Neighbors Killing My Trees (with ??)

[Pondracer]

Analyzing the holes etc will do nothing for you. You can't prove its him and litigation will cost you a fortune. Take his picture? Never work.

Because I'm vengeful, I would either

a) poison every living thing on his property
b) build the largest building that would pass code, maybe even try for a variance and get something bigger. Then park something interesting on the backside... like an antique hay rake... say - very antique. Garden supplies. Some bricks.

Say it costs you $10k to litigate (easily that much). And you walk away with nothing? $10k gets you started on a nice outbuilding and adds to your property value. Take up woodworking. Nothing like a screaming Unisaw on a Sunday morning... gets the blood moving. That area is pretty heavily damaged... needs regular maintenance, again I would say 7am on Sundays would be optimum. Some mowing, trimming - lots of powered activity.

I'm a nice guy, but with a really evil streak.

 

[treeseer]

I'm a nice guy, but with a really evil streak.

did you see the adjacent homes in that picture? Consider the effect of your evil acts on those innocent people; property values plunge with a barn view. What'd they do to you? Vengeance is mine, saith Allah or whoever.

The solution is the right trees in the right places. Those poplars were a short-term fix--short-lived, and planted way too close to the line to develop a mature spread. Compromise--you'll live longer if the stress level goes down, instead of you escalating it.

So Pondracer, have you contacted an AS arborist to economically care for your trees? theycould get up to snuff faster than a C class scow under a 20-knot wind.

GuyM, Former Lakeracer

 

[genesutton]

Reading these reply posts have been very interesting and I really appreciate everyone’s input. This is why forums are a great tool. This trespassing and killing of my trees my be a small thing in life but right now it is a big thing to me. I moved here for privacy after living in the city on small 7,000 sq. ft. lots most of my life. When I bought this property it was zones urban growth and I realized some day there would be houses around me. This came sooner than expected but I can live with it and it really doesn’t bother me. Financially it’s the best investment I’ve ever made. What I’m having trouble with is the attack from my neighbor. Like I’ve stated above I knew what was going to happen down the road and if I didn’t like it I needed to buy further out. My neighbor did his home work before purchasing his lot and building his dream house. He came to me and asked questions of what my future plans were in that area. Now he’s like the others down the line saying, my view, my view, this is why I built here, but I didn’t know that that short dead end street with a barricade in the middle of the block met there will be future development. I due my homework the best I can, make a decision and live with the results good or bad.
The word compromise has been used a lot and I understand what every one saying. I’ve compromise on many things going through life (57yr’s.) and will continue. Personally I believe compromise is being used way too much these days and adds to many troubles in this country. People are expecting compromise in what ever they do with no real accountability for their actions. Here he knew what was ahead, and did he say to himself, after I said I am going to plant trees, no problem I know what chemicals to use. I don’t really know what went through that mans head, maybe he’s just stupid. The fact is and I’m sure most of you agree from the pictures he was the one.
I think I’ve decided what my plan will be. Looking back at the lab exams from June, 2003, everything is recurring the same. I’m going to do a little more research. Then I’m going to file suit in Small Claims. The filing fees are under $100 and there’s no attorneys just he and I and the judge will decided. My attorney suggested doing it this way and said it’s my best bet to win. If I loose, it will not look good on him if he does it again and we’re back in court (I will win then big time). Should have done it the first time!! Small Claims goes up to $5000.
There is no compromise here, he knew I was going to plant trees and he knew what he was doing when he attacked my trees. Plain and simple. What ever the judge says I’ll live with, No Problem, and I’ll rest good ever night. I won’t replant and I will be building a barn next spring 2006.
I do value every ones reply’s and would look forward to hearing what you all think of my decision. Thank You, Gene

 

[treeseer]

1. Personally I believe compromise is being used way too much these days and adds to many troubles in this country. People are expecting compromise in what ever they do with no real accountability for their actions. ...
2.I’m going to file suit in Small Claims. ...
3.There is no compromise here I won’t replant and I will be building a barn next spring 2006.

1. I hear what you say about compromise vs. principle. I respect and agree with that.

2. SC court is the place for this, good choice. IF you quote from your consultant you MUST have him/her there to testify, or their report gets thrown out. My side won its case on this point last time I testified before a magistrate; an easy win for hte good guys. We would have won anyway becasue my report was better, of course.

3. Refusing to replant means that the bastard got you down qand WON maybe becasue you fear he will repeat the crime. The barn will injure the folks in the brown house who did you no harm. Why inflict that collateral damage? They may do worse to you than poison a few cheap illplaced trees. Their karma may run over your dogma. :alien:
By compromise with plantings I mean evergreens that can be cut short of blocking their view and taller longlived trees that can arch over the houses. The shame of it is, those folks could have had their view and kept the trees too by "windowing", selective branch removal.

Meanwhile, are there any fastgrowing vines out in OR? Why not train some up those dead trunks? Persistence pays.
Go after them for their poisoning, but don't screw thy other neighbors.

 

[gumneck]

Your not destroying anyones views by building a barn which you probably need. Who doesn't need more tractor, saw, boat,motorcycle, old car, old truck, good junk, bad junk, junkity junk storage space. I know I do.

Since you cant have your hybrid poplar trees why should he have "his view". He can always add another level to that house of tree murderin folks.

 

[fubar2]

I think id go face to face with him and apologize for the unsightly dead trees near his house. But id mention that they wont be there much longer due to the fact theyll soon be made into lumber for your new barn. If would also be neighborly of you to invite him to come over and watch the sunset from the roof of you new hog house some evening if he dont mind the smell of pig manure. When you get it built of course.

 

[genesutton]

Treeseer The barn will not effect the brown houses view in any way and that’s another story. Their the second owners and soon after they moved in (a year ago) the last vacant lot which is in front of them, was back up for sale. They got caught up in the view thing, houses being built and view gone. So they bought the lot for 60,000 and decided to build a house in a way to save their view, sell the house and get their invested money back, Good Idea?? Yes and No. The way you or I would have done it I’d say Yes but they called in an excavator and started digging the entire lot down ten feet. That’s a lot of dirt and trucks loads hauled away. They hadn’t even gone to the city to see what’s required (again some one not doing their home work). To make a long story short their into this lot well over $100,000 and building a single store 1500 sq. ft. house. Their asking, last I heard $289,000 which is a good $90,000 over what other houses like it are going for. No buyers and now their talking about selling their house (the brown house) and moving into it because they can’t afford two payments much longer and their in their mid 60’s retired, and he’s had two heart attacks. All To Save Their View
Like I said earlier I could write a book of what’s been going on around here. And thanks for making me think about replanting, I think I might order up some more starts. Don’t want to let them relax any. Take Care, Gene

 

[genesutton]

fubar2 And that's reminds me of another story about this place but it's getting late and I've got a long day tomarrow. Gene

 

[rivahrat]

sounds like you have some real winners for neighbors. don't let them borrow anything. they may break it because they can hold it in-front of them and block their view. i worked for a few construction companies and one in particular comes to mind. i was doing a final walk through in this guys new $700,000 house. he noticed than one of the hinges on the bathroom door was nickle and not brass. however he never noticed the mountain of trash from the dump that backs up to his lot. he started whining and i told him he should have looked around before he started to build there.

he said he was wondering why all the seagulls were flying around.

 

[Pondracer]

Sorry but I don't see how a barn hurts the other neighbors property value. It increases the value of genesutton's property which in turn helps out the adjacent property. Build a NICE barn... not a pig barn. But I would go as big as possible, not only for vengenance sake, but just because you can never have too big a barn. But research it and do what makes you happy and gives you the maximum future value for YOUR property.

Concern about the view is laughable... if they wanted a view they should buy 20 - 30 acres. Those are very nice houses for the price you are talking about. I'm in the Chicago burbs on a 1/2 acre and avg here is $400k+. Where we are if you dropped the grade 10' you'd have a pond.

treeseer... Pondracer has nothing to do with boats. It was a Rutan design for air racing. Beautiful aircraft but it was lost at Reno and took the pilots life.

So - if it was me it would be a combination barn/hangar. Didn't mean to tweak anyone with my comments. Yes, I did hire an arborist, expensive buggers

 

[Carl A]

Analyzing the holes etc will do nothing for you. .[/QUOTE]

Analyzing the holes or other mode of application will help to determine the class of chemical used. There may also be traces of the carrier or the chemical left at an injection site. It helps to narrow the list of herbicides for which to test and helps make the analysis affordable.

 

[darkstar]

Personally i think the trees were a bad idea ...if you want privacy then you need tall evergreen bushes ... skinny tall pops want give u much privacy espically in winter .... cut umm all down and go with an evergreen .... also try to get one that doesent grow to tall as you r neighbor is going to kill them otherwise and i dont think you will be able to prove it ......... dark

 

[Gruneun]

Pull the trees out and make better use of the area. My vote is for a big, old-school satellite dish on a 15 ft. pole. If your current television signal is acceptable, just leave the wires hanging off the back to connect later. For safety's sake, make sure to tape them off off with brightly-colored, electrical tape.

 

[PhilKawasakiuser]

Whatever you do just make sure you always use oil. I aquired a china made poulan wildthing chainsaw a year or two ago from family who couldn't operate it anymore and is starting to suffer from Alzheimer's a little. He said that he couldn't get it started for over a year and that was probably the only thing that saved it since the fuel in it looked like it had no oil whatsoever in it. When I checked it out I discovered the problem was that the fuel filter in the tank was at the very top instead of the low spot. The next and only thing it needed to start was fuel. So far all I have done is replace the exhaust gasket, primer, lines and air filter. Not to mention the chain since the one on it was so dull and worn out I wasn't cutting with it but burning thru instead. I rescued a echo GT-2400 from the scrapyard that only needed a re-power kit sold at the corner hardware store for 9 dollars and a new pull cord. He sweared that the drive shaft was broken and he also said that it will never run alright and he had spent plenty of time trying. He couldn't have been more incorrect. It was a unbelievable buy at $3.50. He also sold my neighbor two chainsaws for 15 dollars that both ran almost immediately after putting fuel in and cut as if they were bought new for full retail price. I bought a eager beaver weedeater and powermac 310 saw a few weeks ago for 15 dollars total and they even threw in a very usable antique gas can. Its amazing what people throw away sometimes. Some of my best finds were other peoples junk. One mans junk is another mans treasure for real sometimes. Its almost comical how practically everything I have ever got there that they said was fully functional had major issues or was worthless and the stuff they were scrapping or selling as is for parts almost always seems to have nothing wrong with it other than maybe cracked fuel lines and primers.

 

[backhoelover]

There’s a lot more to this story and I ‘m sure I could write a book about it. I think another reason is before the trees created any problems another developer came along and bought the property (7 acres) on the west and north side of me. I had a road easement running through that, along the southern property line (800 ft.). Now we’re talking about 8 houses in that subdivision that their view is going to be effected. The developer and I did not come to terms on what I wanted for my easement and tried to get his development approved by going around me. Planning commission denied his plan. Now I’ve got about $5000.00 in attorneys fees, with no help from above, which I really didn’t expect or want. I’m now a big hero to these home owners in that subdivision (their view saved). Now the developer and I are back at the table and come to an agreement. He gets his approval and guess who is the #!*? now. Bye the way there is a short street for future development access between these houses that dead end into my road. There are three houses backed up to me now, two have no problem with the trees and enjoy the privacy. The one in question must have and I really think their encouraged by the others down the line were their views were blocked by houses. The list goes on and the story seams to continue but in my book what you do on your side is your business as long as it’s legal. My neighbors to the west and north are great and enjoy the trees I planted there. I am planning legal action, which I was hoping what took place two years ago would have avoided doing. I feel now that what ever I plant and he objects will go by the way side. I also have a 250+ year old white oak that blocks his view of Mt. St. Hellens. Will That Be The Next 3am Herbicide Run??????? I’m beginning to think the answer lies in the barn made of metal (so not to be burned) to put an end to the view issue and maybe save my oak. I’m becoming very paranoid as you can see.

sounds like you need to ask someone you dont know to whoop his ass. just buy there plain ticket all should be good lol

 

[PhilKawasakiuser]

I found out that a neighbor tried to throw away a Stihl 088 saw with a 24 and 32 inch bar and chain along with the case in great condition. I found out after the fact unfortunately and the guy I found out from was the guy who saw it in the can and asked about it an if he was getting rid of it who got a free muscle saw out of it. The original owners reason I found was it was to heavy and his wife didn't like how loud it was. A friend who I went to school with when he was cleaning his parents shed out after they died he found a old 2 cylinder saw strange enough that he says he don't remember it running since the late 80s. I think it was a echo even tho it looks like a Jonsered. I am consistently amazed with some people and what they get rid of.

 

[PhilKawasakiuser]

I think that maybe you might want to look into getting 2 or three 12 or 15 inch subs built for a car and dont put it in your main ride where it would sound alright. Put it in a old junker so it rattles like a metal trash can rolling down the street. Of course you should also get a overly loud car alarm to go with it. Bright motion sensor lights pointed at there windows are also extremely annoying to.

 

[redlawn 78]

I'm wondering how this all played out..... This thread is 11 years old....
genesutton are u still out there?

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Burn the house down.

 

[Oldman47]

Whatever you do just make sure you always use oil. I aquired a china made poulan wildthing chainsaw a year or two ago from family who couldn't operate it anymore and is starting to suffer from Alzheimer's a little. He said that he couldn't get it started for over a year and that was probably the only thing that saved it since the fuel in it looked like it had no oil whatsoever in it. When I checked it out I discovered the problem was that the fuel filter in the tank was at the very top instead of the low spot. The next and only thing it needed to start was fuel. So far all I have done is replace the exhaust gasket, primer, lines and air filter. Not to mention the chain since the one on it was so dull and worn out I wasn't cutting with it but burning thru instead. I rescued a echo GT-2400 from the scrapyard that only needed a re-power kit sold at the corner hardware store for 9 dollars and a new pull cord. He sweared that the drive shaft was broken and he also said that it will never run alright and he had spent plenty of time trying. He couldn't have been more incorrect. It was a unbelievable buy at $3.50. He also sold my neighbor two chainsaws for 15 dollars that both ran almost immediately after putting fuel in and cut as if they were bought new for full retail price. I bought a eager beaver weedeater and powermac 310 saw a few weeks ago for 15 dollars total and they even threw in a very usable antique gas can. Its amazing what people throw away sometimes. Some of my best finds were other peoples junk. One mans junk is another mans treasure for real sometimes. Its almost comical how practically everything I have ever got there that they said was fully functional had major issues or was worthless and the stuff they were scrapping or selling as is for parts almost always seems to have nothing wrong with it other than maybe cracked fuel lines and primers.

@PhilKawasakiuser . This is a 2005 thread. By now it has been resolved one way or another.