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| Four Seasons Hemet Herald | NOVEMBER 2024 | 9 Did Your Trees and Plants Survive Our Summer? One of the most beautiful features of our community are the trees and plants in our common areas and homes. It's been an unusually hot and dry summer. How are your trees and plants doing? Perhaps it's time to take a closer look and consider changes this Fall, the best time for planting. The responsibility AND CREDIT for the beauty of our community lies with us as homeowners and the Landscape Committee of our Board of Directors, which takes care of Association Property. The Architectural Review Committee (ARC) works with homeowners on improvements to their trees and plants. If you recently bought a home in Four Seasons, the appearance and condition of the trees and plants on your property may have been a positive consideration. If not, perhaps you had some ideas about the changes you wanted to make after you moved in. Did someone tell you that you could make any changes you wanted without asking anyone for approval? If so, they misled you. Any removal or replacement of trees and plants requires an application to and approval by the ARC before doing so. Even if you have lived here for some or a long time, perhaps you saw or heard about a neighbor who removed a tree or plant without approval. They may have said it was no big deal, who would ever know? This is not true; approval by the ARC is required. The Architectural Standards and Regulations state on p.15 that "All landscaping, plantings, and installation of permanent irrigation systems by a Homeowner shall remain architecturally consistent with the design and plan of the Community (emphasis added) as determined by the ARC." Sections on p. 15-18 are extremely important in changing your landscaping, Many applications the ARC receives concern the removal or replacement of trees and plants. The Standards state "Any tree proposal may be subject to tree replacement, with a tree from the approved Tree List, as determined by the ARC." The ARC prefers that trees removed are replaced. You should provide pictures and/or drawings of the affected area of your property, noting the specific tree(s) and plant(s) you want to remove, and where and what you want to replace them with. The name and a picture of the new tree(s), the size in gallons or a box of a tree, and plant(s) should be provided. Most members of the ARC have many years of experience with reviewing and approving hundreds of landscaping applications. They ensure that the Standards and Regulations are followed, but they may also provide some very helpful recommendations as well. Talking with your architectural support staff, Maria Donti, can be very helpful. She can provide the Approved Tree and Plant lists; ones that are consistent with the community design and do well in our weather. You may want to work with a landscape professional if major change is desired. Architectural Review

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