How do we plan a tree maintenance program for our HOA's common areas?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 23, 2026

How an HOA board plans common-area tree care: an arborist survey, risk ratings, a pruning rotation, a tree budget, written removal rules and local pest timing.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The program in one paragraph

Most small associations handle trees one crisis at a time. A limb comes down, an owner complains about roots in a driveway, a storm drops an oak across the pool fence, and the board pays whatever the tree service quotes that week. A program replaces that with four pieces. An arborist survey that lists every common-area tree with its condition and risk. A work plan that fixes hazards first and then puts routine pruning on a rotation. A budget line that funds the rotation every year instead of hoping. And written rules for when the association removes a tree, so owner requests get the same answer every time. Set it up once and the board's tree decisions become a short annual agenda item instead of a string of emergency votes.

Hire an arborist to survey, not to sell

Hire an ISA Certified Arborist for the survey. For a risk rating, look for one who also holds the ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification, which ISA describes as training in a standardized, systematic process for assessing tree risk. The Colorado State Forest Service suggests checking certification on the ISA website and confirming the arborist carries liability and workers' compensation insurance. Pay for the survey as its own job, separate from the work. An arborist whose company will also do the removals has a reason to find more of them, so either hire a consulting arborist or tell the survey company up front that the work will go out for bids. Ask for a spreadsheet and a map, not a narrative letter. Each tree gets a tag number, species, trunk diameter, condition, risk rating, what it could hit if it failed (a house, a walk, a parking space), recommended work, priority and a cost range. For a 26 to 150 home community with a few hundred common-area trees, that inventory is the document every later decision comes back to.

Turn the survey into a multi-year work plan

Sort the inventory by priority. Trees rated high risk with a house, walk or parking space underneath go on a hazard list the board acts on within weeks, not at the next budget. Everything else goes into routine care. Split the property into zones and prune one or two zones each year, so every tree gets seen on a regular cycle, often every 3 to 5 years, instead of only the ones owners complain about. Put young trees on their own short list for structural pruning, which costs little now and prevents a big removal later. Schedule a quick walk-through with the arborist after any major wind, ice or snow storm, and repeat the full survey every several years or after heavy storm damage. Record each job against the tree's tag number so the inventory stays current. When an owner asks what the association has done about the maple by lot 14, the board can answer from the record.

Budget for trees as a line, not a surprise

Build the tree budget from the work plan. The rotation cost is the arborist's estimate for that year's zones. Add a hazard allowance for removals the survey flagged, a replacement allowance for new trees, and a storm contingency sized from the last few years of emergency invoices. Keep routine pruning in the operating budget. Some reserve studies include a component for large planned removals or replanting, so ask your reserve specialist whether trees belong there for your property rather than guessing. Put the survey itself on a schedule in the budget so it does not get skipped the year money is tight. A steady line also makes the treasurer's job easier when owners ask why a $6,000 tree bill appeared. It was in the budget they approved.

Written rules for removal decisions

Adopt a short tree policy at a board meeting. List the reasons the association will remove a common-area tree: it is dead or dying, the arborist rates it high risk and pruning cannot bring the risk down, it is damaging a structure or utility and no pruning or root work will fix it, or it is a species the association has decided to phase out. List what does not qualify on its own: leaves, shade, blocked views, bird droppings or a neighbor's dislike of the species. Require replacement where the site allows, with a species chosen from a short approved list. Tell nearby owners in writing a week before a large removal. Check city or county tree ordinances before any removal, because some require a permit. Florida section 163.045 bars local governments from requiring a permit or fee to prune or remove a tree on residential property when an ISA Certified Arborist or Florida licensed landscape architect documents that removal is the only practical way to reduce the risk below moderate. The statute defines residential property as a single-family detached building on a lot, so do not assume it covers common-area trees. Sample motion: 'Move to remove trees 112 and 118 as rated high risk in the arborist survey dated March 10, at a cost not to exceed $4,800, and to replant with two approved species at the same locations.' Our guide on who is responsible when a tree falls in an HOA explains why a documented, acted-on hazard list matters.

Local pests that change the calendar

In Texas, oak wilt sets the schedule. The Texas A&M Forest Service says to avoid pruning or wounding oaks from February through June, when the insects that carry the fungus are most active, and to paint every oak wound immediately at any time of year. It rates red oaks the most susceptible, live oaks intermediate and white oaks the least. Write both rules into the tree service contract and check that the crew follows them. In Colorado, the emerald ash borer is the issue. The Colorado State Forest Service reported it in more than 20 Front Range cities by October 2025, including Denver and Aurora, and says ash make up about 15 percent or more of Colorado's urban trees. Count the ash in your survey. The forest service recommends treatment only where EAB is verified in the community, with a licensed professional applying it every 2 to 4 years, and says never to move ash firewood or untreated ash wood to other locations. Decide tree by tree which ash are worth treating and which get removed and replaced, and budget both. Florida boards should ask the arborist about storm-prone species and trees leaning over roofs before hurricane season. Rules vary by state, by local ordinance and by the community's governing documents. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

A first-year timeline and the mistakes to skip

January: board approves a survey budget and requests proposals from two or three consulting arborists. March: the survey is done and delivered as a spreadsheet and map. April: the board adopts the tree policy and acts on the hazard list. May and June: bid out the first zone of routine pruning, with Texas oak work held until July. Fall: the second zone, then budget next year's rotation from the plan. Common mistakes: letting the tree company that does the work also decide how much work is needed. Removing a healthy tree because one owner lobbied hard, which invites the next ten requests. Pruning oaks in spring in oak wilt country. Paying for a survey and then filing it, so the hazard list sits untouched until a tree fails. And skipping the replanting, which leaves the community thinner every year. The fix for all of them is the same: keep the inventory current, follow the policy, and put trees on the board calendar twice a year.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

More on home & property

Or browse all home projects & property rules guides.