2009 April
2009 April Vol. 7, No. 4
Focus on...Landscaping & Lawncare
Keeping Green, Saving Green
These days, nearly everybody is looking for ways to save money. Like many
families, some community associations are now dealing with the consequences of
not having been thrifty in the past, and searching for ways to pare back their
bottom line. Sometimes, the lack of available maintenance funds during tough
economic times can take members of an HOA by surprise. As a result, crucial
expenditures—such as landscape maintenance—are the first to be cut.
Read More
Asian Longhorned Beetles Threaten HOA Trees
It’s like something from a horror movie: a six-legged invader arrives in New York,
stowed away in wooden shipping crates from Mainland China. Once ashore, the
creatures fan out, looking for food. The beast has no natural predators here,
and is immune to all known poisons. It is tough, it is tenacious, it is borderline indestructible…and it’s hungry. The target of its hunger are hardwood trees, and it attacks them
without mercy, killing them from the inside out.
Read More
Functional Landscaping
In the realms of resource management and environmental concerns, coal, oil, and
carbon dioxide get a lot of press—yet water is one of our most precious, most wasted, and least talked about
commodities. One of the biggest culprits when it comes to wasted water is lawn care—grass requires a great deal of moisture to look its best, and irrigation,
sprinkler systems and hose-watering all use a tremendous amount of water.
Read More
Producing an Attractive Landscape for Your HOA
The snow is finally starting to melt after what has seemed like an extra long
winter. Of course, that means the grass is thankfully starting to peek through
and reintroduce itself. And with this reintroduction comes a required spring
cleanup because no element communicates an association’s commitment to good maintenance and upkeep quite like a lush, verdant lawn.
Read More
Unbundled Property Rights
There are only two kinds of unit owners in any given condominium: those who live
there and those who do not. Resident owners often take measures to tax absentee
owners with additional fees, or establish policies to diminish landlord owners’ expectations of use and enjoyment in the property. And each time a conflict escalates, the litigants end up in court, only to hear
the same message: We cannot, in the context of a common interest scheme,
tolerate separate classes of ownership that would benefit the resident owner
off the back of the absentee owner.
Read More
Q&A: ADA-Compliant?
Our co-op building, built in the early 1960’s, has a big open roof, accessible only by staircase. We want to add a removable, elevated deck, plants, and furniture to the roof. We have met with an elevator company to see if a platform or vertical lift could be installed, or if the existing elevator could be extended up to the roof—but none of these options are physically possible with the limited space available. What are our legal obligations to make the roof ADA-compliant? Read More
The Softer Side of Hardscaping
While it’s not a word listed with Merriam-Webster, hardscaping is as critical to outdoor
aesthetics and function as its softer and more oft-mentioned cousin,
landscaping. Whereas the latter deals with appropriate weaving and placement of
grasses, plants, trees and shrubs, hardscaping is the brick-and-mortar approach
to design with pavers, tiles, sitting walls and uniquely designed concrete
walkways, among other common applications.
Read More
Q&A: Alarmed Door Alarms Shareholders
I am a shareholder in a co-op building. The building has a main entrance and a service entrance. Management, without any notice to the tenants, decided to put an alarm on the service entrance door, and they changed the lock so we can no longer use this entrance. The main entrance has approximately five steps to enter, so this creates a problem with wheelchairs, shopping carts, strollers, etc. Is this legal? Read More
