Long Term Landscape Maintenance
Stan Smith, Stan Smith Associates
Landscape open space, for homeowner associations, over time will need constant additional upkeep and repairs as the project gets older. Landscape plant material can become overgrown, increasing maintenance needs to control the overgrowth. Trees that looked great in their locations when newly planted can grow too close together creating their own maintenance problems. Over the years the “miracle plants,” especially ground covers, can also become problems needing constant maintenance or replacement. These plants, trees and ground cover can end up being overgrown affecting the intended design.
Planting on slopes can be a major concern. Just about 80% of most communities have some slope landscape. These slopes can be rather tall and large in square footage. The bigger the areas with the incorrect plant materials the larger the cost to maintain. Not only is maintenance an issue, but the size of the mature plant material and trees can impact views or privacy resulting in homeowner complaints and potential wildfi re risk reduction.
Take for instance the use of shallow rooted trees for slope landscape closely planted together. Every year after wet periods or windstorms, we see very mature trees like pines toppled over, root systems exposed and fallen over on slopes. This situation can be a liability concern for the HOA. In some cases, the trees
that fall or lean over have been growing incorrectly for years trying to gather more sunlight next to the other trees in close proximity to it. A proactive review of the landscape plant selection and plant spacing will keep these types of problems from occurring in the future.
A long-term game plan for yearly corrections of these types of problems, along with a budget for the renovations, can help keep your HOA ahead of possible major repairs in the future resulting in fewer potential special assessments. This redesign direction can be done in Recommendation Reports so that areas can be done in phases. Phasing is important not just to save money but for erosion control, especially on slope renovation. Once you remove the over-mature landscape on a slope/open space, these areas are exposed to soil movement so phasing works best. Stay ahead of your future landscape renovation and have a long-term planning process!
—Stan Smith is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and a member of CAI. He is the president of Stan Smith Associates, a Licensed Landscape Architect with 40+ years experience in landscape design, renovation, maintenance monitory reports and the HOA landscape review process. Contact Stan Smith Associates at
ssmith@ssa-la.net, 949.855.6413; located at 23011 Moulton Parkway, Ste H2, Laguna Hills, CA 92653.
www.caioc.org
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