Should I get the tree removed or not? WWYD?

[Drewsdad]

Remove the tree

 

[LuvOrlando]

That's expensive, I'd call a local tree organization for input if you have one, maybe try a few local colleges to ask and even try the county. Sometimes there are people and free organizations that will donate expensive effort to try and save a tree, I got a lot of free help from Penn State's Extension office when trying to save a tree from boring beetles years ago, I thought I was doing something wrong but it was diagnosed and I super fertilized it to try and make it stronger. In the end, I got one more year out of one and three years out of the other so it was worth it, I couldn't save them but felt better trying.

 

[barkley]

I always get a tree company in to assess the situation, we have to pay for a permit to remove healthy trees on our property.

in one city we lived in certain species of trees were illegal to remove from your private property-massive fine. a licensed and bonded LOCAL tree company knows what can/cannot be done and when permits are required. they are also beneficial in dealing with stump removal (a process separate from taking the tree down but necessary if the underlying roots are causing problems). also good to research how you can dispose of the wood. we can't put it in our garbage, waste management (dump) won't take it so it's a good idea to have someone lined up to remove and dispose of it.

 

[Katie Dawn]

Sounds like it probably needs to be removed... BUT... we recently hired an Arborist to come out and look at our two trees in our backyard. He was with the Ag campus of the state university that's in our city. Anyway, for a small fee he was able to assess how healthy and stable our trees were and give us his recommendations on the concerns we had. Might be worth it if you're wanting an expert opinion.

 

[SteveH]

I don't recommend cutting the root, but removing the tree and grinding the stump is the route I'd go.

Our HOA and the City requires a tree in the front of every yard, I'm amazed how many of my neighbors never planted any other trees and some removed them from the front of their houses. We've got 5 in our back yard and the cooling they provide is amazing (we live in a desert). But the key thing know is trees are not plant and forget, they need regular trimming and attention. I pulled one tree out after a windstorm, I was able to bring it down myself, the hired a crew to chop it up and grin the stump and I replanted another one the next year.

 

[barkley]

Sounds like it probably needs to be removed... BUT... we recently hired an Arborist to come out and look at our two trees in our backyard. He was with the Ag campus of the state university that's in our city. Anyway, for a small fee he was able to assess how healthy and stable our trees were and give us his recommendations on the concerns we had. Might be worth it if you're wanting an expert opinion.

we had an arborist come out to inspect the trees on our property before we made any decisions. he was able to give us insight into the general health of the trees and advise which he felt were appropriate for removal (he agreed on the one we had thought needed to go but also pointed out a second that had issues/posed a tremendous risk).

 

[AnnaS]

So are they on city property or your property but on the easement?

In our city the tree upkeep and replacement should the tree need it due to disease or death is our responsibility when it's on our property.

I had to look up easement definition. Excuse my ignorance, but I still don’t think I know the answer. I think that is considered city property.

City will replace sidewalks if rated bad but good luck with that. We had a reply already. Would not have happened anytime soon even though we had a high rating

We could have been reimbursed- but were told good luck with that so we did not bother submitting bill and replaced sidewalk when we re-did our backyard, walk paths and driveway.

I just took picture from inside

Third sidewalk. By the time it pops up again everywhere, we won't be here or we will be dead.

 

[anniemae]

I would remove it and plant another one. I would also talk to a specialist to see what type of tree you can plant and what would be the best spot to plant it.

 

[Praying Colonel]

I would ask DW and then do what she wanted.

If it were just up to me, I'd have it removed. It's damaging property already. It's not going to get better.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I had to look up easement definition. Excuse my ignorance, but I still don’t think I know the answer. I think that is considered city property.

City will replace sidewalks if rated bad but good luck with that. We had a reply already. Would not have happened anytime soon even though we had a high rating

We could have been reimbursed- but were told good luck with that so we did not bother

I just took picture from inside

That's similar to ours, the easement is technically our property and yet not. The utility companies for instance have rights to that area and can do as they please. In fact the neighbor next to us is having huge sections of his sidewalk replaced as we speak due to utility upgrades for the new homes across the street. When Google Fiber was being installed none of us had a choice because it's an easement and boy it was annoying for how it messed up our grass. It is the city's responsibility in our area to repair and replace sidewalks, they were out pouring concrete on Saturday and I assume they will continue this week for the neighbor's new portions of the sidewalk. But I understand what you're talking about as far as trying to pin down a reimbursement and just not worrying about it in the end.

The trees however are ours to upkeep, so there's a code about trimming (over the road, over the sidewalk and by streetlights) and replacing should the trees be damage too much or diseased. That was the part on your comment I found interesting that you can't touch the trees. Looking at your picture those trees are too big for that easement area IMO, one probably should have been the only one planted. I can understand how you feel, one of the big trees would have been enough to worry about let alone two!

Excuse our grass (it's been very hot with little rain and is starting it's dormant phase for the summer) but this is ours


The easement is on the other side of the sidewalk where the two trees are, the streetlight and the cluster mailbox that is between our property and the neighbors. You can just make out to the very very right one of the trees of the neighbors.

 

[Lisa_lvspplmvr]

It could damage your foundation. Do it now before it gets worse .

 

[AnnaS]

Most homes with same property size have one tree. My house has two. Across the street, they took down trees and replanted (about 15/16 years ago). They also have two (unusual). Their property is a little bigger than ours - not much.

Correct, we can't touch them. In the past, a private tree cutting company was cutting down a tree and we asked them if they would trim ours (we would pay them of course). They said, no we can't touch them. I was constantly afraid someone would trip/fall and sue us so we re did it again.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Most homes with same property size have one tree. My house has two. Across the street, they took down trees and replanted (about 15/16 years ago). They also have two (unusual). Their property is a little bigger than ours - not much.

Correct, we can't touch them. In the past, a private tree cutting company was cutting down a tree and we asked them if they would trim ours (we would pay them of course). They said, no we can't touch them. I was constantly afraid someone would trip/fall and sue us so we re did it again.

Gosh that sounds frustrating, I know cities around here do trim people's trees that line the sidewalks but they don't prohibit them from doing it themselves and they still consider the tree the homeowner's ultimate responsibility, they just take it upon themselves to go around every so many years to brush things up a bit. That doesn't sound like a good policy for your city to have, I get not wanting trees to be ripped out but at least let the homeowners take care of them.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Where I live, our property ends and the city's begins at the edge of the sidewalk. Anything on the other side of the sidewalk is the city's headache. If the OPs tree is on their side of the sidewalk and it is already damaging things, remove it with great haste. Otherwise, call the City and complain until they take care of it.

And just to show how little the City wants to deal with this, there are two HUGE royal palms (estimate 80 feet tall) on City property in front of my neighbor's house. A frond fell out of one of the trees in the middle of the night during a wind storm it demolished my windshield. The city came out early the next morning and removed the evidence...err...palm frond. I replaced my windshield, then filed a claim with the City. They refused the claim, stating that no one had complained about the tree so therefore it wasn't a nuisance. Huh? I complained - isn't that enough? Apparently not. LSS, If OPs is the City's tree, they really want to start being the squeaky wheel or they'll have no recourse when it comes time to fix the damage the tree is causing. If it is their tree, they want to remove it before the neighbor starts incurring damage and complaining. OP could be libel to repair the neighbor's damage too if they don't.

 

[AnnaS]

Gosh that sounds frustrating, I know cities around here do trim people's trees that line the sidewalks but they don't prohibit them from doing it themselves and they still consider the tree the homeowner's ultimate responsibility, they just take it upon themselves to go around every so many years to brush things up a bit. That doesn't sound like a good policy for your city to have, I get not wanting trees to be ripped out but at least let the homeowners take care of them.

They come around about once a year to trim. Sometimes we have been here and watched. Some do better than others - but it's a joke. They all barely touch it. They trim a bit that might be touching the power lines and snip here and there. If you were not home, you would not notice a difference.