When fences don’t make good neighbors

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- Yana Bridle loves her mellaleuca tree.

To the Westcliff Drive resident, it’s exotic, with curling, wild

branches that spring out at the side of her yard. At sunset, it emanates

an ethereal glow.

But her neighbor, Louis Ballas, has a problem with that tree, not to

mention the other rubber and banana trees in Bridle’s yard. Their roots,

he said, have dug into his side of the fence, cracking his driveway and

tilting his wooden fence.

He estimates the damage at $22,000.

Just last week, Ballas sued Bridle in small claims court but withdrew

the lawsuit because her insurance company told him he would not get more

than $5,000 even if he wins, and that would not compensate him for the

damage.

Ballas said he needs to replace 1,000 square feet of concrete driveway

that has been damaged by the roots, and remove and replace 62 linear feet

of masonry and the wood fence.

In addition, Ballas wants the mellaleuca tree and other trees gone,

and has asked his neighbor to build a straight block wall between the

properties.

Bridle is looking for other options. She is passionate about her

tropical landscape, of which the trees are an important component, and

said an arborist estimated the age of the mellaleuca tree at 50 years and

its value at $30,000.

Bridle said she is tired of the endless conversations, threats of

lawsuits and nightmares of her favorite trees chopped to the stump.

“This is horrendous,” she said, wiping away tears. “This man hates

trees. It’s been an ordeal for me. I can’t sleep at night because of

this.”

But Ballas said it is he who has suffered damage to his property

because of Bridle’s trees.

Over the years, Bridle had made empty promises that she would trim the

branches, he added.

“She has never done anything that she said she would do to help the

situation,” he said. “I want all the trees that are damaging my property

cut.”

Bridle said she had suggested several alternatives to her neighbor.

“I suggested a winding wall that would go around the tree,” she said.

“I want a living fence, not a brick wall. But he wouldn’t listen. All he

wants is an ugly, straight block wall.”

The neighbors say they have had a good relationship otherwise. Ballas

has lived in the neighborhood for 25 years and Bridle for 30. She said

she has baked bread for her neighbor, and Ballas said he still has a

friendly greeting for her whenever they bump into each other.

They just cannot seem to come to terms on the trees.

And they can’t get help from the city because the trees are on private

property, City Manager Homer Bludau said.

“It’s a civil matter for them to deal with,” he said.

Bludau added that, in his two years as city manager, this is the first

time he has heard of civil action being filed between two neighbors.

Both call the situation aggravating.

“This is very serious for me,” Bridle said. “It’s also very

emotional.”

She showed a photograph of her daughter playing with their cat near

the mellaleuca tree. The tree is like a part of her family, Bridle said.

Ballas said it’s just a question of his neighbor looking at things

from his side of the fence.

“Would she want this kind of a problem in her home?” he asked.

In fact, Bridle said she did have a similar situation with her

neighbors on the other side.

“But I didn’t ask them to cut their beautiful trees down,” she said.

“We worked it out, raised the ground, and I have a straight fence.”