Palm Lifting Sidewalk.

[Paul The Palm Doctor!]

Do you agree that a large Canary Date palm had to be removed out of necessity (without notifying homeowner first) because it lifted sidewalk at one corner 2 1/2 inches, and was considered a needless hazard (probably resulting in numerous legal actions & suits,) by our planned community's homeowners' association board. They also said root trimming would only be temporary and the sidewalk would crack over and over, wasting the community's maintenance funds. The Canary Is. date palm was/is about 17 ft. tall with 10 ft. of clear trunk. The tree has already been removed; sod was placed where the tree stood (and now the sidewalk is "back to the way it SHOULD look!"

Have similar incidents occurred in your subdivision or hometown?

Paul

[fastfeat]

Paul--

As I do municipal tree inventories (including inspecting sidewalks for root damage), a couple of comments, questions:

--How wide is the treelawn/planting strip?

--Are there other issues such as:

--proximity to corner for line-of-sight blockage

--proximity to driveway, signs, water meters, crosswalks, etc

--in a high-traffic area where drooping fronds and their spines require regular removal? (10' of clear trunk isn't much on a tree with 10' fronds)

--if it were homeowner-planted, did the homeowner assist in keeping it out of the way of pedestrians?

--2.5" of lift takes some time to occur, esp. by a palm. But with that much lift, it probably couldn't be ground down.

If the planting strip and sidewalk were wide enough, all other things above being covered, the tree could have been preserved by curving the walk (on a re-pour) away from the trunk quite easily.

That said, most cities are responsible for the maintenance and hazard mitigation of the trees within the street easement. Ultimately, it's their call what gets done. Of course, working with the citizens of the community regarding their trees is the best policy...

[Kostas]

Thats why i have nothing planted on my sidewalk,there are just too many hazards the tree has to survive and even if it does survive them,looking good afterwards is difficult(trunk scars can occur easily during road maintanance work,root system may be severly damaged if underground pipes need fixing,etc). Its just too stressfull for the owner to have a tree on the sidewalk,always on the lookout what might hurt it and then finding it dying/damaged one day from #^@#% workers...

The palm in question could of course be left in place no problem...Here P. canariensis is widely planted in sidewalks...Nobody really cares is the sidewalk is raised and how much I am surprized they measured the raise there We even have some roads here that have bumps and raises from pine roots

[Paul The Palm Doctor!]

I think, Kostas, that South Florida communities have an extraordinarily high level of desire to keep sidewalks flat.

Fast Feat:

--How wide is the treelawn/planting strip? 6 foot width

--Are there other issues such as:

--proximity to corner for line-of-sight blockage not an issue; middle of a straight block

--proximity to driveway, signs, water meters, crosswalks, etc home's driveway is 7 ft. to the palm's right

--in a high-traffic area where drooping fronds and their spines require regular removal? (10' of clear trunk isn't much on a tree with 10' fronds) low traffic neighbourhood; all fronds removed lower than seven feet above the sidewalk

--if it were homeowner-planted, did the homeowner assist in keeping it out of the way of pedestrians? yes

--2.5" of lift takes some time to occur, esp. by a palm. Palm has been there 11 years. But with that much lift, it probably couldn't be ground down.

Note: Homeowners' Assn. prefers Queen palms in this community.

[DoomsDave]

Hmm.

As a legal note, HOAs sometimes get a bit overzealous to keep on top of the authority they have. If they let a "prohibited" condition condition go for too long, they can get sued for having "waived" that condition. A really simplistic view, but it happens.

A lot depends on what the HOA agreement says.

[fastfeat]

Paul--

Sorry I didn't pay closer attention to your post regarding it being an HOA. Since the streets and sidewalk may be privately owned and maintained, often administered by over-zealous wannabe politicians looking for a place to cut their teeth, the questions/comments I posted earlier may not really make difference. Sounds like the tree was well-located and maintained, but fell victim to the lowest common denominator--sod...

[Paul The Palm Doctor!]

Paul--

Sorry I didn't pay closer attention to your post regarding it being an HOA. Since the streets and sidewalk may be privately owned and maintained, often administered by over-zealous wannabe politicians looking for a place to cut their teeth, the questions/comments I posted earlier may not really make difference. Sounds like the tree was well-located and maintained, but fell victim to the lowest common denominator--sod...

You guys are BOTH absolutely right. I'm surprised that the homeowner wasn't also tarred & feathered in Ye Olde Towne Square!

Chalk up one for the "bad guys!"

Paul

[DoomsDave]

Hmm.

Also keep in mind that a CIDP has a few problems of its own, such as spines and spikes that could make a liability-shy HOA uncomfortable.

A solution would be to plant a king, Foxtail, etc. Palms without spikes . . . .

[Kris]

A still of the palm variety in discussion... Without visuals,this interesting thread would be totally incomplete.. And by the way we are concerned about injuries occuring to human beings & damages happening to their belongs & properties ! But have U ever thought about the fate of the above palm which is going to bang its head against that high rise lighting facility which is just few meters away.And its already growing in a cage like atmosphere... Don't we have palm activist to look after their welfare,as we have for pet animals ???

love,

kris