HELP!!! Vining Plants on Fence a Legal Issue?

[gardenfrog]

I have a chain fence that has been with my property for over 20 years. Part of the fence that separates our property from one of the neighbor's I've used for growing Arctic Kiwi, Grapes and Sea Buckthorn plants. After babying these plants for the past five years, they are at the first stage of getting productive, especially the grapes. My neighbor now says she has the right to destroy any of my vines that are on HER side of the fence, even though I have been neatly weaving the vines into the fence. She even was caught pulling up some of my expensive young grape plants, saying that she hates weeds and was doing me a favor. I had no witnesses to this invasion of my backyard gardening.

This weekend this same neighbor started to put up a privacy fence that is just a foot from my fence, blocking off much of the needed resource of sunshine to my plants. The neighbor simply says that it is her property and she can put up anything she want to. Any suggestions? She doesn't care about our plight.

Does anyone know of the legality of someone harming your hard-worked plants just because it is, while neatly attached, to my fence on my property? This is very distressing, especially since I've worked YEARS on getting these plants to their present vigor.

Any help on what to do to protect our plants is appreciated!

Thanks!

[Sun City Linda]

Generally a property owner can do anything they want with their property as long as it is not illegal and/or in violation of City, County or HOA ordinances. It can be mean spirited and bad to the bone but unless shading your well tended plants to death is illegal, your neighbor has every right to do this. It sounds like there is a deeper issue at work and it may be in your best interest to try and discover and correct that.

[emcd124]

I'm no lawyer, so this is just a lay impression, but I think it might depend on where your fence was placed with respect to the property line. Some people put them up right on the property line and then I'd think she was within her legal rights (though still a bad neighbor) to cut anything that extended into her property. But our fence is actually 10 inches inside our property line, so anything on the fence and within 10 inches of the far side of it is still technically on my property and in that case I'd feel entitled to tell her she cant touch it until it crossed into her property line.

As for her putting up a light blocking fence, you might just have to deal with that, because if its on her property and fits within city code regulations, there probably isnt a thing you can do about it.

[ScottinAtlanta]

You can offer to set up her a garden or share the harvest in exchange for not blocking your light. There must be some reasonable compromise here.

[beeman]

Originally Posted by ScottinAtlanta

You can offer to set up her a garden or share the harvest in exchange for not blocking your light. There must be some reasonable compromise here.

Not always. I have the same sort of neighbour, who goes to great lengths to 'get' me at every opportunity for some undisclosed grievance. There are some you cannot deal with, no matter how hard you try.
They do say, "good fences make good neighbours" which is why I put up a 6 foot board fence.

[VC Scott]

Maybe you need to find a new hobby, like really loud rock n roll music, or perhaps raising roosters, or maybe you feel the need to paint your house purple and put a fountain in your front yard with a naked cherub peeing in the general direction of the neighbor. The possibilities are endless.

[Deborah]

Scott, LOL.

[chrisma]

does she need a permit to put up a fence? how is she going to maintain her property between the 2 fences?

[tam91]

Generally most local laws would allow the neighbor to do whatever they wanted to plants that "stuck out" into their property. Even having your fence pulled in from the property line isn't a guarantee - if you do not maintain that small area, it can default to being theirs - I think the legal term might be "Adverse Possession". Some property laws are strange. The other question is, who owns that fence? You, the neighbor, or both?

As far as the shade issue, if her fence is allowed by local laws and she has permits if required, there's nothing that can be done about that I'm afraid.

[clkeiper]

I assume you live inside of city limits and must have a permit and be a certain amount off of the property line, and fall within guidelines of the city for the type/height of the fence...check with the zoning dept in you city office and ask questions (kindly and meekly and respectfully, no matter what they tell you. Explain very nicely your delima and ask them for their help). Unfortunately shading your plants is a mean spirited action on her part, but probably not illegal on putting up a fence unless she didn't pull a permit. She doesn't have any right to walk on your property and destroy anything on her side of the fence. If the fence is directly on the property line she may have the right to do whatever she wants on her side of the fence.

[tam91]

The thing is, if the property is on the other side of the fence, and has been for years - it may have become hers by default.

I'm not defending her, obviously it isn't nice, just trying to look at the legal issues.

[kimeze]

sometimes staying with such neighbors u rather stay in a forest . but
CHEAK THESE
1.YOU MIGHT HAVE BUILT IN A PROPERTY LINE . IF SO SHE MAY HAVE THE RIGHT

2 . IF SHE LET YOU HARVEST YOUR VINE WILL YOU REALY NOT BE TRESSPASING ON HIS PROPERTY ? THEN YOU MAY BE CHARGED CRIMINAL TRESSPASS

SOLUTION
1. my advice to you is leave all legal procedures and discuss to her . it may be hard but forge a neighbor to neighbor discussion table .

[gardenfrog]

I understand how "gray" our property laws are. I was told that contractors normally place fences inside property lines at least several inches. I've come to the point that I can "live" with their privacy fence, but I cannot tolerate her threats to kill any of my plants that happen to show on her side of the fence...even if the plant is flush with the fence, and woven neatly within the fence fabric.

I've come to the conclusion that, after her waving around her weed-wacker over my plants Saturday, I'll need to fork out substantial cash to get our small lot resurveyed. The neighbor is the daughter of a woman who poisoned my mother-in-law's hedges when my wife was just a little girl. The woman claimed she thought the hedges were "poison ivy" and was afraid that it would somehow get into her yard. Fact is, this family loves "street fighting". Wish I had the money to move away from these difficult people!

[tam91]

Sorry this has happened, I think it's going to be a hard one to win.

[Sun City Linda]

A better use of money might be to build an arbor inside your property and come Fall, relocate these vines.