From Your Architectural Liaison

By Diane Botica SRCA Architectural Liaison

Trees and a Citrus Alert!

Everyone loves trees. We know they are important to the environment, and we appreciate the beautiful shade they give us which is so very important in this climate. As there are over 60,000 species of trees, there are only 9 native tree species in the Phoenix area. That means all the rest are brought in and introduced to this climate. We make a lot of changes to the environment, the immediate landscape and even allergies are affected when new varieties are brought in. You may think that the local nursery has your best interest at heart when they recommend a specific tree to assist you with your query. Many aspects should be taken into consideration when choosing a tree to plant within an HOA.

One very important factor when living in an HOA and planting a tree is your neighbors. How will this tree effect your neighbor when walking down the street? Will the branches grow large and strong and grow over the sidewalk? Will they grow over your shared wall? Will the tree trunk diameter increase and push on the shared wall? What about the tree’s thicket? Will it push against the shared wall and crack it when one day you stop trying to get on the other side of that monstrous tree to keep it trimmed? What about the leaves that blow into the neighbor’s pool? What if there are so many leaves blowing into their property that they damage their pool filter? What if you have citrus trees and do not glean the fruits and roof rats come into the neighborhood? What if you plant trees and take care of them and then sell your home, the new owner does not take care of them? These are all issues that come into play and have affected neighbors and neighbor relationships. This is why we now have the 15-foot setback rule, requiring all trees that will be planted with a canopy of 15 foot or larger to have a 15-foot setback measurement from the new tree’s planting location to the shared walls/shared property lines/inside edges of the sidewalk.

When you go to the nursery and the salesperson wants to talk you into a tree that will grow 20 feet wide, for the 8-foot area that you have available, please remember that this is one reason that you need to submit for approval first because trees require a 15’ setback from property lines, streets and sidewalks. Many homeowners have had to remove the beautiful line of trees that they planted along their wall without approval. They bought that type of tree because the nursery tells them that they have planted many of those trees in your HOA. What they did not tell you is that many of the homeowners that planted those trees had to remove those trees because they do not meet the 15’ setback requirement. It is not the required position of the nursery to have concern as to your HOA approval status. Their objective is to sell trees. Also, please know that if they say a tree can be kept pruned back to a shrub, that may sound reasonable BUT even though you keep the tree trimmed to a shrub size the roots will still reach that 20’+ canopy size. Roots that can damage sidewalks and walls.

Alert! Citrus Greening The USDA (department of agriculture) is making assessments within the state of Arizona and specifically the Scottsdale area to see if we have any infestations here. The representative I spoke with said thus far, as of right now, Arizona is the only state whose citrus trees are not affected. They are putting up test strips to check back on and make assessments. For more information and to view the original handout, please visit www. SaveOurCitrus.org or www.aphis.usda.gov/citrusgreening.

Join the SRCA Architectural Committee!

Be a part of helping to keep property values up and participate in keeping Scottsdale Ranch looking pristine! We are looking for SR homeowners who are architects, contractors, designers, or anyone with HOA architectural experience to share their knowledge and expertise.

The Architectural Committee’s purpose is to establish and implement controls for the aesthetics of Scottsdale Ranch based on the CC&Rs and Architectural Guidelines. The Committee’s responsibility is to review and take action on architectural applications submitted by Scottsdale Ranch homeowners prior to any modifications to the property are made. The Architectural Committee meets the second and fourth Wednesday of every month, at 3:30 P.M. in the SRCA Administrative office. Currently, we are meeting in person or you have the option to meet via Zoom.

See all the new designs that are being submitted and share your professional knowledge. It is an exciting time for home design growth within Scottsdale Ranch!

If you are interested in joining the Architectural Committee, please submit an application which can be found on the SRCA website at www.scottsdaleranch.org, or call the SRCA office at (480) 860-2022 for more information.