Help! Neighbor wants to cut down 100 year old avocado tree.

[Scott J.]

My neighbor has a 100 year old avocado tree and about 50% of it hangs over my property. We love this tree. It adds beautiful curb appeal to our house, shades our living room windows (we are in a hot climate), and adds a lot of charm to the property.

I live in a house and am the owner. My neighbor is a 4-plex. One of the tenants had a kid recently and complained about the risk of avocados falling and hitting her kid. This really bugs me since the tree was there forever, including when she signed the lease. The owner of the property is about 80 years old and a total sweetheart. This tenant has aggressively pursued the owner about cutting the tree and the owner caved in (despite my gentle protests).

Tree trimmers are coming in a few days. The owner told me they'll just "scale the branches back", while the tenant told me "they're cutting it WAY back and if an avocado hits my kid I'll sue her".

I love this tree and want it to stay. I have and will live here for years while tenants come and go. On top of that, if they trim it a lot the tree may be lopsided and damage my property if it falls. (This has happened to me before, with a different avocado tree actually.)

1. Is there anything I can do about this?

2. Do they need permission from the city to cut a 100 year old tree that is solely on their property (not on street)?

3. What would you do?

Thank you.