I was considering it because I didn't want to kill the root systems. She looked at the steel, then at the stumps. "You're saying...?" "I'm saying you solved the problem for me." Her face turned red.
"We'll stop this." "Call planning." "I intend to." "Good." She spun around and walked away.
I called after her. She stopped. You wanted the trees gone. I pointed at the steel wall. "Enjoy the view."
For a few minutes I thought that was the end of it. I should have known better. Vanessa called planning, then zoning, then code enforcement, then the fire marshal. She filed complaints about height, setback, drainage, commercial use, visual impact, emergency access, possible permit modifications. Every complaint generated a response.
That was fine. I had permits. What I didn't expect was a county vehicle arriving while my crew was installing the final wall sections. A code officer named Reynolds stepped out. He walked to the contractor.
Who's responsible for the site? "I am," I said. He handed me a notice. Construction needs to pause while we verify a complaint regarding deviation from approved height and setback. Behind him on the public road, Vanessa stood beside her SUV watching.
For the first time since she cut the trees, she smiled. My contractor looked at me. "What do you want to do?" "Stop." The drills went silent.
One worker climbed down. Another set a panel back onto the trailer. Across the road, Vanessa folded her arms. For about 45 minutes, the steel wall stopped rising. And if you had looked at her face, you would have thought the county had just ordered the whole building torn down.
Reynolds took measurements. Setback, foundation, column height. He pulled up the stamped plans, then he measured again. Vanessa walked closer. "Officer, the approved structure was never supposed to be 20 feet along this boundary."
Reynolds looked at the plan. "It says 20." "The owner changed the design after the vegetation was removed." I said nothing. Reynolds turned a page.
"Permit issue date was six months ago." Vanessa answered quickly. "That doesn't mean this elevation was approved." He pointed to the stamped sheet. Western elevation, "20 feet."
She stared at it. "What about the setback?" He checked his measurement. "Compliant." "Buffer?"
"Compliant." "Commercial structure next to residential homes?" "This parcel has an established lawful use." Vanessa looked at me. "This is retaliation."
Reynolds shrugged. "That's not a code category." Then he looked at my contractor. "You can continue." The drill started again.
The next panel rose. Vanessa stood there as the wall climbed past her line of sight. I didn't smile. I didn't need to. Then Reynolds handed me a copy of his inspection notes.
No violation, no work stoppage, no setback deviation, approved height confirmed. I put it in the same folder as everything else. Vanessa tried to stop the wall. Instead, she had given me one more government document proving it was legal. And she wasn't done helping me.