SUWANEE, Ga. — It's a battle between homeowners and an HOA in Gwinnett County over almost two dozen trees that were removed. 11Alive's Dawn White went to the Suwanee neighborhood to dig up exactly what happened.
A stump is all that remains of a tree that homeowners said the HOA forced them to cut down because it was "too big." 11Alive cameras were rolling as crews took down a tree from the Shakerag Farms neighborhood.
“Maybe about 20 plus trees [have been] cut down, and that bothers me," Vivek Maiya said.
Vivek Maiya said neighbors tell him the tree removal is not voluntary.
“Based on my experiences with other homeowners who have been talking to me, they are not given a choice," Maiya said. "There are some small trees cut too, not just big ones.”
The homeowners said they paid anywhere between $1,000 to $4,000 to have a single tree removed at the request of the HOA.
Some homeowners, who didn't want to go on camera, tell 11Alive the reason the homeowner's association gave for asking them to cut down trees ranged from the trees being too big to the trees being not well-maintained.
“They had to pay like $1,000 plus dollars for that. It’s a lot of money in this situation with the economy," Maiya said.
A homeowner provided a letter from the HOA stating they had 14 days to remove the tree, or it would be removed for them.
“Personally, I love trees. It bothers me if the trees are cut. Even my 5-year-old, it bothers him a lot too," Maiya said. "If there are genuine reasons I can understand, but I don’t know if there are any.”
Maiya said the HOA requested he remove his vegetable plants and flowers from his backyard because they were "unsightly."
“It’s not unsightly. They are plants," Maiya said. "Plants and flowers cannot be unsightly. That’s the environment we live in.”
An HOA representative sent 11Alive the following statement:
"As this is an internal matter between the Association and its members, with privacy and confidentiality considerations, the Board of Directors cannot and will not discuss or provide comment on the same. The Board has and will continue to work directly with individual Owners to address any concerns they may have with respect to this and any other issues pertaining to the community."