Skip to main content

HOA's Decision to Remove Pine Trees Makes TV News

Because of severe drought conditions in Nevada, a homeowners association cut down pine trees which, "as they age...demand more and more water," -- 12 times as much per tree "as when they were originally planted," according to the HOA manager in a story broadcast on a Nevada NBC-TV station. The trees "drink tens of thousands of gallons of water every month," said the manager. "In a drought, they are an expensive luxury, and the HOA had a choice to make." The manager also explained that pine trees "are not indigenous to this area." The HOA is planning to "replace the pine trees with drought tolerant trees and flowers."

A resident of the HOA said in the story: "It took my breath away...they're killing the trees. It's terrible...I feel like they're taking away part of my neighborhood."

The HOA manager provided information about the decision to remove the trees while the resident quoted in the story, understandably, expressed concern.

As arid conditions continue in states like Nevada and California, news media will likely run more drought stories.

Anticipating potential issues and having information at hand to explain why changes are necessary is very important.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Homeowner Associations Can Teach Governments About Spending

by Harvey Radin People in government should take field trips to well-run homeowner associations. To experience fiscal responsibility first hand. To see how elected leaders in some homeowner associations -- HOAs -- are actually spending public money prudently and efficiently. Like governments, homeowner associations collect money to fund a host of community needs. Homeowners residing in HOAs pay dues to their association. This is similar in a way to government taxation. So, if there are roads in an HOA property that are not city-maintained streets, a portion of the money homeowners pay in dues may be set aside for the upkeep of these roads. Governments use tax dollars for public parks maintenance. Homeowner associations have what's known as common areas, landscaped parcels of HOA property that are often maintained by the homeowner association. Some HOAs assume responsibility for roof maintenance on homes, and painting maintenance. Some have recreational facilities that are mai...
Post a Comment
Read more

Always the same old HOA news

When there's news about HOAs on TV or in newspapers, it's mostly the same old news over and over again. Someone puts up a flag, changes something on their home, has hens, roosters or pigs on their property, maybe playground equipment. Things like that. If reporters happen to call, what happens? Lots of scrambling around, probably. An OMG! moment.  There's a reporter calling, emailing or knocking on the door! What are we going to do? What comes in handy, sometimes, is having some kind of general response in mind. So, when a reporter asks: What are you planning to do about this? (The THIS being one of those things like flags, roosters, etc.), the response might be: We hope to be able to address this situation through discussions involving the homeowner, our homeowners association and concerned neighbors. Something that says a little something, without saying more than should be said, especially when you're under pressure.
Post a Comment
Read more

Beating big PR in the publicity game

Big corporate PR staffs work like crazy to get even a little publicity about their companies. And that's all they get much of the time, little or nothing for their effort. Unless their company screws up...that's a different story, so to speak. So when you see stories in the media about organizations or businesses that in all likelihood aren't staffed with an army of PR people, how cool is that? Like TV coverage of a school's unique yearbook. Kids on the yearbook staff added pictures of actors and animated characters, mixing them in among class pictures of the students.  There was good news about a homeowners association saving "millions of gallons of water with native plants." A homeowner attending HOA meetings heard "that more than 40 percent of the budget went to water bills," according to an article in an Audubon publication. The homeowner researched native plants and engaged neighbors in a conservation effort. Irrigation systems were upgraded...
Post a Comment
Read more