Council offers HOA limited time to replace trees planted in public right-of-way on Duncan Drive

Borough council members weighed options on a years-old planting along Duncan Drive and agreed to give the homeowners association a short timeline to submit a corrective plan and plant replacements — with borough removal to follow if the HOA does not act.

Members said the row of mature landscape trees and a low stone wall in the public right-of-way near Rochester Road have obscured traffic signage, contributed to sight-line concerns and sit above buried utilities. Council directed staff to send a follow-up letter requiring a written plan by the end of the 60-day notice period and said the borough will remove the right-of-way trees if the HOA does not implement a planting plan within one year.

Why it matters: Council members and staff framed the issue as both a public-safety risk and a code-enforcement matter. Borough rules prohibit private encroachments in the public right-of-way; utilities beneath the route and the obscured signage were cited repeatedly in council discussion as reasons the borough must act. Several speakers emphasized the tension between preserving mature trees and enforcing a code intended to protect infrastructure and motorists.

Background and history: The planting along Duncan Drive dates back roughly a decade in council members' recollection. Participants described earlier trimming and replanting episodes after the original trees were pruned to restore visibility to signs; newer plantings later grew back into the right-of-way. Residents and the homeowners association told staff the plantings were intended as landscaping and privacy screening. Borough staff said records do not show a permit authorizing trees or the low wall in the public easement.

Enforcement path discussed: Borough staff recapped that a notice of violation had been issued and explained enforcement options that include (1) requesting a written remediation plan from the HOA, (2) issuing follow-up enforcement letters and (3) if necessary, seeking magistrate action or performing abatement and placing a lien for costs. Council members discussed alternatives short of immediate removal: transplanting, installing replacement trees on private property behind the right-of-way, and regrading or removing the decorative wall. Staff noted transplanting over buried utility lines would require additional permitting and coordination (811 utility locate) and could raise liability and cost issues.

Compromise the council endorsed: Council members agreed on a compromise that gives the HOA an opportunity to act. Under the timetable discussed during the meeting, staff will (a) send a follow-up letter asking the HOA to submit a written plan by the end of the 60-day notice period (May 15 in the letter discussed), and (b) allow a maximum implementation window of one year for replacement plantings behind the right-of-way. If the HOA does not implement an acceptable plan within that year, borough crews will remove the trees in the right-of-way and the borough may recover costs as allowed by ordinance.

What council members emphasized: Several council members said they prefer protecting mature trees when feasible, but they also said the borough cannot tolerate ongoing encroachments that threaten sight lines, signs, underground utilities or public safety. Staff and the borough solicitor will draft the follow-up letter and describe acceptable replacement options, minimum planting sizes, and a timeline for regrading and stump grinding if removal occurs.

Next steps and open items: Staff will prepare the follow-up letter and offer the HOA the option of planting replacement trees on private property behind the right-of-way; the borough can also offer to remove existing trees and grind stumps if the HOA prefers. The HOA must return a written plan within the letter's timeline. If no acceptable plan or action follows within the one-year implementation period discussed, the borough will remove the right-of-way trees and pursue cost recovery under the borough's enforcement authority.