New neighbor doesn't like my plants (Phoenix, Goodyear: short sale, lawyer, unemployed)

[LBTRS]

I hate neighbors that allow their plants to grow onto my property. I should not have to spend my time and money to clean up your plants. I ALWAYS trim my trees and plants so they do not overhang onto my neighbors yard and my neighbors appreciate it and we have a good relationship.

[USAGeorge]

Just tell Mr.Neighbor that he can trim the parts that grow into his yard. If he throws the cut branches into your yard,throw them back to his, after all they are his clippings..Frankly it's his problem not yours..He can always build a 6 ft fence. If encountered speak in a normal calm voice,smile and be condescending,,speak as if he were a child..Because he is.....

[kell490]

Originally Posted by chaparrito

actually it is

Lets say I have a motor home parked on my property the wheels are on my side but the motor home hangs over into my neighbors property no different then trees or bushes. The reason the neighbor got mad in the first place is because a whole year went by and nothing was done about it. People are sometimes very selfish and give no consideration for others. If I'm going to do something that I think could possibly bother someone I go over and ask them if they mind like a New Years eve party I had. Ill ask do you mind if cars are parked in front of your home that night. We might have some loud music if it bothers you call my cell. What someone can do legally or not is irreverent it's about keeping the peace with the neighbor.

[Aztech]

To better describe the situation - this is in the front yard, and there is a brick edging between the 2 yards. About 6 years ago, my former neighbor and I decided that looked kind of plain, and we both liked the idea of pretty plants around the border. Since my side is grass and hers was rock, the plants were put in on my side of the brick edging. The plants do not shed, so they didn't make a mess in her rocks, and they also solved the problem of my grass growing into her rock and her rocks ending up in my grass. I did all of the maintenance, and trimmed both sides back about 4 times a year. The reason we chose these plants was they can be trimmed back, then they will fill back out, if you do it correctly. I always trim them back before they sprout the fuzzy flowers, so they will not be a problem for allergies or produce seed pods.

When my new neighbor bought the house, the only comment he made about the trees was asking what they were. When I gave him the information and said how versatile they were, he said maybe he should get one to put in the backyard to shade the garden. Since then, he has completely redone the house and yard. He hauled all of the rock that was in the yard off to the dump and replaced it with new rock that looked pretty much the same. He put in a small patch of fake grass and tore out an orange tree and a huge date palm. He tore down a 10 foot section of block wall between his house and the property line and extended the wall dividing our backyards out about 6 feet into the front yards and installed an RV gate between the wall and his house (so I now also have the lovely view of the top 2 feet of an RV from my pool and patio). I am pretty sure the wall he extended out is actually on my property in the front yard, and there wasn't really enough space there to pull in an RV, since he had to cut off the corner of his roof to do it. When he moved in, he had talked about putting an RV gate in the back of the property, but said he would have to get permission from the owner of the shopping center behind us. He planned on getting permission by telling the owner of the shopping center that the eucalyptus trees in his alley damaged the block wall, so he'd give the option of repairing the wall and removing the eucalyptus trees or letting him put in the gate. I told my neighbor that the damage wasn't caused by the trees, but by an employee of the shopping center accidentally driving into the wall about 12 years earlier. The owner of the shopping center paid for part of the wall repair anyway, but wouldn't agree to the gate because it would have taken away about 4 parking spaces for the store employees. He also didn't remove the trees. So, the RV gate was put out front, and that is apparently where the problem started. The plants hanging over a foot into his airspace make an even tighter fit for the 2 times a year the RV will be moved (out in the spring and returned in the fall).

When my neighbor moved in, I told him about the plants, how I trimmed them and how often. I continued keeping both sides trimmed. Between trimmings, I started noticing that they seemed thinner than usual, so I walked around and looked at them from his side and found the bushes on his side were brown and dead to about 6 inches in and the trees were cut flat, like they were against a wall. About a month later was when he started tearing off branches and throwing them into my yard. I happened to see him out and asked if he was the one who did it. That's when he started ranting about my plants hanging into his yard and how he was spending all his time maintaining 3 yards because his neighbors don't keep up with their yard work. The neighbor on his other side has a tree in the backyard that has stood over the wall for 30 years, not hanging, but towering over the top. The tree is kept neat on both sides by the neighbor who owns it, but the new guy wants none of the tree in his air space. He has intimidated the neighbor enough that they are going to give in and cut the tree down.

This additional description turned out to be a lot longer than I intended.

[wit-nit]

Have you checked with the city inspector to find out if he can put an RV in that slot and if so does it meet all requirements for space and safety factor if it caught on fire close to your house. Some things like an rv or shed in some cases have to be at least 3' from the ppty line. I presume you're not in an HOA to handle this situation.

[Aztech]

I believe the space in his backyard actually meets the requirements for RV storage. The lot is on an angle, so there is more space in the backyard than the front. It is the gate itself and the entry area that there was not enough space for. I kind of tried to suggest that he could keep the trees however he wanted on his side and maybe be a little nicer and not throw the clippings over into my yard in exchange for my new view the top of an RV. His response was "there's nothing you can do about that" in a very cocky tone. I'm sure he will hate it, but I'm thinking of putting a couple of trees over by the wall in my back side yard to cover up the view.

[Roger427]

Originally Posted by kell490

I'm not sure I completely understand the situation does your plants / trees get bushy and hang over into his property? If that is the case you should be responsible to keep them trimmed back away from his property it's no different then him parking a car in your driveway.

Common sense would say the owner is responsible for trimming, but that's not true. Our HOA has rules that say trees are to be planted so that their canopy will not extend over property line. They won't enforce it unless the owner submits design plans. Once it is planted, they fall back on, if it hangs over to your side, you can trim as long as you don't kill it.

[Bondurant]

Color me confused. If I have a tree on my property and it grows over into the neighbors yard, why is their responsibility to maintain my tree? It seems like this logic could be used to say, I just parked my car over the property line so it's now your duty to wash the portion on your property.

If I had such a tree, I would do what it takes to not cross the property line. If I have to remove the tree to do so, that's the route I would go if I didn't want to spend the time maintaining the tree.

[stevek64]

Originally Posted by Aztech

He tore down a 10 foot section of block wall between his house and the property line and extended the wall dividing our backyards out about 6 feet into the front yards and installed an RV gate between the wall and his house (so I now also have the lovely view of the top 2 feet of an RV from my pool and patio). I am pretty sure the wall he extended out is actually on my property in the front yard, and there wasn't really enough space there to pull in an RV, since he had to cut off the corner of his roof to do it.

Given this new information, and that it sounds like you have been willing to live with something that the owner did all on his own that impacts your quality of life without complaining(RV view), my approach would be to try to get this guy to compromise. You might also want to check your property survey map and see if he did indeed come over to your property with the wall he extended. I'd certainly mention this aspect if he did. Perhaps you can also offer to trim those shrubs more often to get him to relax a bit?

You're doing nothing wrong as I understand the law as the property owners are responsible for trimming the trees/shrubs that extend on their property. You're extending the courtesy to trim it yourself which I'm guessing he doesn't understand(or care). But your neighbor indeed might have done something illegal by extending his fence over to your property line. He might shut up if he realizes this if indeed it's the case that its on your property as then I'm sure you have the legal right to get him to move that fence if you desire. That might get him to change his tune/stop complaining about your shrubs if he realizes the ramifications.

I also think taking this approach will also give you an idea if this guy is willing to work with his neighbors or is one of those people who just likes to complain about everything/wants everything his way.

[ByeByeLW]

Ha you don ' t want to hear my neighbor story.

Whatever she does is okay though.

Hope things work out for you.