Trouble brewing at the border

June 18th, 2013

   Trees are generally a good thing.

Nice weeping willow… in a good spot.

   A weeping willow 2 feet off the property line is not.

   I mention this because of the email I got from a dispirited local woman who sees trouble heading for her back yard, yet she’s helpless to do much about it.

   It seems her neighbor likes weeping willows and decided to plant one, even though they live in a small residential neighborhood.

   Worse yet, he planted the tree 2 feet inside his property line.

   The woman who emailed says she’s not only concerned about potential damage to water and sewer lines that run back there, but also with the effect this tree is going to have on her line of evergreens that already are planted 2 feet inside her line.

   She says the owner is aware of how big the tree will get and the potential for problems but isn’t concerned – at least not enough to do anything about it.

   “I’ve called the township,” the woman says, “but was told there is no rule preventing this, only that I can trim the branches that grow over the property line.”

   I wish I could say this is a rare problem that surprises me, but it’s unfortunately neither rare nor surprising.

   It seems to me it’s just one of many, many troubles that could be prevented if people would use good common sense and actually care about each others’ concerns.

   It’s also the kind of thing that drives police and the township folks crazy because they often get in the middle of disputes like this and end up passing ordinances that people later criticize for being privacy-invading “big government.”

   I used to cover local government for The Patriot-News, and from what I saw, most of the rules and regulations stemmed from trying to keep one party from stomping on the welfare of another.

   In the case of this tree-trouble waiting to happen, your best bet is to try reasoning with your neighbor.

   If he’s flat-out refusing to do anything, then I’d suggest giving/sending him something in writing that outlines your concerns.

   The reason is that if/when this ever goes to adjudication, you’ve got a record showing that the neighbor was made aware of possible problems.

   That can be a game-changer when it comes to a ruling, according to Carlisle lawyer Karl Rominger, who did an interesting seminar on tree troubles along with Mechanicsburg arborist Bob Carey at this year’s Pa. Garden Expo.

   Tree owners usually get off the hook for damages when they can argue that an act of God caused the problem and that they had no way of knowing that trouble was brewing.

An act of God… unless you had good reason to expect this.

   It’s a different story, said Rominger, when a tree-owner is made aware of a dangerous or likely damaging situation and then doesn’t act.

   In fact, he says it’s an even better idea to hire a lawyer to write your letter of concern, although you can probably kiss any hope of a neighborly relationship goodbye at that point.

   Some municipalities have rules on what trees you can and can’t plant in what situations and also setback rules on tree-plantings.

   Those give some muscle to preventing problems, but they’re not very popular because people generally see rules like that as government going out of its way to interfere in our private lives.

   Besides, most places don’t have the time or motivation to pass detailed tree-planting ordinances unless they’ve been getting worn down by complaints.

   In any event, it sounds like your township can’t solve this one.

   Short of convincing the neighbor to change his mind, that leaves you with waiting for trouble to occur.

   Civil law takes over at that point. You file a complaint in district court (or beyond), make your case and hope the district judge sees it your way.

   It’s anybody’s guess how that’ll turn out, but I suspect that case law is on your side – especially if you’ve put your concerns in writing in advance.

   Another option is cutting off any overhanging branches or severing roots that are creeping onto your property and causing problems.

   That’s getting into risky ground, though.

   For one thing, you can’t trespass on the neighbor’s land to do the work.

   For another, if the cutting kills or harms the tree, YOU actually could be liable for his damages.

   Ditto for any thoughts you’re having about Roundup. In other words, you can’t cross the line from defense into offense.

   It mystifies me why some people aren’t willing to bend when others point out legitimate concerns.

   Granted, I haven’t heard the other side of this one, so maybe there’s something that would at least help explain the reasoning (or apparent lack thereof).

   What’s not in doubt is how big this weeping willow can get.

   This a fast-growing species that can easily zoom up to 30 to 40 feet tall and wide. Its roots are aggressive and, worse yet, the branches tend to get brittle with age from the fast growth, meaning it’s more likely to drop branches than most trees.

   In the right spot, a weeping willow can be beautiful and a good choice.

   This isn’t one of those spots.

   I’m an advocate of planting more trees in neighborhoods, but I’m also an advocate of common sense.