The Southwind Board of Directors understands the special importance of the mature trees in our neighborhood. The following words from a Southwind Marketing Brochure in 2006 capture our vision:

 

"Clusters of towering trees shade natural spaces. Peaceful ponds dot the rolling landscape. More than 227 acres speak of frontier history and a commitment to preserving Texas in its natural state. This is Southwind. 

 

Integrated deeply with nature, Southwind offers families a unique opportunity to call a natural Texas landscape home. The entire community was planned around maximizing enjoyment of the natural landscape, while complimenting it with man-made amenities. A trail system connects acres of open spaces with comfortable amenities that encourage residents to stop and enjoy the shade and sparking water.

 

In addition to Southwind’s natural appeal, careful planning of amenities caters to families with today’s entertainment and lifestyle extras.  The 1.7 acre amenity complex offers a sparkling pool, splash area, and changing rooms as well as a playground and picnic area. The entire complex was planned around a grove of magnificent oak trees.”

 

 

The Board has initiated a Common Area Tree Policy to help ensure that the proper decisions are made when it comes to the old growth trees on our common areas.

 

1. When there is a concern as to the condition of any of our “old growth” or mature trees, the board may take the following steps prior to “removing” said trees.

 

   We will obtain a minimum of two opinions from tree experts, including at least one arborist, verifying the tree(s) should be removed.

 

2. When removal of an old growth tree, such as an Oak from common areas is necessary:

 

    We will have the tree removed by a licensed and insured contractor.

 

   We will replace the tree with another like tree. Maturity of the new tree and location may differ from the tree being replaced.

 

   Other landscaping features may be added to ensure the area of the removed tree maintains its appeal and beauty.

 

   We will give advance notice of this event on the Southwind website.

 

3. The board will ensure that funds are allocated in the budget to examine existing old growth trees and treat them on a regular basis to help maintain their health and vitality.

Previously, an arborist from the City of Arlington as well as two tree service companies had examined a large oak and elm tree next to each other located in front of the pool entrance. These large trees are easily identified by the amount of dead branches they have. Their opinions were that these trees could not be saved and for safety purposes needed to be cut down. As a further precaution, we asked for another certified tree arborist to walk the community with Board members to get a detailed analysis not only of these two trees, but also many of the other mature trees in our neighborhood. His opinion was also to cut down these two trees. Inspection of other mature trees showed most were not in great shape and needed immediate assistance in the form of pruning, removing dead branches and mistletoe, and removing excess weight from the trees. These activities will commence in the next week or so.

 

We also asked the arborist for recommendations on trees to replace the trees to be cut down, and Shumard Red Oaks were recommended as being suitable for our environment. We are looking at using 30 to 45 gallon trees  ranging from 10 to 15 feet tall to be planted in the same vicinity as the trees to be removed. We will also purchase 2 red oaks to be placed to the left of the Southwind sign at Southwind Dr. and Marble Falls Dr. to replace the two trees that had been removed from there last year. Additional tree maintenance activities will be initiated next year with the 2014 budget.