Property line/tree neighbor question

[Forrest]

Check you local ordinances first. Where I live, the ordinances are posted online and there is no charge to view them. For reference, you are not allowed to plant or replant a tree between the curb and sidewalk. If there is no sidewalk, you cannot plant a tree within 10 feet of the curb.

[srf1957]

If you live in someplace weird like Portland Oregon . You have to get permission from city arborist to even trim a tree .

[btfc]

If it is messing or about to mess with power lines the power company will have something to say about it.

Definitely check the deed, sometimes there is a description of the corner markers.

More and more I see GPS coordinates both in deeds and county property records, but not everywhere.

On one of my properties. I was able to locate the other three corner markers by using Google Earth’s indicated position for the known one and accounting for the offset on Google Earth’s shown location for the others.

[Filliam H. Muffman]

https://property.nola.gov/ will have basic outline of the property. You can overlay their aerial image to get a rough idea where they are. The planning department might be able to tell you where the closest survey monument is to use as a reference.

ArcGIS can be more accurate online but it might be off by 3 feet.
https://portal-nolagis.opendata.arcgis.c...a5de028c27

[testcase]

1: You made a reasonable request. You’d like the tree trimmed.

2: Neighbor gave a reasonable answer. After the Spring.

3: Your post sounds like you accepted his answer but now want quicker action.

4: As already mentioned, a proper SURVEY will show exactly where the property lines are.

5: As already mentioned, you need to learn & understand applicable ordinances.

6: Check with the utilities involved; they’re likely to be up on this topic & they want to avoid service interruptions.

7: Did either of you engage the services of a professional arborist? If not, you should.

8: At this stage, ANY way you do this is likely to piss off your neighbor

9: We’re here to help BUT remember; All advice here is worth what you paid for it. Good Luck. I hope you do better with the new neighbors.

[digby]

The utility company WILL trim it if it gets ANYwhere near the power lines (it's 6' in our city, and they're chop-happy here).
You could alert them, which might speed up the process.

Now for the psychology of it: you said you "didn't want to make a stink". I'd hang onto that thought, and stay stinkless.

We have neighbors who planted a tree years ago, and now it's interfering with the view of the lake from our porch. And I retired so that I could spend quality time with my lawn chair on that porch.
It's been tough, but in an effort NOT to become a crotchety old man, I'm accepting the tree, and rarely daydream about sneaking over there with a ski mask and a chainsaw...

So I'm accepting my lack of control over everything that annoys me, and appreciating my neighbors for their good points (so, everything but that damn tree! Uh, oh, where are my blood pressure meds?).

[PeterB]

digby is pretty on the mark here. Generally speaking, I have a very good relationship with these neighbors, and would prefer to keep it so ... for lots of reasons. Both of us have been very good neighbors to each other, generally speaking, so I don't want to ruin that. (The planting of the tree is, I would say, an exception to their being considerate neighbors; and in fairness to them, they might have been misinformed as to what the property line is, though I do still think that they should have consulted with me first, regardless-- since the tree being there will affect my property too.) They are reasonable people, and so am I (at least so far as I'm concerned!).

If the branches eventually get trimmed, I'm fine with that. They've been alerted (by me) to the problems, I'm just not sure how long it'll take them to do it, and/or if they really see why it's a problem. If nothing happens within, say, a month ... then I'll have to pester them a bit more about it, if for no other reason than that the branches hitting the utility wires could be quite dangerous.

If I'd known what type of tree this was, and that it would be getting substantially larger, I would definitely have said something to them about it much earlier... but then, they should probably not have been planting something without speaking with me first. (As a side note: they have another large tree in their backyard which is definitely bordering on a different neighbor's backyard; this tree has some branches that also overhang my yard, and they've gotten someone to tend to that tree and the neighbor even apologized to me that I was having to deal with the leaves... so again, relatively conscientious, good neighbors, other than the current tree situation.)

[Dennis S]

“ I was hoping to figure out the property lines without having to do a survey, but if I must, then I must...”

I saw someone use an app that got close. I don’t know how absolutely accurate it was.

[gadje]

Hi, just curious: what do you plan to di it it turns out the tree is a few inches inside your property?

[RAMd®d]

1: You made a reasonable request. You’d like the tree trimmed.

2: Neighbor gave a reasonable answer . After the Spring.

3: Your post sounds like you accepted his answer but now want quicker action.

4: As already mentioned, a proper SURVEY will show exactly where the property lines are.

5: As already mentioned, you need to learn & understand applicable ordinances.

6: Check with the utilities involved; they’re likely to be up on this topic & they want to avoid service interruptions.

7: Did either of you engage the services of a professional arborist? If not, you should.

8: At this stage, ANY way you do this is likely to piss off your neighbor

9: We’re here to help BUT remember; All advice here is worth what you paid for it. Good Luck. I hope you do better with the new neighbors.


ALL very good points.

Start out easy, because if you go in heavy duty, it's tough to walk that back.

Talking to an arborist or even someone knowledgeable at a nursery might explain why your neighbor wants to wait until spring — probably it's better for the tree to trim then and not sooner.

You could casually, if not done already, mention about having a clear view of your car via camera, and any other concerns, before the trimming starts.

After it's done you can asses whether or not it meets your goals.

But that means your camera view is obscured in the meantime...

The first thing I'd do is #5 — learn and know the applicable law for this.

If the tree is on his side of the fence, it's very likely that it's on his property, not yours.

It could happen, and probably does from time to time, that a fence wasn't erected on a property line but on one side of it.

But a fence and a tree on your property?

You can't know that without a definitive survey done by the city or county, whoever has purview.

Your deed and paperwork may have that info, but you want a clear official document.

An app might give you a ball park idea, but I wouldn't bother.

A legal, definitive document is the best option, and really the only one you can depend on.