timmystan3
New Member
- Jurisdiction
- California
My mom's residential property in San Diego, purchased 2 years ago, is separated from the neighbor's property by retaining walls on both the north and south side. The north side is higher up the hill, the south side lower down the hill. The home is over 50 years old and the retaining walls are original and generally 3 ft to 4 ft high above grade. When purchased it was assumed the retaining walls were on the property line and everything in between was my mom's property. The new neighbor on the south noticed a survey monument in the sidewalk marking the property line and realized if it was accurate they could move the retaining wall closer to my mom's property and gain 1.5 ft (for a little extra parking room). A surveyor confirmed the monument is accurate and does mark the property line. So the retaining wall that holds up my mom's yard is roughly 1.5 ft inside the neighbor's yard.
My mom prefers things stay as they are but also realizes she must live next to them for many years to come and does not want to make an enemy. I am looking for laws, regulations, or any reasons to tell the neighbor no they can't do the project. Ideas:
1) Does adverse possession apply? The yard has been defined by the retaining walls for 50 years and property taxes have been paid. Part of what confuses me on this is that the monuments in the sidewalk don't match up to the retaining walls. It's as if the entire yard was shifted about 1.5 ft at the south edge and about 1 ft at the north edge, both shifts are to the south. I speculate the shift have been done by the developer to place the retaining wall footing, in this case the toe of the footing, right up against the property line which leaves the above ground portion of the wall about 1.5 ft from the PL.
2) Tearing down then replacing the existing retaining wall, on the neighbor's property, will require excavating and digging up my mom's yard since the wall holds back 3 ft to 4 ft of earth. The excavation will likely have to be sloped back so it will go roughly 4 ft into my mom's yard. In some areas this excavation could get within 3 ft to 4 ft of the slab on grade foundation of my mom's house. This could be risky and potentially cause damage to the foundation if supporting soil is excavated.
3) If we did agree to allow the work, technically would the property size be changed and the deed require updating?
My mom prefers things stay as they are but also realizes she must live next to them for many years to come and does not want to make an enemy. I am looking for laws, regulations, or any reasons to tell the neighbor no they can't do the project. Ideas:
1) Does adverse possession apply? The yard has been defined by the retaining walls for 50 years and property taxes have been paid. Part of what confuses me on this is that the monuments in the sidewalk don't match up to the retaining walls. It's as if the entire yard was shifted about 1.5 ft at the south edge and about 1 ft at the north edge, both shifts are to the south. I speculate the shift have been done by the developer to place the retaining wall footing, in this case the toe of the footing, right up against the property line which leaves the above ground portion of the wall about 1.5 ft from the PL.
2) Tearing down then replacing the existing retaining wall, on the neighbor's property, will require excavating and digging up my mom's yard since the wall holds back 3 ft to 4 ft of earth. The excavation will likely have to be sloped back so it will go roughly 4 ft into my mom's yard. In some areas this excavation could get within 3 ft to 4 ft of the slab on grade foundation of my mom's house. This could be risky and potentially cause damage to the foundation if supporting soil is excavated.
3) If we did agree to allow the work, technically would the property size be changed and the deed require updating?
