ridiculousness Ridges

[west1745]

Okay - we have Miami Management in the Ridges and now there are problems. My neighbor got this letter:

"replace dead trees with oak trees in swale"

The trees are not dead.

Yesterday there was a guy from MM taking pictures - he says there has to be a tree by every mailbox, the letter was not clear. People must have cut trees down because they are missing.

The trees were put in by the builder at random and look lovely. There is not a tree by every mailbox and we should not have to put one in now.

Is there something in the rules that says this? Should we be adding trees?

[bigbill]

I live in the Ridges and do not see a tree right next to every mailbox. You don't (and the letter probably didn't) say how close to the mailbox the tree should be. I would think the mailman would probably be upset if we had planted a tree right next to the mailbox because it would hit his truck in the windshield or roof.

Some of my neighbors who lost swale trees to Wilma and Katrina did not replace them. If you moved in after the hurricanes, your house may have once had a tree that is now missing.

As far as I know the rules are that we are supposed to maintain the swale trees and replace one if it dies. Whether you should replace it with a sapling or a 15 year old sized tree like all the others in the neighborhood is not something I will comment on.

I once got a letter from the HOA to replace dead plants in landscaping. I called them to say that I would be happy to do so if they could tell me where the plants had died as I could not see any dead or missing plants in my yard. They came out to look and said "Sorry, we made a mistake"

[Tantris]

Everyone knows there was a big upheaval on the Board in the Ridges a little while ago, resulting in a recall of the old Board, a brand new Board and a new management company. There's a huge thread here on Notcrap somewhere that details all of this.

Anyway, I would think the new Board is more responsive to concerns than the old one, which was the whole point of the recall. I'm not being snarky or sarcastic here, I don't live in the Ridges, so I'm just assuming this is the case based on that old thread and resulting actions. So if this is in fact the case, I presume you could bring this up at your next Board meeting and get them to straighten out their management company (which is supposed to report the the Board in any case).

[d-o-b]

Some of my neighbors who lost swale trees to Wilma and Katrina did not replace them. If you moved in after the hurricanes, your house may have once had a tree that is now missing.

this is exaclty what is going on, I have to finally replace mine...

[Yogamom]

Everyone knows there was a big upheaval on the Board in the Ridges a little while ago, resulting in a recall of the old Board, a brand new Board and a new management company. There's a huge thread here on Notcrap somewhere that details all of this.

Anyway, I would think the new Board is more responsive to concerns than the old one, which was the whole point of the recall. I'm not being snarky or sarcastic here, I don't live in the Ridges, so I'm just assuming this is the case based on that old thread and resulting actions. So if this is in fact the case, I presume you could bring this up at your next Board meeting and get them to straighten out their management company (which is supposed to report the the Board in any case).

There should be term limits for all board members.

[FSUmom]

Tantris is right. We did replace the old board with new people a couple of years ago and the new board and committees are MUCH more receptive to residents questions and concerns. I was on the compliance committee for a bit and I can tell you, we were VERY open to residents coming in and working things out. I know the goal of that committee is not to screw with the residents, but the just follow the existing rules. They will definitely even work with you on the fines and such.
I saw the guy taking pictures of the Oaks the other day and stopped to ask what he was doing. Told him ours looked great since we have fertilized it since we first moved in (original owners). But most of the little oaks on the street are so sad looking. :-(

[belle]

I dislike the trees in the swales next to the mailboxes in our neighborhood (not the Ridges). They have have grown too large, are messy, their root systems cannot fit in the spaces between the sidewalks and the street and now the sidewalks are buckling because of the roots. I saw contractor here last week that will be repaving the sidewalks to accomodate the big trees. I'd like to cut the one down in fron of my house. It it an obstruction.

The problem with new neighborhoods (which I consider all of Weston) is the sparse landscaping in the beginning. Understandably, developers overplant to fill in. However, IMO once the larger plants/tress have 15+ years of growth the plans need to be revised and thinned out. Otherwise it looks too crowded.

[Steve]

There should be term limits for all board members.

I agree. But in some communities if that held fast and true, no one would be on the board.

A friend of mine was president of an HOA in Weston. He moved to Weston Hills, but held ownership to his other house as a rental. He wanted off the board, but no one else wanted the position. So he ended up staying on even though he moved.

[Yogamom]

I dislike the trees in the swales next to the mailboxes in our neighborhood (not the Ridges). They have have grown too large, are messy, their root systems cannot fit in the spaces between the sidewalks and the street and now the sidewalks are buckling because of the roots. I saw contractor here last week that will be repaving the sidewalks to accomodate the big trees. I'd like to cut the one down in fron of my house. It it an obstruction.

The problem with new neighborhoods (which I consider all of Weston) is the sparse landscaping in the beginning. Understandably, developers overplant to fill in. However, IMO once the larger plants/tress have 15+ years of growth the plans need to be revised and thinned out. Otherwise it looks too crowded.

I love my live oak. It survives hurricanes, is home to many birds, supports some orchids and other air plants. It serves as a windbreak and protects my home. When it's leaves drop, I use them as mulch to acidify the soil.

[belle]

I love my live oak. It survives hurricanes, is home to many birds, supports some orchids and other air plants. It serves as a windbreak and protects my home. When it's leaves drop, I use them as mulch to acidify the soil.

I'll give you mine.

[Yogamom]

I'll give you mine.

I'll take it!

[Mrs. Hein]

Those oak trees have done so much damage to the sidewalks in The Islands. Uplifting sidewalks so much that I thought some were curbs. We had a special assessment last year to fix them. Some are still not fixed.

[Best Teach]

Those oak trees have done so much damage to the sidewalks in The Islands. Uplifting sidewalks so much that I thought some were curbs.

Here, too!!

[bigbill]

Those oak trees have done so much damage to the sidewalks in The Islands. Uplifting sidewalks so much that I thought some were curbs. We had a special assessment last year to fix them. Some are still not fixed.

When I moved in to the Ridges, the Arvida property manager told me that they had been having problems with the live oak swale trees dieing in other neighborhoods. They called in a consulting arborist who told them they were planting the trees too deep. When she said the they would not plant them so deep in the Ridges, I asked her about the roots lifting the sidewalk. I didn't get much of an answer. I guess we're seeing the results now.

[Tantris]

When I moved in to the Ridges, the Arvida property manager told me that they had been having problems with the live oak swale trees dieing in other neighborhoods. They called in a consulting arborist who told them they were planting the trees too deep. When she said the they would not plant them so deep in the Ridges, I asked her about the roots lifting the sidewalk. I didn't get much of an answer. I guess we're seeing the results now.

I think I've asked this before, but wasn't/isn't there a lawsuit underway between the Ridges and whatever company owns what used to be Arvida regarding this exact issue? Specifically, that both the type of landscaping and the way they planted it in the common areas have caused all sort of damage issues since their departure, and the HOA wants to be reimbursed for the cost of repairs and/or replacement with something more appropriate?

That was apparently Arvida's modus operandi when they were building Weston as far as landscaping was concerned. Incredibly lush, impressive looking landscaping, regardless of the appropriateness for South Florida or its long term practicality.

I remember the canopied stretch of Three Village Road between Bonaventure and Indian Trace (one the oldest sections of Weston) used to be one of the most breathtakingly beautiful stretches of road you'd see in America. It was a major selling point for Arvida, that's what their lush "brand" looked like. Whenever we'd have out of town guests, we'd always make sure that we'd somehow find some excuse to nonchalantly drive them down that stretch of road going from someplace to somewhere else, just to hear them gasp about how gorgeous Weston was.

Of course, beautiful as it was, what Arvida planted there was completely inappropriate for South Florida weather, and Wilma made short work of that road. Afterwards it looked like a barren war zone. After building it back up again, it now just looks like a "nice" street, not an "oh my God!" street like it was, and it will probably never look like it once did. But at least after the next hurricane, most of the vegetation will probably still remain!