The first point I want to make here is that trees are vital to the survival of the planet because of how they clear the air of pollution.
Cities – including Burnaby – are increasing their spending on tree canopies, in part to offset the loss of trees due to urban development but also to increase the overall numbers as part of a strategy to fight climate change.
So when a Burnaby homeowner dropped by the office recently to complain about his neighbour’s trees “blocking” his view, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The man came in to see if I would “take up” his “cause” because he felt his neighbour was being “completely unfair.”
I told the man – let’s call him Ted – that I would not be championing his cause and he stormed off.
But let’s back up a bit.
Ted is a retired Burnaby homeowner who bought his house way back in the 1970s when prices were so low that – once again – I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Ted said he used to have an arrangement with the previous neighbour to top off the backyard trees because that gave him access to a “lovely view” from his second-storey deck. The neighbour, Ted claimed, was also getting ready to chop down some of the backyard trees because the neighbour was in his 80s and maintenance was getting to be a hassle.
But then the neighbour died and Ted says the house was bought by a younger family.
Ted approached the new neighbours to detail his “arrangement” with the old neighbour, including that the neighbour was planning to cut down some of the backyard trees.
I can just imagine having your neighbour come up to you and insist that you chop down your backyard trees so he can enjoy a better view – or, at the very least, pay to have them topped off. i mean, I can imagine if the trees posed some sort of danger, but this is purely cosmetic.
That is about as entitled as it gets and yet Ted was incredulous that the neighbour rejected these requests and told him to mind his own business.
“I didn’t think it was a lot to ask,” said Ted.
Yes, of course you didn’t.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
