Highlands at Mechums River Highlands Detached Home Owners Association, Inc. PO Box 429 Crozet VA

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1 The Changing Face of Highlands Community Entrance Susan C. Kiley (Highlands 1C Home Owners Association) Edited and revised by Kamaljeet S. Saini (Highlands 1B Home Owners Association) Revision History: A: Original draft, 4/28/2010 B: Revised draft, 4/30/2010, Updated 4/11/2012, Updated 8/7/2012, Updated 8/29/2012 The appearance of our shared entrance has been a source of community pride for many years. Unfortunately, the original trees were planted too close together and/or are coming to the end of their lifespan, necessitating a restoration project that will likely span the next decade. Why will it take so long? The amount of work done annually is determined by our budget and by holding to the same annual budget, this component of your homeowners association (HOA) dues will not increase from one year to the next. Each of the 5 HOAs sharing the common entrance road is represented on the Community Entrance Committee which reviews priorities for entrance landscaping each year. The committee is issuing this note to explain what has already occurred and will occur over the next 5 years of the restoration project and approximately when these changes will occur, along with an explanation of why they need to occur. If you have questions after reading this document, please contact the committee members representing your HOA Restoration behind & in front of entrance sign. Three Leyland Cyprus trees that had been planted too close together behind the entrance sign were additionally crowded by white pines growing behind them. Insufficient light & crowding caused the lower portion of trees to brown-out and die. In 2009, the Leyland Cyprus trees were removed. Also, the scraggly shrub that was always choked with weeds just below remaining small-leaf holly in front of the sign, was removed. Five, deer resistant 4-foot Skip laurels were planted in two staggered rows behind the entrance sign to replace Leyland Cyprus; these shrubs will eventually reach a height of 8-9 feet and will expand to obscure view of home behind sign. We also had to repair (this was done in Fall 2008) our irrigation system immediately behind sign to water the Skip laurels for the first 3 years during periods of insufficient rain (the irrigation system is regulated by a rain sensor) Remove alternate (5) Bradford pear trees & prune remaining trees (east side). Bradford pears are beautiful and fast-growing, but short-lived with an average lifespan of years. Our trees are currently between years old. The weak limb structure of Bradford s causes trees to literally fall apart until there is nothing left but thorned-suckers sprouting from a once healthy tree. Knowing that the trees are dying, it is far more cost-effective to remove alternate pear trees, than to deal with removal one-by-one as storms damage them; i.e. in 2007, one fallen tree cost $1,800 to clean up as opposed to planned take-down of 5 trees in 2010 for $2,080. Thinning Page 1 of 6

2 the trees will also reduce stress on the remaining Bradford s so they may last another 5-6 years. Tree work started on the east side because the trees threaten power lines and homes. No such threat exists on the west side. Other work in 2010: Irrigation system start-up (spring) and winterization (fall) for Skip laurels behind sign Remove alternate (3) Bradford pear trees & prune remaining trees (west side). Two trees were already removed by Hurricane Isabelle, leaving three to be cut-down and removed this task was completed this year. Remaining trees on west side had one third of height & branches pruned, as was done on east side of entrance. Other work in 2011: Irrigation system start-up (spring) and winterization (fall) for Skip laurels behind sign. TENTATIVE SCHEDULE FOR FUTURE WORK (pending changes that could alter priority ranking of work to be done) After the derecho of July 2012, which caused several Bradford pear trees along the entrance to fall, the Highlands subdivision common entrance committee plans to remove the three remaining old pear trees along the sides of Highlands Drive and to plant new trees/foliage along that street and near the subdivision sign. The old tree stumps will need to be ground out prior to commencing any new planting. The irrigation system will also have to be partially restored to enable watering the new plantings. The committee has also determined that the fencing along route 240 is in urgent need of replacement, and the sign at the entrance needs to be repaired. All of the above work entails significant expense and some HOAs are unable to financially support it all at once. While the exact details of the work schedule and costs are still being worked out, in general, the entrance renewal project will most likely be carried out in a staged manner as described below: 1. The remaining three Bradford pear trees will be removed (they are likely to fall in case of another storm), and all of the tree stumps will be ground out. This will prepare the space for reseeding and future plantings. 2. The irrigation system will be restored to make it ready for future plantings. 3. New plantings will be installed, perhaps in phases over three or four years (the "all at once" approach has been discussed, but appears to be not financially viable for some HOAs). A couple of plantation layouts have been proposed (see an example in Appendix-1) and more are expected to be submitted. All of these are being reviewed and discussed by the entrance committee with input from landscaping experts and other interested individuals in order to make a selection that is best suited for the Page 2 of 6

3 locale and is within the financial means of the sub-division. Everyone interested is encouraged to propose a plan, provided they completely research the suitability of the plantings for our location including their disease and drought resistance characteristics. They are also required to provide cost estimates as well as identify a source for the proposed plants. 4. Budgets permitting, the work on removing the old fence and replacing it with a new one will also be undertaken in parallel, again in a phased manner. 5. The old entrance sign, as well as the new fence will require periodic painting/staining (as appropriate) on an ongoing basis going forward, in order to preserve the investment. The newly planted trees will also need to be periodically trimmed to establish and maintain a pleasant looking landscaping at the entrance. Last Updated: 29-August-2012 [This space intentionally left blank] Page 3 of 6

4 The following paragraphs describe the original phased plan that existed prior to July 2012 for the renewal of the entrance landscaping, and which helped to spread out the cost over several years, but it has obviously been overtaken by the turn of events Restore/Replace Fence along Route 240 The Highlands Fence along Route 240 needs to be urgently replaced. Preliminary estimates are that this will cost about thrice the amount that is generally allocated for ongoing annual entrance restoration projects. Following approval from all Highlands home owner associations, which might need to allocate additional funds for this restoration project, this work is planned to be taken up in summer of Grind-out pear tree stumps in preparation for planting new trees Restore irrigation lines parallel to entrance road. No nursery will guarantee their trees if they do not receive adequate water during the first 3 years after planting. The original irrigation lines were placed too close to the Pear trees and have been crushed by tree roots, so we need to repair the lines parallel to the entrance road and operate the irrigation system until the last of the replacement trees have been in the ground for 3 years. Restoring the top soil to these areas will further prepare the area for replanting in Any remaining fence repair/replacement work will continue in Other work for 2013: Irrigation system start-up (spring) and winterization (fall). As budget permits: grass repairs, sign repainting Plant replacement trees in general area once occupied by Pear trees. The trees we ultimately choose must be relatively disease-resistant, long-lived and require minimal pruning to maintain an attractive shape. A subcommittee with landscaping experience is charged with researching candidate trees and making the final selection. Drip loops (5) will be moved from Skip laurels and an additional 5 drip loops will be purchased to water new trees. Other work for 2014: Irrigation system start-up (spring) and winterization (fall) In the fall of 2014, we will have to reassess the condition of remaining pear trees. If consensus opinion indicates the trees will last another year or two, we can turn our attention to repainting the entrance sign and/or other miscellaneous things, before repeating the cycles of tree removal & replacement during Page 4 of 6

5 Appendix-1: A sample plan for the proposed plantings and re-landscaping at Highlands Entrance. Page 5 of 6

6 Information on Proposed Plants: Crepe Myrtle Natchez Highlands at Mechums River Dimensions: feet high with foot spread. Upright growing habit with glossy green leaves bearing sprays of white flowers in late summer (see photo to right). Handsome bark when mature and orange Fall foliage. Tree benefits from regular seasonal (winter) pruning to maintain size and encourage more prolific flowering. Natchez CM is drought tolerant, disease- and deer-resistant, and gets a 5-star rating from area arborists. Crepe Myrtle Delta Jazz Dimensions: 8-10 feet high with 5-6 foot spread. Upright growing habit with burgundyto-purple cupped leaves with sprays of bright pink blossoms during summer months (see photos to right & below). Deep red-burgundy bark provides year-round interest and leaves remain burgundy-purple through the fall season (should be a beautiful contrast to orange Natchez). Like Natchez, this tree benefits from winter pruning and can be pruned to tree form or maintained as a tall dense shrub. It is also drought tolerant, disease- and deer-resistant, and gets a 5-star rating from area arborists. Cherry Laurel Schip Dimensions: 5-6 feet high with 6-8 foot spread. This variety has a spreading habit with lush, glossy, dark green leaves year round. White bottle-brush type flowers appear in April-May and develop into a dark purple berry-like fruit (difficult to see among dark foliage). Like the Crepe Myrtles, cherry laurels like full sun to partial shade, and well-drained acidic soil. Cherry laurel is a favorite among area landscapers as a foundation shrub because of its reliable structure and like the crape myrtles is drought tolerant, disease- and deer-resistant. All Cherry laurels tolerate heavy pruning if we decide we want to maintain a lower, mounded and compact appearance. Page 6 of 6