February 7, 2012 Comments Off
In our on-going efforts to keep our community beautiful and in good maintenance, we are giving the pool a face lift! The pool will be CLOSED from February 9, 2012 to mid March for resurfacing. On February 9th or 10th, the pool will be drained so you may notice a lot of water on the West and South sides of the Pool. This will dissipate within a couple days and if there are any issues with the grass or landscape, it will be taken care of by our the landscape company.
October 10, 2011 Comments Off
We want to thank all of the Cortina residents who have expressed great concern and appreciation for our community. It is an outstanding place to live, raise our families and enjoy the many qualities of life Queen Creek has to offer.
To treat everyone with respect that have voiced concerns in the Cortina tree replacement asset protection program and allow equal voice to all we want to encourage attendance of the monthly Cortina HOA Community November 2 meeting at 7:30 pm at the Cortina Elementary School to come and share in the conversations at that time. To better manage the conversations and show the greatest respect we will hold our comments until all interested homeowners are able to attend and express their individual concerns. Again thank you for your involvement to improve our community both for today and for the many years to come.
In preparation for the November 2 HOA meeting at 7:30 pm at the elementary school the Board wanted to share some further information to serve as background for discussion at the meeting. We look forward to your participation in the meeting and having a respectful discussion about the concerns of the community.
The tree replacement project has been temporarily suspended until after the November 2, 2011 board meeting where more information will be provided to homeowners.
This question above is on the mind of many Cortina Residents seeing that some mature Sissoo trees that were planted right next to community walls have been removed. Some 150 trees were planted in Cortina that are too close to community walls and foundations of homes. As these trees mature, they will reach more than 40 feet with very large strong roots that will destroy anything in its way. Over the last two years, evidence of the destruction has begun to manifest on community walls. We are not yet aware of any home foundations that have been cracked or lifted yet. Left unchecked, these trees would cause significant damage to walls, pools, and homes.
Why is the Association doing this now?
Rather than wait until the walls are significantly damaged, pools cracked, and homes destroyed the board felt the responsible solution is to deal with the problem before it’s too late. Some homeowners have reported there is currently no damage to their walls. This is true. The property damage does not begin to occur until the trees are mature and are reaching further distances for water. Once the board became aware of the impending danger to walls and private property, sound business judgment was used to prevent the damage by replacing the trees now instead of when costly repairs are required. The board has a responsibility to take a long term view of the community and do its best to seek the opinion of experts to help understand current and future issues. In this case, the board met with two Certified Arborists and discussed it at open board meetings for over a year before making this difficult decision.
There are over 4,600 trees in Cortina and 138 of them will be replaced with less invasive trees as part of this project. Please feel free to do any internet search on “Sissoo tree roots” and you will immediately discover why this decision was so important.
Why didn’t the board tell homeowners before the removal started?
Each month the board makes many decisions that affect the community. You may recall the decision to take responsibility for landscaping in the boulevards, granite replacement throughout the entire community, painting the metal rails on the common area walls, converting from keys to “key fobs” for pool access, re‐paint of all the metal roofs in the community, re‐surfacing the pool decking, replacement of thousands of plants and trees and construction of retaining walls and sidewalks, just to mention a few.
The board didn’t feel the tree damage remediation decision was any different than the decisions mentioned in the above paragraph. Once the board discovered that the community wants more
information about this decision, the project was halted to provide an opportunity for homeowners questions to be answered before the project continues.
What will the trees be replaced with?
Many trees will be replaced with 15 gallon Mexican Bird of Paradise trees which will not damage the walls and still provide beauty and some shade. You can see quite a number of them on Longwood Blvd, south of Ryan, on the east side of the street. Where possible, the board is investigating the potential use of other less invasive trees.
This project started September 27, 2011 and will last through the winter as there are close to 150 trees that will be removed, stumps ground and re-planted.
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.
Thank you for your patience through this process.
-Cortina HOA Board of Directors
The Board of Directors has temporarily suspended the tree damage remediation project. At the next board meeting, November 2 at 7:30 pm at the elementary school, the association’s certified arborist will be there to answer questions from homeowners.
All those who are interested are invited to attend this meeting. This project has been discussed at board meetings for 18 months and the board has received multiple presentations from certified arborists before making the decision to proactively prevent private and public property by replacing the trees in question.
Please come and learn how destructive the trees in question are and why this is an important decision to protect the long term stability of walls and home foundations.
Some 150 trees were planted in Cortina that are destroying the walls. 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, they have begun to cause damage to the walls and will ultimately damage private property.
Broken wall due to tree growth
Rather than wait until the walls are significantly damaged, requiring assessment increases and 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. Trees will be replaced with 15 gallon Mexican Bird of Paradise trees which will not damage the walls and still provide beauty and some shade. You can see quite a number of them on Longwood Blvd, south of Ryan, on the east side of the street. This project started September 27, 2011 and will last through the winter as there are close to 150 trees that will be removed, stumps ground and re-planted. 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
January 31, 2011 Comments Off
Our landscapers, Clean Cut Lawns, have provided a worksheet on some seasonal landscaping guidelines. This helps homeowners understand:
- Pruning shrubs
- How to avoid problems when planing new trees
- Watering tips for turf
- The blooming season for common shrubs
It is a helpful guide if you aren’t sure of best practices. The guide can be downloaded by clicking here (PDF reader required): Seasonal Sugguestions for Landscape Maintenance.
November 21, 2010 Comments Off
October 2010 the Board of Directors approved the use of artificial turf in the community with limitations and with approval from the Architectural Committee. Requests that that meet the constraints will likely be approved. Here are the guidelines:
Artificial Turf: Artificial turf may be used as a turf replacement provided the area to be covered does not exceed 300sf and the following conditions are met:
- Must be approved by the Design Review Committee and installed by
a professional licensed to install artificial turf (contract must be provided with application)
- Must be maintained to be free from weathering, fading, tearing, ripping, buckling, and any other condition that would detract from the appearance of the turf
- Lot owner is responsible to maintain the condition of the turf
- Quality must be the best industry standards. Minimum specs are
- Fiber mass min – 10800 dernier
- Face weight min – 50 oz/sq-yd
- Double layer backing – Primary min – 7 oz/sq-yd, Secondary min 9 oz/sq yd
- Total weight min – 68.7 oz/sq-yd
- Tuft bind min – 6 lbs – f
- Grab tear MD min – 200 lbs
- Grab tear CMD min – 200 lbs
Please see the attached information from our community landscapers, Clean Cut Lawns, about some tips for spring transition of vegatation and turf.
Transition from Rye Grass to Bermuda Grass:
Spring transition begins when evening temperatures rise above 60 degrees for several days and the day time temperatures reach above 75 degrees. This normally occurs here in Arizona between the months of March and the middle of April. Here are a few things you can do to encourage the Rye Grass to die out and help the Bermuda get started.
- Start to cut back on watering: Longer run times and fewer days per week. This will help to kill out the rye grass, and let the Bermuda start to come out of its dormancy.
- Lower Mowing Heights: By gradually lowering mowing heights you will increase sunlight to the recovering Bermuda leaf. You will see the turf brown out a bit, but it will bounce back rapidly and evenly.
Keep in mind if you let it, Rye Grass will stay a lustrous dark green until the middle of May. If you allow this you are shortening the Bermuda grass growing season and it will affect the conditions of the next over-seed season. Bermuda requires 100 days of non competing conditions before it is recommended for over-seeding for the following year.
Trees, Shrubs and Irrigation
- Shrub Renovation: If you like healthier shrubs that produce flowers and don’t have that just sheared look. This is the way to go, our clients love it.
- Tree Trimming: Are your trees ready for the Monsoons? If not, this is the time of year to get those trees trimmed before the spring growth.
- Irrigation: Are your irrigation systems tuned up and ready to go? With such a wet winter a lot of systems have been off for most of the winter. In order to get ready for the summer we do an irrigation audit on all of our systems so they are ready for the “HOT” summer that is coming.
If you have any questions or comments please contact them at: info@cleancutlawns.com or www.cleancutlawns.com or call (480)-813-8964
Download this information flyer: Spring Transition 2010
