If the tree is healthy, the city arborist won't permit you to cut it down. However, you can definitely remove any unhealthy branches.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would dislike you as a neighbor if you did that

Me too. Trees are the beauty of a neighborhood.

I would have agreed if I had not owned a property with large trees. We've spent thousands and thousands of dollars caring for the trees over the years and almost all tree damage to our property has been from our neighbor's trees that are not cared for at all. We've spent more money caring for the overhang from their trees than the trees on our actual property. I loved the feel of our lot and neighborhood filled with large trees, but now we are looking for a lot with little to no trees when we move.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would dislike you as a neighbor if you did that

What?

My neighbors from across the street begged me to take down our tall tree because they were afraid of it.
So, I consulted an arborist who said that yes - the tree could come down in a storm and land on the neighbors’ house, bringing the power lines and telephone poles with it.

So, we had the tree taken down.

With climate change and the resulting strong storms and heavy rains, large trees planted near homes isn’t really practical anymore.

Your neighbors sound like idiots. I enjoy looking at my neighbors tree across the street.

yeh cause you would rather it fall and all maintenance cost on them, selfish fool

Anonymous wrote:It’s about 5,000 to remove a large tree that’s easily accessible from the street. This wouldn’t stop me from buying a dream house.

Exactly. How much are you paying for your dream house? Is the tree really a significant cost.

I would just trim limbs. My family has lived on a wooded lot with large old growth trees in a hurricane prone area for over 50 years. They have had two large trees fall in 50 years. We have three large trees, keep them trimmed, have not had an issue in 21 years. Are people really afraid of trees? This is why you pay for homeowners insurance.

You need to really, really look into how Takoma Park handles tree removal before you do this.

It is irrelevant that the house is not in the historic district.

There is every chance that you will not be given permission to take this tree down and/or that you will pay a very heavy permit fee to do it. "Just remove it" is not an option.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would dislike you as a neighbor if you did that

What?

My neighbors from across the street begged me to take down our tall tree because they were afraid of it.
So, I consulted an arborist who said that yes - the tree could come down in a storm and land on the neighbors’ house, bringing the power lines and telephone poles with it.

So, we had the tree taken down.

With climate change and the resulting strong storms and heavy rains, large trees planted near homes isn’t really practical anymore.

Your neighbors sound like idiots. I enjoy looking at my neighbors tree across the street.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would dislike you as a neighbor if you did that

Me too. Trees are the beauty of a neighborhood.

+1

Go move out to the treeless tract housing if you don’t like trees.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would dislike you as a neighbor if you did that

Me too. Trees are the beauty of a neighborhood.

Exactly. Who needs safety...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You may not get a permit to remove the tree in Takoma Park. And if you do, prepare to pay thousands for the permit ($1500-5000) in addition to the $4-7K to remove the tree.

Does the city of Takoma Park pay to fix your destroyed house? Do they pay your insurance premiums? That’s total BS.

No, they don't. The TP Tree Commission is crazy when it comes to trees.

PP again - a friend of mine in Bethesda had a large tree fall on her house during a wind episode last year (that most of you probably don't even remember, it wasn't that strong). It destroyed one car in her driveway, and crashed right into through the house and into one child's bedroom. Luckily this was during the day, and the kids were at school! They had to fight with the insurance company to get a minimal amount of compensation. They have to rebuild. A nightmare.

*Have an inspector come to give you an opinion on whether the root system has compromised the foundation.*

It's absolutely a danger to life and property. I love trees, but they should not tower over houses in many areas of the US, given our changing climate. This now includes our area.

Cutting it down will cost at least 5K in one go, not including getting rid of the stump. We were quoted that amount to remove a large maple in our backyard. We are slowly trimming it regularly instead, since our tree-cutter comes to trim our other trees regularly and includes it in his price, and will get rid of the trunk soon. We're not in TP, so didn't have to deal with permitting, so can't advise you on that.

In the big scheme of owning a house, that amount of money is nothing, to be honest!