Trees

Trees in the Common Area (Maintained by District)

The District maintains trees in the common areas, including irrigation.
- Tree replacements were put on hold in 2023 due to the new outdoor watering restrictions and drought surcharge imposed by Aurora Water.
  - Dead trees will be removed at some time after the GIS tree mapping project has been completed.
- 76 replacement trees were planted in 2022 in the common areas.
- 238 replacement trees were planted in the common areas in the spring of 2021.
There is a framework in place to determine replacement tree planting locations according to priority.
There is not a request process for placing or replacing a tree in a specific location in the common area. Any assurance about a specific tree replacement that may have been made by prior management companies or in prior seasons is not valid, as landscaping decisions are made periodically according to budget and direction from the Board of Directors.
To express your concern about a specific tree location, please email us or join the next Common Area Committee meeting.
The District has an Adopt-a-Tree program to allow homeowners to sponsor the placement of a new common area tree. However, this program is currently paused until further notice.

Tree Lawn (Maintained by Homeowner, City right-of-way)

The “tree lawn” is the strip of landscaping between the sidewalk and the street.
Tree lawn maintenance is the responsibility of the homeowner for the tree lawn area adjacent to their home.
The tree lawn is owned by the City of Aurora as part of the public right-of-way, but the homeowner is responsible for maintenance of vegetation in the tree lawns.
View the Residential Improvement Guidelines for more information on landscaping requirements for the tree lawn area, including the City of Aurora’s requirement for a deciduous tree every 40 linear feet.

Trees in Homeowner Yards (Maintained by Homeowner)

Trees on resident property, including the tree lawn, are not maintained by the District, these are homeowner responsibility.
The builder often plants the initial trees on your lot, these are not planted by, nor replaced by, the District.
If a tree on your property dies, you are responsible to replace it.
Check your builder warranty to see if a tree is still under warranty.

Tree Requirements – Placement and Size

To modify your landscaping, you must receive written approval in advance before work begins. Submit your plans on the Design Review page.

Tree requirements and landscaping rules can be found in the Residential Improvement Guidelines (latest version is posted on the Design Review page).

Front Yard: Two trees – one shade tree and choice of one ornamental tree or one evergreen tree.
External Side Yard (corner lot exposed to public view): 1 tree per 40 linear feet of side yard.
Tree Lawn Area: 1 tree per 40 linear feet of tree lawn.

Trees shall be installed in the following minimum sizes:
• Shade trees – 1-1/2” caliper
• Ornamental trees – 1” caliper
• Evergreen trees – 6’ height minimum

Tree Recommendations

Recommended:

Austrian Pine / Pinus Nigra
Autumn Blaze Maple / Acer Freemanii
Canada Red Chokecherry / Prunus Virginiana
Callery Pear / Pyrus Calleryana
Colorado Spruce /Picea Pungens
Downy Hawthorn / Crataegus Mollis
Ginnala Maple / Acer Ginnala
Hackberry / Celtis Occidentalis
Kentucky Coffeetree / Gymnocladus Dioicus
Limber Pine / Pinus Flexilis
Pinyon Pine / Pinus Edulis
Ponderosa Pine / Pinus Ponderosa
Russian Hawthorn / Crataegus Ambigua
Vanderwolf’s Pyramid Pine / Pinus Flexilis
Western Catalpa / Catalpa Speciosa
Click here to view updates to the Suggested Plant List

Not recommended:

Aspen and Russian Olive Trees are not recommended as both trees are invasive and Aspen are prone to disease.
Honey Locust Trees are not recommended as they fail to thrive in this location.
Linden Trees are not recommended except in very large lots because of their extreme size at maturity.

Tom Kern from Pine Lane Nursery has provided his list of tree and shrub recommendations for small areas, along with helpful information on each variety. See the linked document: Tree Recommendations from Pine Lane Nursery