LANDSCAPING
Hello Fellow Homeowners,
Welcome back from our Summer Break!
I would like to start the season with some clarification regarding Plat 1's landscaping responsibilities and the homeowners' responsibilities.
Plat 1 was created approximately 40 years ago, and since our community's inception, the rule is that the HOA contracts the landscaper to "only trim the developer’s original trees and bushes." Original bushes are those in front of the units and those surrounding the air conditioners. All other landscaping is the homeowner’s responsibility.
Our Plat 1 documents prohibit using HOA community funds to pay for individual homeowners' plants and trees. As board members travel throughout our community, we have noticed that many homeowners have and continue to plant trees and bushes in easement areas, **against HOA regulations**. If you or a previous homeowner planted bushes or trees, the current homeowner is financially responsible for trimming and maintaining them.
Our landscaper is only responsible for trimming the bushes around the air conditioners, the shrubs in front of patios and windows, and the grass and bushes between driveways. Nothing more! The community's budget only includes maintaining landscaping planted by the developer in common areas and around the units themselves. Everything else is the individual homeowner's responsibility. Some homeowners have replaced their front bushes with other types, and the landscaper will trim these bushes as long as they are directly in front of the unit within 3 feet.
Plat 1 pays the landscaper for general maintenance. General maintenance does not include moving your possessions around to cut the grass and then putting them back. If you have any furniture, fences, statues, fixtures, or anything else on your landscaping areas, the landscaper will not touch or move your belongings to perform landscaping duties. To avoid any future problems and financial responsibility to the HOA or the Landscaper if your items break, the landscaper has been advised to avoid contact with your personal possessions. This means they will NOT mow or weed whack the area near those items until they are removed. Since the possessions are yours, you must ensure they are safe and that mowing areas are clear of your belongings.
Homeowners are **not permitted** to plant anything in areas where the landscaper mows. The only place you can plant is next to your unit, close to the front patio, windows, and air conditioner. Do not plant anything with thorns, and do not plant trees, as roots can break sprinkler lines, lift walkways, and damage foundations. The incurred costs and associated liability will be the responsibility of the homeowner, not the HOA.
You must obtain HOA approval in writing before planting, send all requests to the Landscape Committee at dvp1landscaping@gmail.com . HOA community funds will not be used to pay for your plants.
For items not included in our HOA landscaping contract, you may request that our landscaper independently perform work on your property (for a reasonable fee), email the Landscape Committee at dvp1landscaping@gmail.com and we will forward your contact information to the landscaper.
Please do not interrupt the landscapers and ask them to do your side work while they are completing Plat 1 service. Doing so only delays the completion of work on Plat 1 property, I have advised them to return at a later time to fulfill your request.
Please do not plant trees or any landscaping without first submitting a request to the Landscaping Committee. If you want to plant anything, you must contact the committee, so we can send the landscaper to your property to confirm your plants do not interfere with our community’s sprinkler lines. If you plant any bushes or trees, you become responsible for trimming and maintaining them; if they break the sprinkler lines, you will be responsible for the costs associated with repairing those lines.
Under no circumstances are homeowners to plant any Bougainvillea plants because they are a hazard. While Bougainvillea, with its beautiful flowers, looks attractive, the dangerous thorns grow approximately one inch long. These plants grow especially fast in summer and require monthly maintenance to avoid becoming too large and unmanageable. The current homeowner is financially responsible for all maintenance costs and any legal liability costs associated with physical injury and property damage to others (e.g., flat tires). The plants are beautiful but dangerous in our close-knit community. Please also note that for safety reasons the landscaper has been advised to avoid contact with your Bougainvillea. This means they will NOT mow or weed whack the area near those items until they are removed or heavily trimmed. The landscaper can remove a homeowner's existing Bougainvillea for a reasonable fee.
Additionally, if you have coconut or fruit-bearing trees, you are responsible for trimming them and for any damage caused by fallen debris, including damage to people's property and vehicles.
If you have any questions, or need assistance with any Plat 1 landscaping needs, please reach to me via e-mail at dvp1landscaping@gmail.com and I will respond as soon as possible.
Best Regards,
Robert Ben-Eliyahu
Committee Chair – Lakes & Landscaping
Norgen is our Landscaping vendor. Danny Negron is the owner. He is a most valuable asset to our community. He is knowledgeable, respectful, efficient, and always ready to offer a solution to the issues that arise in a 40+ year old community such as Delray Villas Plat 1. In addition to landscaping Norgen is also responsible for our Irrigation system. Danny and his dedicated team of experts keep our community well-tended. To further promote an atmosphere of inclusion and keeping the neighborhood informed, this page was created to provide the homeowners landscaping schedules and information on any issues that arise around the community.
If you have a landscaping or irrigation concern you can now send a request via this page or the Homeowner Service Request page.
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Thank you DV-P1
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LANDSCAPING
This article was published previously in the Voice by Vivian Rona. We now have more modern ways to effectively communicate with our homeowners. We’re publishing this on our website, we’ll be sending an email blast to all registered homeowners and it will be on our community access channel. Channel 99 on your Hotwire service. This issue has become a point of contention, unnecessarily so. A lack of viable communication combined with misinformation has led to homeowner dissatisfaction. The Special Advisors to the President has taken on the task of physically inspecting our plat, noting the deficiencies and working with our vendor to implement a proper, more concise system of landscaping within our current contract. This is done in an effort to gain homeowner satisfaction while educating the community on what is to be expected of our landscaping vendor.
LANDSCAPING RESPONSIBILITIES This article was written to plainly state the HOA’s responsibility; and also, the homeowners’ responsibility. Plat 1 was created 40 years ago, and since our community’s inception the basic rule is - the HOA contracts the landscaper to only trim the developer’s original trees and bushes. Original bushes are in front of the units; and also surround the air-conditioners. All other landscaping is the homeowner’s responsibility. According to the existing contract Plat 1 has with the landscaper, tree trimming is performed on the outer perimeters of Plat 1 every 4 months. Trimming around houses is performed every other month (every 2 months). Our landscaper is only responsible for trimming the shrubs around the air conditioners, the shrubs in front of front patios and windows, and the grass and shrubs between driveways. Nothing more! The community’s budget only includes maintaining landscaping planted by the developer in common areas and around the units themselves. Everything else is the individual homeowner’s responsibility to maintain. Some homeowners replaced their front bushes with other bushes and the landscaper will trim your bushes directly in front within 3 feet of the unit and around the air conditioner. Our Docs prohibit our HOA community funds to be used to pay for individual’s plants and trees. As Board members travel through our community, we notice that many homeowners continue to plant trees and bushes in easement areas - - against HOA regulations. If you or the previous homeowner planted bushes or trees, the current homeowner is financially responsible to trim and maintain them. 1. Homeowners are NOT permitted to plant anything in areas where the landscaper mows. The only place you can plant is next to your unit close to the front patio, windows, and air conditioner. Do not plant anything with thorns. Do not plant trees since roots can break sprinkler lines, lift walkways and foundations, etc. The incurred costs and associated liability will be the responsibility of the current homeowner; and not the HOA’s. 2. The landscaper is only responsible for trimming foliage around air conditioners, front patios, and windows, every other month (2 months). Everything else is the individual homeowner’s responsibility to maintain. Grass will be mowed and shrubs will be trimmed between driveways, therefore do not plant anything between driveways. If you plant any vegetation, you are responsible for maintenance; and for removal if it becomes an issue. Obtain HOA approval in writing before planting. 3. The community pays the landscaper for general maintenance. General maintenance does not include individual attention to move your possessions around so they can cut the grass, then put your belongings back. If you have any furniture, fences, lights (including solar), statues, fixtures, etc., anything at all on your landscaping areas, the landscaper will not touch or move your belongings in order to landscape. To circumvent problems and financial responsible if your items break, they will avoid contact with your personal possessions. Since the possessions are yours, you must make sure they’re safe; and that those mowing areas are clear of your belongings. Make sure you pick up your dog’s excrement so landscapers don’t get it on the shoes or their equipment. For a reasonable fee, each homeowner can contract the landscaper independently for perform work that is not included in our HOA landscaping contract. 4. Homeowners are not to plant any Bougainvillea plants. The reason - because they are a hazard. While a bougainvillea with its beautiful flowers looks attractive, the dangerous thorns grow approximately 1 inch long. These plants grow especially fast in summer, therefore require monthly maintenance to avoid growing too large and unmanageable. The homeowner who planted the bougainvillea is financially responsible for all maintenance costs; and for any legal liability costs associated with physical injury and property damage to others (ex: flat tires). The plants are beautiful but dangerous in our close-knit community. The landscaper can remove a homeowner’s existing bougainvillea for a reasonable fee. 5. Any homeowner who wants to install a structure, or if they want to do work outside on their property including planting trees must call Palm Beach County Utilities at 811 to make sure that the objects do not interfere with any utilities. A PBC permit is required to remove any trees. If PBC Utilities give approval, then submit a written request to the Board. Every approval must be in writing to be valid. A verbal request and/or approval is not legally valid. It is the homeowner’s financial responsibility if the HOA requires legal recourse to enforce compliance. In general, please make sure your property’s trees are trimmed so the wind can go through the branches. Coconuts must be removed from coconut trees because they can become projectiles during a storm. Each homeowner is financially responsible if the coconuts on their trees damages anyone else’s property. If trimming is needed, the landscaper can trim your trees for a nominal charge.
