Reporter, this is the second time in a month that someone (you both times?) has complained about this at our address. Please stop coding it as being on private property, as the trees are not. They are in the ROW and owned by the City. We hate them, too, but cannot remove them. If you are a neighbor, please have the kindness and respect to discuss the issue further with us in person rather than resorting to an anonymous complaint on here. The last complaint appeared to address our grass height, also, but maybe the inspectors just took it a step further. It had been raining for like two weeks straight, and the grass had grown very quickly all over town and had not dried out enough to be cut. We maintain our yard and have done a lot of improvements to the property, and we continue to do a lot for the neighborhood. We pick up trash all the time when walking, and I sweep the street when the recycling truck dumps broken glass all over it, to everyone's benefit. There are much bigger fish to fry in the neighborhood. While I understand the concern, I am not sure why this is being reported and not 2-foot high grass in front of Subway, Peace St Inspections, and that area. Not to mention the hookah bar and all the trash and disruption they cause. I am not sure I understand the particular issue with this and again would prefer you raise it with us first. Thank you.

Hey there - fair post, I thought that’s how this site was used? I don’t know you and am a bit uncomfortable just knocking on someone’s door.

I actually love all the crepe myrtle trees around, I just don’t love having my car scraped or pushing a stroller through the shoots.

Yes, they are in the city tree boxes, but much like having to cut the grass in them or shoveling snow off city sidewalks, maintenance is our responsibility as citizens. Plus it is extremely beneficial to the trees’ health and growth. Great news is it takes about ten minutes 2-4 times per year.

Thanks for the consideration and it sounds like you are a great member of the community.

Again, I understand the concern, but there is more to it. That is where dialogue comes in.

Yes, citizens are required to maintain the ROW curb/gutter/grass in front of their homes, but we have been told that we cannot prune these trees. They are routinely too close to our porch roof, and yet we are not allowed to prune them--straight from the City. Instead, we had to wait 6 months after our last request for the City to do so. We have oak limbs having over from across the street and weighing those to the point of leaning, and they would not cut them, either (Separate issue; I digress). I highly, highly doubt there is code that says one cannot touch a City tree above a certain elevation but is required to do so below one. If there is--and I have asked for clarification to be certain--we will abide by the code and do so. These trees are a nuisance to us by scraping our cars, blocking our path, scraping our roof, dropping their flowers all over the sidewalk and our porch that we then track inside... It's not just an issue for you, believe me. It is on our radar. They have grown too large, and their trunks are now pushing against the street and sidewalk. We want them gone for these reasons and for the maintenance issue.

In terms of maintenance, I used to try to keep up with the sprouts down at the trunk, but they are very thick and require loppers instead of simple pruning sheers. Also, they are allllll over it. There are tons of them. It is tedious and a PITA. You are fortunate to get by cutting yours twice a year. Every time I used to cut them, they were back in two weeks, and every one sprout spread into more.

Anyways, we will try to find a solution and have already been talking with the City about them. Take care.

This issue was recategorized from Tall Grass/Weeds or Public Nuisances on Private Property to Tree Issue in Right of Way.

Thank you for contacting the City of Raleigh. Your service request ID is #434560. We will be posting additional updates about your request as we have them.

Please use the Tree category when reporting issues with trees.

This issue has been closed. If the problem persists, please re-open this issue and give us more detailed information on how to identify the location of the problem - then we will get right on it. Thanks a lot for reporting!