The damage from city trees

Re “A shuffle on sidewalk fixes,” May 27

Homeowners in L.A. will regret taking responsibility for the public sidewalks that are adjacent to their properties. My grandparents went through this in Torrance, and it cost them $7,000.

The city planted a Chinese elm, which is a nicelooking tree but has incredibly invasive roots. It’s so invasive, in fact, that the U.S. government classifies it as a weed. Needless to say, the tree did serious damage. It tore up not just the sidewalk but also the sewer lines.

The city plants invasive trees and forces homeowners to care for them. They actually make people water the roots that are costing them so much money. Public officials like big trees with invasive roots because they add to their city’s character; they just don’t like to pay for the damage.

By passing on responsibility for sidewalk maintenance to property owners, the city of L.A. would have its cake and eat it too at the expense of homeowners.

Joshua DuFault

Torrance

I think every member of the Los Angeles City Council should donate half their salaries to repairing our sidewalks, especially if they pass on the cost of upkeep to adjacent property owners. This seems only fair, since trees owned by the city cause much of the sidewalk damage we see.

And when I say the council members should donate money, I don’t mean out of the city’s general fund — I mean from their own pocketbooks. They do not seem to mind spending our money, so let’s see how they feel about spending their own on sidewalks. Vickie Casas

Los Angeles