Lakeside Villas Tree & Landscape Program

What You Need to Know & Feedback Form

Preserving the beauty and value of our property is a top priority for the Board.

📝 Have a Request? If you are visiting this page to submit a landscaping request, report an issue, or suggest tree maintenance, Click Here to submit your request.

Lakeside Villas Landscaping & Trees

Landscaping is one of the most significant investments in our annual budget. Keeping our community beautiful while controlling costs requires a partnership with all unit owners. The information below is how we can work together to keep our neighborhood green and thriving.

Lakeside Villas
Tree & Landscaping Protocols

📋 Annual Spring Walk

Each year, the Board conducts a "Spring Walk" to inspect the property. During this time, we plan and address landscaping needs for common areas as well as individual units (inspecting both front and back).

Submit a Request. Please click here to get to the form below to submit any specific feedback, landscaping requests, or tree pruning/maintenance needs for the Board to review during our planning sessions.

🌻 Special Areas: Gardens & Fenced Yards

To ensure clarity on maintenance boundaries, please note the following policies regarding specific areas of your unit:

Garden Beds: The Board does not maintain personal flower beds or garden areas installed by residents.
Restoring Gardens to Grass: If you wish for the Board to resume maintenance of an area that was previously a garden, the area must first be returned to a grassy, weed-free state.
- Option A: You may restore the area yourself. However, the Board must inspect and accept the area before we resume weekly maintenance.
- Option B: You may request that the Board perform the restoration work to return the area to a weed-free grassy state. The cost of this service will be charged to the unit owner. If the associations vendor performs the work, we will automatically resume weekly maintenance upon completion.
Fenced-In Yards: The Board does not maintain landscaping located inside a unit's fenced-in yard or patio.
- Enforcement: While we do not maintain landscaping inside fences, the Board reserves the right to inspect these areas and order homeowners to address specific issues (such as overgrowth, weeds, or dead plants) to maintain community standards.

🤝 General Responsibilities: Who Does What?

While the Board handles the heavy lifting, homeowners play a critical role in maintaining the work we do.

🌪️ Natural Damage: The Board covers repairs for damage caused by natural events.
💧 Watering (Crucial): If the Board repairs an area on your property, you are required to water it to ensure the new grass or plants take root.
- Please note: Neglecting to water new landscaping is considered property neglect. If a repaired area fails due to lack of watering, the Board will re-repair the area, but the full cost of this secondary repair will be charged back to the unit owner’s account.
🐾 Owner/Pet Damage: The Board does not cover damage caused directly or indirectly by the unit owner, guests, or pets.

💳 Damage & Charge-Back Policy

If your unit has landscaping damage deemed the responsibility of the homeowner (e.g., pet damage, accidental damage, or neglect), the following process applies:

Notification 📩: You will receive a letter from the Board including an estimated cost to repair the specific area.
Timeline ⏳: You have until the date stated on the letter to resolve the issue yourself.
Charge-Back 💲: If the issue is not resolved by the deadline, the association's vendor will perform the repair and charge the cost back to your unit’s account.
Payment 🗓️: All landscaping charge-backs are due within 30 days of the repair completion.

🌳 Tree Maintenance & The Fruit Tree Project

✂️ Routine Pruning Cycle

To ensure the health and safety of our trees, the Board performs professional pruning and trimming on a rotational cycle. We address approximately one-quarter of the community's trees each year. This ensures every tree receives the attention it needs over a four-year period.

🍒 The Fruit Tree Replacement Project

We are currently in the middle of our "Fruit Tree Project," a systematic initiative to improve the cleanliness and pest control of our community.

While Cherry trees are beautiful during the spring bloom, they present significant challenges in the fall:

Interior Damage: The fruit often tracks into homes, causing stains on carpets and flooring.
Pest Control: Rotting fruit on the ground attracts rodents, scavengers, and various insects.

The Solution: The Board has decided to systematically resolve this issue for the community. Several years ago, we began a program to replace about 3 to 4 Cherry trees on common grounds each year. As appropriate, these trees are removed and replaced with non-fruit-bearing species that are cleaner and better suited for our residential areas.

🚜 Common Area Watering & Cart Safety

Our maintenance team utilizes a golf cart to water and maintain the main common grounds. While we handle the larger areas, we ask that residents help by watering common areas adjacent to their units.

⚠️ Safety & Feedback

Please keep an eye out for the watering cart when walking or driving through the community. We expect all equipment to be operated safely and respectfully.

Be Alert: The cart moves frequently throughout the property; please use caution when backing out of driveways or walking pets.
Report Concerns: If you observe the cart being driven in an unsafe manner, or if you have any specific feedback regarding the operator's conduct, please contact the Board immediately.

Directly or indirectly, we all pay for landscaping. Let’s work together to keep our costs low and our community green.

🚨Emergency Situations🚨

For urgent safety hazards only:

Call 847-757-7171 and select "Emergency."
The Property Manager will determine if the situation requires immediate dispatch.

Report Something or Have Feedback

We are here to help! Whether you have a question, noticed something we missed, or just have feedback to share, please let us know using the form below. If you are reporting a specific issue, please upload a photo to help us clearly understand the situation.