Some people in a west valley neighborhood are locked in a heated battle with their HOA over some trees. They want their 26-year-old pine trees saved. But the association says they cause too many problems.
The neighborhood consists of three streets, 46 homes, and 32 controversial pine trees. One homeowner is so upset that the pine trees are coming down, he has hired an attorney and plans to take legal action. Others we spoke with say, without the trees, their neighborhood will have no shade and no personality.
Barbara Boggs and Barbara Bergman can't help but stare at their 26-year-old pine trees. Both Barbara's are original homeowners and say their trees have been here as long as they have.
"There's really no reason for them to come down because they are beautiful trees, they give shade, they're really nice, they're healthy," said Barbara Bergman.
But Jonathan's Glen Homeowner's Association Secretary and Treasurer Mike Martin disagrees.
"This tree has grown over the house," said Martin.
He says multiple homeowners have come to him saying the trees are lifting their driveways and the sidewalks.
"Irrigation pipes that are breaking, we have leaks in our streets, we're having electrical issues, we're having many many issues and the root of each one of these is the pine trees," said Martin.
Even so, Martin says the decision was not an easy one.
"No one is more a tree lover than myself and the other board members. All three of us love trees, every one of us," said Martin.
But the Barbara's, along with a few other neighbors say they just aren't buying it. They say there must be a better solution than spending $15,000 to chop down their precious pine trees.
"If they come tomorrow and start removing my tree, I'm simply going to tell them that they're trespassing on my property, that they do not have permission. I have not given the board permission, or any contractor permission to remove my tree or I'm calling the police," said Barbara Boggs.
The HOA says the tree chopping service will being Friday at 8 a.m. They say they did the math and it just makes more sense to remove the trees than to keep trimming them every few years. The trees that are chopped down will be replaced.
