North Raleigh homeowner distraught after trees chopped down by HOA

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A north Raleigh woman is upset after she came home from work and found beautiful trees outside her home chopped down.

Natalie Williams is mad because they were big, healthy trees that separated her yard from her neighbors. Now they are suddenly gone with just an empty space of stumps.

Williams still can't believe the valley of stumps left behind her house.

"This is the first time I've seen those buildings since I moved here, and this used to be shaded by a wall of trees," said Williams.

When she pulled into her house after work Wednesday, the wall of trees was gone.

"I was awestruck," said Williams. "I said, 'Oh my goodness. They're gone.' My daughter started crying.

Williams said she got a notice in the mail five days ago from her homeowners' association telling her the trees needed to come down, but she thought it was something she could stop.

"The landscaping when I moved in is one of the main reasons I bought the house," she said. "It was beautiful."

Williams said she called the property manager and never heard back.

ABC11 spoke to the property manager, who showed us pictures of the large trees growing into homes. He said mold, mosquitos, and roots growing into sewer pipes were causing problems for numerous homeowners, and that the trees needed to go.

"These trees that were lining my property for all I know were not causing any problems at all," said Williams.

No one on the HOA board would speak on camera to ABC11, but members said they've had numerous meetings discussing the trees, and that Williams never came to one.  They also post community issues on a website.

However, Williams feels they should have talked to her directly if they were going to cut down trees near her house.

"I'm afraid the resell value on my house now is going to be affected because the landscaping," she said.

Williams said this was a hard lesson, and she's going to become more involved in her homeowners association.