The Villa Tree Removal Proposal
Anita, Were the Villa Homeowners Shooting Blanks?
Today we are highlighting two different stories about trees. The tree stories recently surfaced from homeowner concerns were brought to the attention of the Property and Grounds Committee for their action. The first is a homeowner who wishes to protect his (and his neighbor’s) spectacular view overlooking the golf course but must make his case for removal grounds other than the view. That going to be hard sell. The second story, which I describe below, comes from a group of concerned homeowners who would like to eliminate all front yard pine trees from their Villa neighborhoods for reasons which I find somewhat dubious. With one such front yard pine tree per unit, that would amount to uprooting about 160 trees. At $5,000 per unit, perhaps less, that amounts to an $800,000 bill.
While this select group ostensibly represents all Villa unit owners, it’s unclear whether all Villa homeowners would be willing to fork over $5,000 or any amount to cover the cost of removing a tree and re-landscape their front yards. While a number of Villa homeowners are understandably nervous about what underground damage pine tree roots might cause to their sewer line, their concerns are not unique since the developer required all initial homeowners to plant at least one front yard tree of their choosing. Presumably, many opted for a smaller less invasive shallow rooted tree.
So, why are some Villa homeowners so nervous? And, more importantly, is there nervousness over tree roots justified? With some reported sewer line problems occurring between the home and the street, suspicion arose as to the most likely cause—the invasive roots of those lovely fast growing pine trees sitting in the middle of their front yard. When it was discovered that the roots of the pine trees had stopped up the sewer drain pipe, well, there was nothing else to do than to take out those offending pine trees. Those keen Villa owners were acutely aware that those tree roots once removed will likely come back and stop the flow of waste matter from the home. That possibility was plainly unacceptable. There had to be a solution. And something had to be done before everyone had sewage backing up into their home.
At least one homeowner had the sewer line cleared by Roto-Rooter, a company which derives their income from clearing roots in sewer lines. But before one leaps to any conclusions about the nature of the solution, the sewage problem requires a bit more investigation than what has been expended so far. Notwithstanding the attention given by some Villa owners, whether the roots of the pine tree are the actual culprit is in serious doubt, although they clearly play an important role. A more likely culprit is the sewer line itself, as I will explain. If, as I am suggesting, the sewer line itself is at fault for creating the conditions leading to a plugged drain pipe, then there is really no need for homeowners, or anyone else for that matter, to go after the pine trees.
I am aware of two waste matter issues involving the sewer line that presumably also involved tree root issues. These two situations occurred in Tall Mesa and may reflect similar situations occurring in other Neighborhood villages. However, in both situations the tree roots are NOT the culprits that Villa homeowners have alleged to be the problem. While it might seem logical to conclude that if tree roots are clogging up the drain pipe, then the tree is the cause of the problem. That’s simply not the case.
One first has to identify the nature of the problem before leaping to a proposed solution, let along to the wrong conclusion as it would appear was done in this instance. In order to identify the problem, one has to ask how the roots were able to enter the sewer pipe. Roots simply do not enter a sewer pipe without some assistance. Nor are they able to burrow their way into a pipe that has no available opening or crack in which to enter the pipe. The answer to how the roots entered the pipe should tell you the nature of the problem. What is striking in the two Tall Mesa cases is the fact that in both instances, tree roots were encouraged to enter the sewer pipe for the simple reason that necessary pipe sections were literally missing, as incredible as that sounds.
In the first case, there were two problems that required attention. First, there was a "missing" section that connects one pipe to another. What thirsty root looking for water would not find this opportunity? Rather than a "missing" section, it appears that subsequent work on the sewer line had caused the pipe to pull away from the connector or the connector to pull away from the pipe. In either case, a gap was created.
The second problem at the same homeowner was the existence of a stake driven into the ground to support the tree. The stake struck and cracked the sewer pipe, as pictured.
Without these two openings, there would be no sewer line blockage problem.
In the second home on another street, the problem was disclosed to have been a missing 3’ section of pipe. Again, the problem was an unknown opening in what should have been a closed sewer line. In neither case was the presence of the pine tree the actual culprit, although in both cases the tree roots were a contributing factor to the blockage problem.
I would be surprised to learn that the facts are materially different in other sewer blockage instances. Unless one can establish a different scenario from the ones described above, I would assume that there is no reason for the P&G Committee or the nervous Villa homeowners to spend any further time investigating this alleged pine tree issue.
Ron Johnson, 26 January 2011