The tree is about 10 feet from the street, not on the easement between the sidewalk and the street but on an easement that runs between the back of our yard and that of our neighbors at 4302 Driftwood Drive. Thanks.

Sorry to bug you about this, Carol, but do you know what kind of easement? Is it a sanitary sewer easement, drainage easement, Progress Energy or AT&T easement? That has a lot to do with who might respond to the issue. If you can provide that I will get right back with a plan to deal with it.

No problem. I've long wondered who I should direct this issue to... The Wake Co. real estate records say there's "access easements and major utility easements" for our property and our neighbor's at 4302 Driftwood Drive. We were told when we bought the house in 1993 that it was intended to give the city access in case there were water problems. Here's the URL for that: http://maps.raleighnc.gov/imapsraleigh/index.html#pin=0783694842

Carol, it appears that first of all there is not an easement between you and your neighbor on Driftwood, and secondly the easements that do exist in the neighborhood on property lines are drainage easements, which are private easements between property owners that allow stormwater to flow across people's properties from upstream. In either case it appears the tree you are concerned about is not in a City of Raleigh easement, and thus its disposition would be a matter between you and your neighbor rather than something our crews would be authorized to handle. If you'd like you can send me a quick email note at daniel.howe@raleighnc.gov so I have your email address and I can forward to you a copy of the easement plat showing the drainage easements in the neighborhood.