I have two thoughts of opposite opinions:

First, unless the lot is just about as wide as the proposed drive, I don't know that I'd be concerned.

Second, opposite: You're gonna plant evergreens next an evergreen field where large scale removal and construction are going to take place?

Observation based on comments you have made in the past: wait. You stress out over little stuff that is no big deal and have a very low tolerance level for things that don't go perfect.

Ask for the doomed xmas trees and transplant them in your yard, you have nothing to lose.

soil compaction is usually an issue with mature older trees ... e.g. putting a driveway in thru an established forest ... compacting and changing the soil structure that the trees have been dealing with for decades ....

i simply dont see that as an issue with newly planted babes planted presumably 10 or 15 feet away .... they will cope with it.. over the decades ...

conifers are trees ... i am not aware that skinny trees have different roots that non-skinny trees ...

if anything might worry me.. it might be construction dust .... if severe ...

you dont mention the size or scope of what you are planting .... nor cost ... but i seem to think youre as budget conscience as i am.. and are going rather small and cheap .. if so.. just go for it ... the extra years growth will be worth it ... imo ... if you need to replant some the following year ... so be it .... when you plant in bulk .... there can be losses ..

with those two ... are you sure they have staked the whole project on THEIR property???

ken

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

if we discussed this project previously.. perhaps you can link us to the old post ... ken

In the picture, (I've used this picture before to show how the son planted trees into our property) the property on the left with the white fence is a neighbor of ours. His property ends with the fence, and all the trees you see are all planted on the son's parent's land. My property is on the right, and ends with those other xmas trees across the yard. The son's property is where you see the building in the picture.. On the other side of that building is where the lake access/boat launch is. And behind the building is the campground along with our lake. So, the parents are going to put the driveway in between my property and that building, since they own the land between my yard, and that building, along with all the land the trees are on.

Dh believes they'll put the driveway right smack up against that building, like inches back from the son's land. The father can be devious if he gets mad enough. One time, about 8 yrs ago, my at the time 13 yr old daughter and the xmas guy's 14yr old daughter were going for a walk to the lake behind us, going through the private access driveway we have. Both girls walked along this bridge that the xmas guy's father had put in decades ago to allow people access over a ravine to get to the lake. This woman, she's old, and likes to push people around. Well, she has a house way back there, and the bridge abuts her back yard, As soon as she saw the girls she screamed at them and said this bridge that she walked over to get to the lake was her private property and the girls weren't allowed on it, (even though they were). She didn't realize that one of the girls she yelled at was the granddaughter of the xmas guy's father. The girls came back and told everyone what happened, and within 30 minutes, I kid you not, a dump truck with an attached bulldozer came down the road, and they pulled in, going straight to the bridge, and right in front of that woman, they bulldozed down the entire bridge!!

So, this xmas guy's father can be a real pill when he wants to. When you think about it, it's no wonder how the son turned out. lol I'm not going to put any of those trees in my yard, that the son planted and care for for probably 10years. I am going to stay out of it. Uggh, the traffic that's going to be going on now, against our back yard. :(

Ken, the trees I'm planting are only going to be 18 inches or so, tall. I thought maybe roots of columnar trees didn't spread as far out as say your regular conifers., but I wanted to make sure because it will determine how far into the property I plant.

"...how far into the property I plant."

With that kind of neighbors, that will be your de facto property boundary, i.e. if you plant 10 feet back, then you will have de facto conceded 10 feet of property.

If I were you, I would plant a hedge on the property boundary or better still, erect a fence plus hedge, just like your other neighbor did.

I wonder if you should try to start videoing all of this. It sounds like a great reality show. Heck, I might even watch this one!

One wonders why a whole natural lake would be someone's private property. Not just property around lake. And why not controlled by State or under Conservation department restrictions. Here in Illinois, its common for private property owner bordering lake to restrict access. Even to lake Michigan! And own land some distance into lake for boat dock. Could it be a man made lake, or originally owned by Farmer that secured water rights? I only know something about this subject, because our Italian Gun club purchased old Armor retreat property in Round lake Il. back in 1920's. Which also included large portion of land under lake, since in late 1800's Armor meat packing cut Ice out from lake to refrigerate rail cars. And built conveyor system which moved massive squares out to waiting wagons, which still exists today. And anytime I share story with others, they comment on how unique situation is. When Ill. department of conservation proposed plan that would remove invasive aquatic plant species from lake. (Plant types used for aquariums, commonly from Africa) They needed permission and cooperation of our club to implement project. Especially since whole lake needed to be drained. Ironically the town of Round lake lacks any public access to it. And would love to get hands on our clubs property to do so.

Regarding installation of new tree next to property that will soon suffer from heavy compacting construction. I suggest researching species rate of root growth each year. And waiting only because of possible damaged caused by equipment and workers Driving and walking by so close, if not onto your property. You know how it goes, you buy something nice...and someone always has to ruin it! If waiting to plant, suggest temporary application of wood chips or mulch layer to prevent soil compaction near property border. No worries if rootball installed more than 8 feet away from construction zone. Just make sure no mounds of excavated soil are placed on top of existing root systems, which would suffocate them from Oxygen. Take full mature size of tree into consideration, along with providing enough future root space on side next to neighbors. Since they can sever any roots, or prune any branches crossing property line. Roots commonly grow on top of compacted soil and become tripping hazards. And can take over 20 years for nature to correct compacted soil. Tilling or deep air wand aeration may correct situation, but know for while after, its much easier to re-compact soil again. New outbound roots may be deflected back toward tree, after encountering any obstructions such as a cars tire rut. Most important time for permanent root placement by tree, is its first 5-10 years.

Anyone presently installing a new tree must first be aware that some 99% of Nursery stock arrives to site with "Root flare" already too deep in rootball. And if not personally selecting tree in Nursery, planter may have to perform "Root flare excavation" to find root crown buried during "Uppotting" process. Which may be more difficult to locate on Pine and Spruce, compared to hardwood species. Firm down soil on bottom of double wide planting hole, to prevent settling. And when watering, remember its not Sod. Tree roots require "Dry time" in between deep watering. Suggest applying from edge of rootball, outward. To coax new roots outbound. And keep eye out for production of a second competing leader needing early removal. To retain a strong "Apical dominant" growth structure. Enjoy!

They sound like lovely people, lovely family. I mean, how dysfunctional can you get!

"Erect fence 1 inch inside your property line."

That may be more, my local by-law says 4 inches inside property line without neighbor consent. Or right on property line with neighbor consent. Check your local by-laws.

"...videoing..."

...plus have the municipality inspect your fence before, during, after building it, and have it documented. Chances are that the municipality will want, on its own, to inspect and document things surrounding the building of the access road for public use, take advantage of that.

Note that fence builders may not be familiar with property law. There may be other practical issues as well. Talk to your other neighbor with the fence (and the hedge) with whom you are on good terms (from previous installments of the saga LOL).

I will definitely video it, when the construction (destruction) begins. I was already planning on doing that from the moment I heard this was going to happen.. From one of our bedrooms upstairs, we have a perfect view of ALL the trees, and the entire landscape that is about to be markedly changed. The person who texted it to me made me think the bulldozing was imminent, but I can't see them doing it with snow on the ground. And coming out of winter it's a muddy mess out here! It makes much more sense to wait til May or June.

We put up a 3ft picket fence late last summer that is L-shaped. It looks exactly like the one pictured, but ours isn't painted. We had the building inspector come out and look at our property and approve everything. We didn't have to pay anything since the fence was under 4ft. We also have the original stakes from the survey of when we bought the house, so we know where our property lines are.

Right now, our property abuts the parents, not the son, but the son's dad is old; he's in his mid 70's, and he's already had one heart attack.. I'm concerned about who his wife is going to sell that land to when he's gone, because we all know she's going to sell it. And no one wants that land more than the xmas tree son. All of it, all the land including the land my house is on, and the land my neighbor's house is on, and the land and the building in the picture I posted up above, all of it was once owned by the grandmother of this family. In fact, we bought our house from the family after the grandmother died. After she died she willed all that land, hundreds of acres, at least 300, to her son, the xmas guy's dad, and he has kept it and allowed his own son to plant all those trees on it. There is a lot of history here, a lot of emotions, but I really don't believe the xmas guy would do anything crazy, to my property at least, since we are living in his beloved grandmother's house. That's got to account for something?

Just a small update:

They're putting the driveway right on the edge of that building, that their son owns, right on the property line that they share with him. Wow, I bet he is pissed!! This summer he's going to see car after car drive right on his property line, bypassing his access driveway that he charges everyone to drive on..

We saw the poles and the width they're making the driveway, and it's not going to be hugely wide or anything, and it's not going to be anywhere near our yard! Hooray!

Like I said before, I will definitely video the goings on, when they commence. Now, I have no concerns about planting anything.

Great! But this might not be the end by any means.

Now would be a perfect time to identify your property line on that side and put a fence in as close to it as you legally can. Doesn't have to be a high fancy one, just enough of a fence to define where yours starts and his ends. With neighbors like yours, I can't express how important that is. Next thing you know, the son will be suing the parents.

In my small town, there is a 2 ft. limit to how close you can put a fence to your own property line.

'...driveway right on the edge of that building...'

That would be quite illegal where I am, there has to be a road shoulder of a minimum width not just for safety reasons (skidding cars), but also to alleviate dust issues from traffic on that access road (which is intended for public use), to alleviate the issue of stones being thrown up from that gravel road hitting people, to have space for dumping snow instead of dumping snow on the neighboring property, etc.

Chances are that the son will sue the dad to get at least that road shoulder between his building and the road, thereby shifting the road towards your property and shifting the issues in your direction.

Know your rights and video is good, but it may not be enough. It is important to have things documented by the municipality, although video can be a part of the documentation archived at the powers that be. Frankly, the photos you posted in previous threads on this saga did not even show any property line markers/fortifications such as fences, plantings, row of boulders, etc. on the boundary with your bad neighbor. It was just grass. (The fence and hedge photos seemed to be on the boundary with your good neighbor). This lack of documentation (and fortification of the boundary) can be sorely missed if the son and dad decide to slug it out, take your precautions well before the tornado. Any oral/non-documented assertions you make during the tornado will have little/zero weight.

Bill...bet that's only for privacy. My family shares fences with others for livestock...of course, we don't technically live in any town. The local township board tried to pass some lind of zoning some years ago...let's just say it not only didn't pass, thise folks were not re elected.

So yeah, sounds like past experience scared you and in the end, you mis read the intent. The intent is to annoy the son as much as possible, not you.

I was only giving an example. The OP would have to see what their own local laws calls for, before erecting a fence.

'So yeah, sounds like past experience scared you and in the end, you mis read the intent. The intent is to annoy the son as much as possible, not you.'

Edit: Wayne, I can see you were talking to the OP in the first place. Sorry, my misunderstanding.

But yeah, imo: If the previous offending trees are no longer in the way, now is the time to put down boundaries, before they (or he) comes up with another idea that pushes things over the property lines.

Edited: 4:53 pm Bill

Dh has the day off today, and uncharacteristically offered to get in the car and drive over in front of the xmas guy's place, to take a picture of the stakes. He is the last person on earth to want to do anything like that. He likes to stay far away from trouble, but he wanted to get a closer look at the stakes.

You'll see there's some missing trees because xmas guy sold so many this past Christmas season. He always has bare spots this time of year. Click on the picture.

That conifer on the far right is on xmas guy's property. That's his personal tree, and is not for sale. Look how close that one stake is to that tree. You might not be able to tell, but dh

said it is right next to it. You can also see the stake on the left, showing how wide the driveway will be. It's actually wider than it appears from our house. Wide enough for boats, or perhaps two lanes of cars? Our lake is on the right side of xmas guy's building.

The people in xmas guy's campground are going to be pissed beyond belief. They're going to flip at seeing cars coming in from behind them, and in and around their RV's etc. Add in the fact that these new driveway people are coming in for FREE, whereas part of their seasonal fee for staying there includes daily access to the lake.

Regarding the laws out here as to how close you can install driveways to someone else's property, I just don't know. We're zoned as an agricultural area, if that matters. I doubt the son would sue, unless he wants to risk his father bulldozing ALL those trees down.

A quirky story about the xmas guy. Many moons ago, long before we bought this house, xmas guy's sister lived here. She and her xmas brother got into a huge fight, and she called the police on him, and then sued him for damage to her front door. The next day she had a dead rooster tossed on her roof. lol

I know I shouldn't laugh, but every time I tell that story I do. It's just so bizarre to me that someone would do that. He further retaliated by saying she couldn't use the shared driveway anymore, but grandma stepped in and told her xmas grandson to knock it off.

So, that's about it, for now. I'll update if anything more happens.

'We're zoned as an agricultural area, if that matters.'

Yes it does. Usually in the form of things being a lot more lax.

The main reason I suggested the fence, if there was an episode of xmas guy infringing on your side of the line, there would be clear damage to indicate such.

Otherwise him driving on you side, with whatever equipment, could compact the soil, damaging whatever trees you've plants along that property line.

"...father bulldozing ALL those trees down..."

The trees on the access road are doomed anyway, and if you ask the father nicely, he may use a tree shovel from his multiple million dollar equipment store and plant those trees on your property boundary, if only to spite the son.

Cheap way to fortify your 'de jure' boundary into a 'de facto' boundary :-)