SAN MARCOS -- San Elijo Hills resident Deborah Capellazo said Wednesday that she was recently dropped by her fire insurance carrier because pine trees and other brush near her home pose a fire hazard.

When the wind blows from the west, Capellazo said, dead pine needles cover her back porch, and she is prohibited by the San Elijo Hills Community Association from cutting the trees.

Capellazo is among more than 200 residents in the master-planned community in southwest San Marcos who have signed a petition asking the community association to remove the trees and other brush that they say are planted too close together, too close to homes, and that block their views.

The association, at a Tuesday night meeting, agreed to form a task force to study the issue.

Resident Jeff Tuller, who attended the meeting and has collected the signatures, said that homeowners were told by board members that the association was working with the city fire marshal to understand trimming, skirting, and tree removal requirements.

Jean Salvia with Walters Management, which is contracted by the community association board to manage the 3,400-home development, said the board sees two issues:

- Are we doing everything the city of San Marcos is asking us to with regard to fire suppression?

- Whether the board can remove trees to preserve views.

According to the governing laws of the community association, landscaping cannot be removed to enhance or modify views, according to Salvia.

"It basically means that the association doesn't recognize views, so the board has to decide how to take that into consideration," Salvia said. "If they made a decision to take down the trees for views, it could be in conflict with what the documents say."

When resident Tuller moved into Westcliffe, one of the most elevated areas of the community, the trees on the slopes stood about knee-high, he said.

"The trees on the hillsides were the size of bushes," said Tuller. "No one anticipated they were actually trees, they just looked like bushes."

Tuller said the pines just past his rear fence obstruct about a third of his view below and in another five years, they will grow tall enough to block the view completely.

Another San Elijo resident, Sharon Douglas, said she paid a $100,000 premium for an unobstructed view of the valley that is now blocked by 20-foot-tall Afghan Pines. She said Tuesday that she believes the trees not only violate the agreement under which she bought her home, but also the San Elijo Hills fire plan.

According to Curt Noland, the project manager of the San Elijo Hills Development Co., the community association rules conform with state law.

"Lots aren't sold as being promoted as having views," he said. "All of our home buyers sign a disclosure wherein they acknowledge they are not entitled or promised any view."

The trees were planted according to the specific plan approved by the city, Noland said.

However, a news release on the San Elijo Hills Development Co. Web site promotes panoramic ocean views. "San Elijo Hills has taken full advantage of its hillside location that includes the highest point on coastal North County. Twenty-six of the community's 28 single-family neighborhoods have panoramic ocean views and 18 miles of hiking trails traverse some of the best viewpoints."

The Capellazos, who bought their home in San Elijo a year ago, say they are as much concerned about the fire danger as they are their view.

The couple own a nursery in Twin Oaks Valley that was almost lost to fire in 2003 said Deborah Capellazo.

"This is something that affects me every single day," she said, looking out her back door at the willowy needles and sagging branches of a pine within an arm's length from her fence.

"See how close that tree is. I see it every single day. Just talking about it causes stress," she said. "We're in horticulture. I know what pine trees do in a fire. … You can see here, dead branches, and they've got pine cones on them."

Her insurer's rejection letter was inside on her dining room table.

- Contact staff writer Ned Randolph at (760) 761-4411 or nrandolph@nctimes.com.