ᐅ Neighbor's Tree – Safety and Debris: Who Is Responsible?

Created on: 5 Apr 2021 18:46
L
lin0r87
Good day, dear community,
now that we have received a refund from Bafa regarding the subsidy, we want to start working on the front yard and the garden.
Everything is going well with the front yard, but we have a small problem with the garden.
Our neighbor across the street has four trees about 15-20m (50-65 feet) tall, and the branches extend about 1.5-2m (5-6.5 feet) onto our property.
The trees create a lot of debris. During strong gusts of wind, even branches and many pine needles fall to the ground.
We have forbidden our daughter from playing underneath them.

Safety is our top priority, and everything else comes after that.

What have we done so far?

Our first official action was to have a personal conversation. Unfortunately, we were turned away. Our neighbor doesn’t seem to care much.
The trees were here first, and then we came (??), was his reply. For him, the privacy screen is what matters, not safety.
The request to possibly reduce the trees by half was strictly refused! Our invitation to look at the trees and then assess the situation was also declined!

After that, we went to the city authorities and reported the issue. There, too, we encountered a dead end. “The city is not responsible for this.” We were advised to involve a mediator. Said and done. But our neighbor is not interested.

So, dear community, what else can I do now? I’ve found many articles on Google, but none really gives me clear advice in this regard.

As long as the situation with the trees is unresolved, working in the garden will be difficult...

I would be grateful for any small help.

Garden with tall, leaning trees by the fence; pallets and clutter in the foreground.


Large tree with green ivy growth, partly brownish branches; garden fence in the foreground.


Garden view with green chain-link fence on the right, dense deciduous tree, blue sky.


Green metal fence with curved bars in the foreground, behind it leaves and bare branches.


Outdoor area with uneven soil, patches of grass, stones, wooden slat, trash bags in front of a gray wall.


Open garden area with bare soil, sparse grass, and construction debris (pipes, bags) at the edge.


Metal fence at the lower left edge, dense greenery climbing on it, bare branches reaching into gray sky.
Musketier6 Apr 2021 13:02
At a height of 2.5 meters (8 feet), hardly.
N
Nice-Nofret
7 Apr 2021 17:53
The trees have been covered with ivy for years, which will soon kill them completely – it won’t take much longer; this also explains the many dry branches.

It may also be necessary for the local authorities to intervene if there is an imminent danger, which is certainly the case with dead or half-dead tall trees. Have you already contacted the municipal regulatory office?
H
hampshire
7 Apr 2021 19:00
Stealing nutrients from the ivy is enough. Simply remove 5cm (2 inches) near the base of the trunk, and that’s all you need to do. By the way, it won’t look appealing over a longer period either.
N
Nice-Nofret
7 Apr 2021 19:02
I wouldn’t do that – if the trees are clearly dead, you have a better chance of having to remove them.
H
hampshire
7 Apr 2021 19:11
If the trees are truly dead, then of course it is too late, you are right about that.
Hangman7 Apr 2021 19:19
Is it just me, or does anyone else see massive double wire mesh fences completely covered with solid opaque plastic panels? Accusatory pictures of pine cones and a thread title with an exclamation mark, "Safety, Dirt, and Responsibility." To me, it doesn’t come across as very neighborly.
I don’t need much imagination to put myself in the position of the neighbor who has had his conifer trees standing there for decades. Maybe I’m just oversensitive.