:evil:so its my turn to vent. a guy from the city just came, said that our neighbors complained about a tree on our property that (did) hang over on their side, and it is now "dead" ......... ok its only dead on their side!...... they have done something to kill our tree!! Literally its only dead on the side next to them. ....... I don't know what...... but I'm livid that we have to cut down this tree or we will get fined. they've never asked us to remove the branches that over hang on their side, I don't even know how much it did over hang (but guessing less than a foot) they do have a pool and like leaves do maybe fall in their pool.........
ARGH!!!! So frustrating! Why are they making you cut down the whole tree if it's only a couple branches over their yard? Wouldn't it be satisfactory to cut the few branches and save the shade the tree provides?
I'm with Meg. Couldn't you just cut out the dead part that hangs over their yard? I'd be really upset, too!
Our city code states that neighbors have a right to cut the tree if it is in their yard, but ONLY the part that is in their yard, this includes cutting roots. The only time a tree needs to be completely removed is when the roots are causing damage to structures, underground lines, shifting soil, or breaking septic tanks in somebody elses yard and the owner of the tree is responsible for all costs, including paying to replace anything that was damaged by their tree or roots. Basically, the property owner is responsible for their tree, above ground and in-ground. I had to call the city when the Juniper on the lot over was growing in the fence and pushing it over. We couldn't locate the owner. We kept cutting it back, but the Juniper grew out of control. Since we didn't want to deal with the paperwork to have the city locate the owner of the lot, and the lot is not lived on, the city told us to cut two feet into the Juniper, pushing it away from the fence. We have done it a couple times, but eventually we will have to locate the owner because the Juniper is huge and is starting to reach our private electric and phone line.
They will, as long as we file the paperwork, get a claim number, and wait until they decide to get it done.:roll: It should be easier, but it isn't. It could take many months. Edison, our electric company, goes around cutting back trees that interfere with power and phone lines that are on the street. They claim that they are going to charge the homeowners because they spend millions a year cutting back trees. It hasn't happened yet, but being that people plant so many trees that grow around the lines, I wouldn't be surprised if it happens sooner than later.
We had a company come through a few years ago, cutting trees out of lines. We had this old pine tree they topped off. I went out and talked with them about taking it completely out. The foreman called his boss and told them it would just grow back.... and they approved it coming down! Plus, the crew was super nice. My kids stood on the back porch and watched. They were able to ask questions, and the foreman took the time to answer them. He even called the one guy over after he got down to show my kids the spikes on the side of their boots. (I made sure they weren't in the way or causing a nusance!)
the whole HALF of the tree is now dying, (they caused it we think), I asked the guy that came to tell us (from the city) if we could just cut down the dead branches and he said no the whole thing has to go. We have a neighbor that lives in the street behind us that has a tree service business (we can see the cherry picker from our back yard)..... I called him today and told him we are his "back yard" (ish) neighbor and he said "ah yes the dead ash, I've seen it"..... so he's giving us the "neighbor discount"
when I looked up the number for the guys company ..... on "yelp"..... the one person on there gave the guy a 5 star rating and said he was good about clipping the tree around the lines.
Are you able to check your city codes to see if you really do have to cut the tree? Sometimes officials tell people things that aren't true because most people do not know the codes for their city. I am able to find our city codes online. I know every area operates differently, but around here, city codes are available to the public via internet or we can drive directly to city's code enforcement office and they will give us a handbook with the city's codes and zoning laws. It is worth a try.
I wouldn't even know where to look, I found the city pages online, but I don't know what department. any suggestions?
I am not positive, but I believe it would be listed under Code Enforcement. For my city, I go to the city website, click on City Departments, then click on Code Enforcement. Your site might be set up differently. A phone number comes up as well as an email address and office address. Code Enforcement deals with city municiple codes, like weed abatement, trees, illegally parked vehicles, common fencing issues, etc..., or you can call your city department and ask what codes you are violating and ask for the code numbers as well as information so you can verify the information. As a resident of your city, you have a right to all code information.
Amy, also ask them to tell you specifically what codes your tree is violating, and take pictures if you can. Sometimes the city will let up if they know that you are aware of your rights.
I would call the city manager and ask what the codes are. That is what we pay our taxes for. If you can't get through to that person start asking who you need to talk to for information on city ordinances. Our small town has a town attorney and I would call him if I felt like I was being pushed into something that I didn't legally have to do. They never want a lawsuit because some inspector made a statement that was not 100% true. Maybe he was correct but he should be able to back it up with an ordinance number. Stay calm, polite and reasonable and you should be able to work this out.
I just don't understand people! In our old house (we rented) there was a line of HUGE red tips right on the line between us and our neighbor. My husband simply went and knocked on their door and was like "Hey, these red tips are getting out of control and about to get into the power line, but since it's on the property line, I wanted to ask if you mind if I trim some branches on your side and then top them off so we still have some privacy, but get them away from the power lines." And the neighbors were fine with it, so long as he didn't take them completely down so we each had some privacy in our back yards. Things like this are NOT a huge deal, so why can't people just talk to their neighbors and work it out instead of killing the tree and calling the city? Sheesh!
Amy have you talked to your neighbors about the tree? Maybe you can figure out why they want it gone.
When my mother's neighbor built a pool they cut down a tree my mother really did not want cut. The tree was on the line and the lady building the pool was just sure the leaves would blow into her pool so she had it cut down anyway. Mama didn't fuss about it because we all went to church together and she really like the couple. To this day though Mama still mentions how much she liked having the shade from that tree. Oh, and the neighbors split up and both moved away!
