Came Home to find tree gone! Long Post...Venting

[Cat_Driver]

...He went ahead last year and had a tree company trim a few very large branches back to the edge of his driveway and asked me about it ahead of time. The trimming caused sap to drip on his vehicles which is much worse than the occasional needles.

First of all it was YOUR responsibility to trim the trees. It was YOUR trees that was causing problems fof your neighbor. YOU should have paid ti have the trees trimmed, afterall they were YOUR TREES.

Read below, if you were my neighbor..... your tree would have been dead years ago.

...needles would carpet his driveway a couple of times each year after a big wind storm. No needles would ever be on his roof or landscaped area.

OH I SEE, so this makes it OK because after all the needles didn't go in his gutter - what about needles that fall inside the heater vents of automobiles ever try and get those out?

No sir, you are in the wrong here on soo many levels. You won't get any sympathy from me, because you are just the kind of inconsiderate neighbor people don't want to be next to.

Same thing happened to me about 10 years ago. That new tree got a steady diet of salt water. There was no third tree planted.

I did the same thing.

I had a neighbor plant a ficus tree a foot away from my block wall on his side.

If anyone knows about ficus trees they grow 60 plus feet high and about that wide, with a 3-4 ft. trunk, and roots like sewer pipes.

Rather than getting into a spitting contest with the neighbor I fed that tree a midnight dinner of weed killer for a few weeks. That tree never did live while it's sister tree on the opposite side did live and now towers over two neighbors yards by 15 ft ea. and is cracking the block wall on that side.

I felt miserable doing something so destructive to a living tree, and the wife was mad as heck with me, but the consequences would be me suffering with an expensive wall fix, loss of yard space, and perhaps some patio lifting by the roots.

Ya I felt bad, but arguing with the neighbor who was a miserable biker dude that would start up his motorcycles at 6am on a Sat, when I needed sleep, or let his dog bark 24/7 etc. etc.

Now I show my wife the destruction of what the sister tree did and say "SEE" do you get it now?...

I don't regret it and would do it again in a second. People that plant or have trees that encroach on neighbors need to be aware.

 

[ultrarunner]

Maybe I can clear-up a few things... as one Cat Owner to one Cat Driver

All trees in my city, 6" dia or greater require a permit AND a site visit with approval from the city arborist to remove. All tree service companies must be licensed and insured... per the city... period.

I can show you a number of new homes, last 5 years... that had to be built around trees... yes around. The owners were denied removal permits. Eucalyptus is the only exception for viable trees.

My Trees were planted in the early 1960's by my home's original owner with approval from the Homeowners association. Homeowner's association in place since 1945 and area is the only area zoned for horses... so as rural as you can be and still be inside city limits. People live here because of the trees and park like setting.

Neighbor's home was recently built by a spec home builder on a 3.5 acre lot. Builder fought hard for and received a variance to place driveway 10' from property line with the condition "Mature Monterey Pines Remain Undisturbed"... read that to say MY Monterey Pines on my property to remain undisturbed.

Builder subsequently splits off 2.5 acre lot and sells for 600k. (Side note... lot has been for sale for last 18 months and is now offered for $225k)

Builder sells home for 1.3 million (highest price ever for area)... it is quite a home in both design and construction... new owner stores commercial vehicles in driveway... in violation of Home Owners Covenant.

New owner becomes upset with pine needles after the occasional wind storms.

City Code is quite specific... I AM responsible for Hazardous Trees on my property. Only Arborist can classify protected tree as hazardous... I have no hazardous trees.

No one would have touched my trees years ago or even 5 years ago because the new house hadn't even been built... there were no neighbors... only encroaching Poison Oak and Brush.

Not looking for Sympathy... just venting on my part. I needed to take a moment to step back from the situation because what had happened to my Oaks... remember, I came home to find two of my Oak trees removed to the stump... Oak trees wholly on my property and causing no problem to anyone. Oak Trees I have been nurturing and provided great benefit to me. Oak Trees I specifically told neighbor of their importance to me. Oak Trees protected by law.

I can't believe you would advocate or admit to illegal activity, on a public forum no less by saying, "No sir, you are in the wrong here on soo many levels. You won't get any sympathy from me, because you are just the kind of inconsiderate neighbor people don't want to be next to.... if you were my neighbor..... your tree would have been dead years ago... Rather than getting into a spitting contest with the neighbor I fed that tree a midnight dinner of weed killer for a few weeks."