Assns/Town BS
This sounds like what I went through when I bought this house. Given I got stuck with an ugly spruce at the previous house two blocks away, I asked what kind of tree I was due to get, and got my answer, a pine (no offense to the original drafter of this thread). I hate pine trees except in the wild, they kill your lawn and deposit sap on your windows, cars etc. Well a huge discussion ensued with the builder who told me I had to take a pine because that is what the town had approved in the landscaping plan. I told them that when the town wanted to start paying part or all of my mortgage, I might entertain their request to have a pine on my property. Besides if they planted it, i threatened to hook a chain onto the ???? thing town it with my 4x4 to the nearest vacant lot (which is exactly what we did with my neighbour's pine two weeks after it was planted, and substituted with a sugar maple-they never asked first). So I ended up with a crab apple, after I had a sane conversation with the landscaper.
By all means get a professional opinion and tell your home owners assn to see you in court if the recommendation is to leave it be.