How to Build a Tree Management Plan for an HOA or Commercial Site

Why do managed properties need a plan and not just a phone number?

Because the people responsible change and the trees do not. Board members rotate, property managers move on, and the knowledge of which cottonwood dropped a limb three winters ago leaves with them. A written plan keeps that memory. It also turns tree work from an emergency expense into a scheduled one, which is the difference between a special assessment and a budget line.

Public agencies already work this way. The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) says its Urban and Community Forestry staff assist more than half of Montana's communities with tree inventories, tree care and maintenance, and community forest management plans. DNRC's report on community trees explains what an inventory is for: helping managers make informed decisions, showing which places would be hit hardest by a species specific pest, and setting goals such as writing maintenance and management plans. A private property benefits from the same logic at a smaller scale.

What goes into a tree inventory?

One row per tree, or per group where trees form a continuous row or stand. Record where it is, what species it is, roughly how big it is, what condition it is in, what it could hit, and what work it needs. Number the trees on a site map so that a board member, a manager and a contractor are all talking about the same tree.

Species is the column people skip and later wish they had. DNRC's statewide report cites a common diversity guideline, that a tree population should include no more than 10 percent of any one species, and notes that in some western Montana communities Norway maple greatly exceeds that. It lists the pest concerns for western Montana by species group, including emerald ash borer for ash and bark beetles for conifers. If your entrance drive is lined with a single species, the inventory is what tells you how exposed you are.

How do you set risk priorities?

By combining the condition of the tree with what is underneath it. The International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) lists the defects worth flagging: large dead branches, hanging branches, cracks or splits, cavities and decay, mushrooms at the base, and recent construction or grade changes around the roots. On a managed site the targets are what set the order of work. A defect over a playground, a mailbox cluster, a building entrance, a parking row or a walking path comes before the same defect at the back of an open field.

A simple three level ranking works: act now, schedule this year, monitor. An ISA Certified Arborist should make those calls, and a tree health and risk assessment of the whole site is the natural first step in building the plan. ISA's storm guidance adds a point managers miss: after a severe storm, large trees near people or property that look undamaged should also be checked for cracks, hanging branches and soil heaving.

What does a multi-year pruning cycle look like?

Divide the property into zones and prune one zone each year, so every tree is seen on a regular rotation and the cost is level from year to year. The length of the rotation depends on the species, the age of the trees and the budget, and it is something to set with your arborist, not copy from another property. Young trees benefit from more frequent attention, because ISA notes that trees pruned properly while young need less corrective pruning as they mature.

The cycle sits on top of the risk list. Anything ranked act now is done regardless of whose zone it is in. Write the standard into the plan as well: pruning to accepted arboricultural practice, with stated objectives, and no topping. ISA's guidance that generally no more than a quarter of a crown should come off at once, and less for mature trees, is a reasonable line to put in the specification so that no contractor is ever asked to do otherwise.

How do you budget without surprises?

Split the tree budget into three parts. The first is the cycle: the zone due this year. The second is the priority list: removals and risk pruning identified in the inventory, spread across years in order of urgency. The third is a contingency for storms, because western Montana delivers heavy wet snow in spring and fall and wind in summer, and some year it will be needed.

Then add what trees cost beyond pruning. Removals leave stumps, and an entrance or a common lawn usually needs them ground and a replacement tree planned. We deliberately give no figures in this guide. A site walk with the inventory in hand is what produces real numbers, and a multi-year proposal lets a board see the whole picture before it votes.

What should be documented, and why does it matter?

ISA states the principle plainly in its guidance for tree owners: it is a tree owner's responsibility to ensure the safety of others around trees on their property. For an association or a business with residents, tenants and the public on site, that is the reason to keep records. Keep the inventory, dated assessment reports, the recommendations made, the decisions taken on them and the invoices showing the work was done. Record complaints and reports from residents and what was done in response.

A file like that shows a board acted reasonably on what it knew. What the law requires of your particular association, and what your insurer expects, are questions for your attorney and your agent. Also keep each contractor's insurance certificates on file and current.

What belongs in a storm plan?

Decide these things before the storm. Who is authorized to call for emergency work, and up to what scope, without a board vote? Which contractor is called, and does that contractor already know the site? Which access routes have to be opened first so that emergency vehicles can get in? Where can debris be staged? Who tells residents to stay away from damaged trees? ISA's storm guidance is direct that damaged trees may be in contact with electrical wires and that people should stay clear and call the utility, emergency services or an arborist.

Our emergency tree and storm response runs around the clock, and a property we already maintain is one we can clear faster. Many of the sites we look after for trees are also on our winter routes for HOA snow removal, which means one crew that knows the gates, the hydrants and the tight corners.

Who is responsible for boulevard trees inside city limits?

Check before anyone touches them. The City of Missoula says trees planted within the public right of way require a signed permit from its Urban Forestry Division, and that a signed permit is required for new commercial and residential construction before the final certificate of occupancy. The City's published urban forestry standards state that a permit from the City is needed to plant, prune, remove or treat any tree in the public right of way, and the City keeps a list of tree services permitted to work on those trees.

For an HOA or commercial site, that means the trees between the sidewalk and the curb may not be yours to manage freely, even though they sit in front of your property. Mark them separately in the inventory and contact Urban Forestry before scheduling work on them. Our guide to Missoula tree permits and the right of way goes through it. Other towns in Missoula and Ravalli counties have their own rules, so ask the town office.

How do you get started?

Start with the walk. One visit with an arborist, a site map and a clipboard produces the inventory, the priority list and the outline of a cycle. From there the plan is a document your board can adopt and your next manager can pick up. Our commercial tree services are set up for that kind of ongoing work, alongside commercial landscaping for the grounds around the trees and the full range of tree services. The Montana Tree Guide has species and pest guides your board can share with residents.

Call HJ Property Care & Tree Service at (406) 215-7319 or request a tree assessment and an ISA Certified Arborist will look at the tree with you.

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