Where did our trees go?!?!
Some 150 trees were planted in Cortina that are potentially going to be destructive to community assets. Sissoo, Mesquite, Pine, Elm, and Sweet Acacia trees were planted by the developer in very restricted areas that don’t allow for proper growth. As these trees have matured, and in certain situations have begun to cause damage to the walls.
Rather than wait until the walls are significantly damaged, requiring potential assessment increases and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair, the board voted in August to pro-actively replace the offending trees before it becomes a major expense. The board is considering replacing the damaging trees with less invasive species of trees which will not damage the walls and still provide beauty and some shade. This project started September 27, 2011 and is currently on hold. The replacement of the trees in the boulevards in front of homes will continue for those damaged due to the extreme heat or disease that has killed many Evergreen Elms in the community. However, those will be replaced with Southern Live Oak trees that are more immune to disease.
A map of the trees to be removed can be downloaded by clicking on this link (PDF).
Thank you for your patience through this process.
-Cortina HOA Board of Directors
(updated 18-FEB-2012)