Losing land, gaining light

 You win some, you lose some.

We are winning a lovely new wall, to replace the chain link fence - which replaced the DIY wooden fence that used to be there.

The old fence (backdrop to the 2020 Easter egg hunt).

Unfortunately it turns out the former owner had sneaked his way onto city land, and his boundary fence was situated several feet outside his actual property boundary. Our builder, honest as the day is long, is bringing us back in line with our legal limits.

The chainlink is where the yard used to end. The blocks are where it will now end. I know we didn't really ever own that land but I do feel like we lost something. But the City of Hermosa gained back something that was rightfully theirs, that extra foot of land around the path down to Clark Field. I suppose they're welcome to it.

The former owner was no stranger to encroaching on city land. About a decade ago he planted what our neighbours describe as a 4' high stick in that same patch of dirt, by the path down to Clark Field. By the time we moved in, that stick had become a 30' high tree. 

This picture shows the old Casa Del Sol, as we bought it, with the tree towering over it to the right. At this point I was quite fond of the tree, and thought it was a magnolia. It has gorgeous glossy leaves and provides a lovely pool of shade in the afternoon. Those promising looking reddish furls of leaves turned out not to be magnolia blossom. But I still liked it for its stature and the privacy and shade it provided.

Then we noticed the creepy root system and Ash started to do his research.

Turns out this tree is a Ficus Elasticus, destroyer of underground pipes and lifter up of foundations. Funnily enough the former owner successfully sued the City to have his driveway repaved because the tree (yes, the one he planted - the nuts on this guy!) had ruptured it. 

We raised our concerns with the city, running with a health hazard argument: the roots messed up the path to Clark Field, meaning the sprinkler water never drained, providing a breeding ground for mosquitoes. They stopped watering the tree's side of the path, but the roots started popping up on the other side, and the pools of water remained. 

Many months, an arborist consultation, several Parks and Rec and Public Works meetings and a public hearing later, and the city decided to get rid of the tree.

The corner of our house looks very bare now. And we lost a good amount of privacy from our bathroom and upstairs landing. But we gained some light, which is always welcome. At some point the city will plant something better suited to the setting. Meanwhile we can lay tile on the patio without worrying it will be ripped up by that monstrous ficus.