Common Area - WLHO- Westlake Homeowners Association

Our Common Area is here for your enjoyment and for the beautification of our neighborhood. The Common Area is regulated by state and local governing agencies which work to ensure that these areas remain a sanctuary for wildlife and plant life. NO unauthorized plantings are allowed in our Common Area, please contact the Common Area Director listed on the Board of Directors section of this website with any questions or requests for changes to the Common Area.


Weed and Blackberry Removal
Blackberry Bushes and some other noxious weeds are encouraged to be removed and the board of directors works each year to spray these weeds. However, these weeds keep coming back faster than we can continue spraying them. If Blackberry's or other weeds are becoming a nuisance, homeowners are encouraged to pull them or cut them back behind their property. If you have any question as to whether a plant is a weed or a native plant which must not be disturbed, please contact the Common Area Director.


Note: TREE REMOVAL PERMIT for the Property lot has to be obtained trough the ADRC



Spraying

News alerts will be posted here outlining any current work being undertaken in the open spaces and which tracts are being affected. For a map of the neighborhood showing the different "Tracts" of open space please download below.



The Board of Directors had our tree survey updated in 2015 and removed several trees which were deemed the highest level of hazardous by the arborist conducting the survey.
PLEASE DON'T REMOVE ANY LABELS OR RIBBONS ON TREES IN THE Common Area.




>> Map of Westlake Common Area

>> Woodland Restoration Project

Update on woodland

The HOA has been working to clean up damage from the winter storms and is proactively cutting or pruning trees that are at risk of falling on houses in future storms. The HOA board hired an arboricultural consultant from Teragan Associates to survey potentially hazardous trees on the perimeter of the woodland, which it does periodically and previously did in 2021.

• Two trees that were damaged in the storm presented an imminent danger to a house and so were cut down right away and a number of others will be cut or pruned in June.
  

• The board is in the process of hiring a crew to cut up fallen trees and branches that create a fire hazard in the forest. The woodland is designated as a “sensitive area” by the city of Lake Oswego, and certain rules apply there.
  

• It is not permissible to use chainsaws in the woods during the bird nesting season because it disrupts the nesting cycle, so that work will not occur until July.
  

• Cutting up fallen debris is only permissible for reduction of fire hazard, not to create a park-like appearance, because logs, branches and snags provide habitat for birds and small mammals.
  

• Piles of debris will be cut up but no wood will be removed for firewood or other purposes.
  

• For a number of years, the HOA has been working with the Oswego Lake Watershed Council to remove invasive plants that can weaken trees and to plant native species that improve habitat and provide a visual screen and reduce noise from streets.
  

• The watershed council sponsors a monthly work day in which volunteers do planting and invasive species removal, and the HOA makes an annual contribution to the watershed council for its work monitoring and caring for the woodland.