Love and Hate in the Urban and Suburban Forest

A reader of my previous blog post Trees, a Growing Concern, is upset. She is a peace-loving person who would like to see people get along. The blog reminded her of an article she came across in the Marin Independent Journal about a bitter and expensive lawsuit between neighbors in Larkspur.

The dispute, now running in excess of 10 years, pits a homeowner who wants her grove of 45 eucalyptus trees to be left alone against several neighbors who are fearful that some of those trees will crash down on them in a storm. The judge in the lawsuit has ruled that 28 of the blue gums must go.

Is it over now? I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure that a lot of money has been and will be spent by the time it is over, and it will probably be difficult for these neighbors to get along in the future.

As we become more affluent and our properties more valuable, disputes over tree placement and size are becoming more prevalent. Avoiding these disputes, or resolving them before they become white hot, is the ongoing objective of this blog series. Some suggestions toward these objectives are:

• When purchasing a home, before you remove the inspection contingencies in your purchase contract, ask the seller in writing if he/she has had any issues with any neighbor regarding the trimming of trees either on the seller’s property or the neighbor’s. Request an answer in writing — email will do. Talk to the relevant neighbors as well to try to establish a rapport before you purchase the home and move in.
• If you are purchasing a home where view is really important, take photos of the views at the time of purchase and date those photos. San Francisco and some towns in Marin have ordinances that protect views and try to balance the right to a view and sunlight against the right to privacy and the environmental importance of trees. These ordinances usually provide a framework to allow neighbors to find this balance without going to court. Tiburon’s ordinance goes further. It allows the town government to enforce a resident’s rights to view and light against trees that fit the description of a “public nuisance.”
• On the other hand, San Francisco and many Marin towns also have laws that prohibit the cutting down and even trimming of certain trees without a permit. And these laws do not necessarily agree. In Larkspur, a “heritage tree” is a tree “of historical significance” or “which has a [trunk] circumference of 50 inches or more.” In Novato, a heritage tree is a tree with a minimum circumference of 75 inches measured 24 inches above the ground. While Mill Valley protects its redwoods almost as assiduously as its residents, Sausalito, with its emphasis on preserving views, classifies the fast growing coast redwoods as “undesirable.”
• As part of your home purchase “due diligence,” you should search the preliminary title report for covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&R’s), sometimes established by the home developer, that may regulate the growing and managing of trees.
• If views are very important to you, you might consider purchasing or trading your neighbor for a view easement with the assistance of an attorney (I touched on this topic in my previous blog). You should weigh the cost of this easement, including attorney fees, against the potential loss in property value if the view is overgrown by vegetation or a human-made obstruction. Your real estate agent can help in this analysis.
• Will these suggestions prevent a conflict like the one described above? Not necessarily. Maybe the best advice is don’t move next to a forest if you don’t like the trees. If the forest grows after you have moved in and you don’t live in a town with a view ordinance, then a tray of homemade cookies and a smile may be your best approach.
  
  When thinking about trees and people, it’s good to remember that one person’s sense of privacy, aesthetics and desire for shade may be another person’s blocked view, diminished sunlight, perceived source of fire or toppling danger. If we’re going to get along with each other, a substantial dose of good will and a sense of fairness are essential ingredients.

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