Even if you've already weighed in on this issue, please respond to these four quick questions by July 23, 2021. Your answers matter! Here's why:

We've been advised by Boulder Fire-Rescue that the junipers in our neighborhood, both in our parking islands and on private properties, are easily ignitable and pose significant risk of spreading fire in the event of a local wildfire.

While homeowners are urged to mitigate risk on their own properties, it is the HOA board's job to do so in our common areas. We have done this in our grassy field areas and in one area on our west side, but our parking island junipers remain a significant risk factor to the neighborhood as a whole. The summary of the June 24, 2021, meeting you recently received details this risk.

In addition to fire risk, some of the parking island junipers also pose sight-line hazards. They are overgrown, woody, and often constrict our parking spaces. In most cases, pruning would produce an unsightly result, and in all cases insufficient fire risk mitigation.

The HOA board is obliged by our Bylaws to mitigate known life- and property-safety risks in our common areas. It's also just the right thing to do. But we want to consult with our members on how we go about it.

We have already received input from many of you on this matter, and we will combine that input with the results of this focused neighborhood-wide poll to understand exactly what the majority wishes to do. A high response to this poll will ensure the greatest understanding and make accurate results transparent to all. Please take a moment to complete this poll!

Where residents desire it and we can arrange for water to establish new plantings, we will replace the junipers with firewise species that will provide screening and beauty. We will be consulting with everyone on professional re-landscaping plans immediately following any juniper removal. The plans will be executed as quickly as design is agreed to and installation can be scheduled. We don't intend to leave our parking islands barren or ugly!

Thank you for taking the time to complete this poll. One response per household, please (despite the option you may see), as required by our governing documents. Where there are multiple owners, we've sent to only one, alphabetically by first name. Your email address will be used only to ensure no extra voting and won't be visible to others, but the anonymous results of this poll, compiled by Google, will be visible to all following the July 23 deadline.