From

Residents of Laguna Vista Estates

To :

Laguna Vista Board of Directors and Walsh Property Management=

Re:

Landscape Alteration

Date :

02 Sept. 15 Sept. 2015

We prefer dried grass lawns to wood chips in saving water and hereby request you cease
removal of our lawns, hedges, which are ever-greens, trees or other plants. A wet winter is in
the forecast by meteorologists. Droughts are cyclical and not expected to last forever.

We appreciate the Board members volunteer effort and personal time. However, the removal
of plants in the complex, that have taken over forty years to grow, is deemed unwise. We
hereby therefore request replacement of the lawns and plants that have been uprooted on
Segundo Court last week. The vast majority of residents of Segundo Court were request that it
be replaced.

Among the reasons:

Children cannot safely play on wooden chips without getting splinters in their feet and
possibly bleeding. Cases of such injury in the test lawns have been reported.
An arborist among the residents explained that removal of top soil deprives trees of
nutrients. The complex is in part characterized by its mature trees.
Leaves cannot be raked or blown without the wooden chips also being displaced.
The mulch does not offer stability for adults and poses a hazard to walk on, a liability for
the Association. It serves as nests for lizards and mice, attracting snakes.
Residents who already have the wood chips in a small area of their lawn report that
neighborhood cats regard them as fair game to defecate on and frequently do so.
The mulch chips wash off during rain. The chips move beyond their allotted area in the
long term and are not viable.
Curb-appeal, desirability and hence property values are reduced.
Suggestion:

A subject matter expert offers this suggestion, shown by the experience of other healthy
lawns to work despite drought:
Twice a year, aerate, seed and fertilize the soil.

Other Suggestions:

Grass need not be cut every week, but less frequently.

Fix hazardous sidewalks. The sloped sidewalk between the pool and the adjacent unit has
caused serious injury to the resident mother and her child.

While we duly recognize and appreciate your community service, we request that drastic
alterations and unnecessary expenditures be avoided.