The French are even in my back yard!

There is a big house behind the cottage I live in. The guy that bought it is building an addition. He said that the city has been giving him hell over it. It's taken 2 years to get permits for the project. He had to fight with the Historical society. Mind you this house has no historical value as it was ruined in the 70's by remodeling. They keep telling him he can't do this and he can't pave the back yard and make a parking space, etc, etc. He says they finally gave him the permits. He went down to pick them up and the building inspector said, "I've been thinking, the water table's pretty high and you need to put in a French Drain." My neighbor says, "To the building guy, French Drain is just 2 words, but to me it's $20,000 more dollars." As first I thought he said "french brain" and I was thinking there's no such thing.

I was watching This Old House this weekend and they talked about the fact that if tree roots are messing up your sewer or foundation, you have to pay a couple of thousand to the city to get the tree removed. Then you can never plant another tree, because the ADA act, states that the sidewalk has to have wheelchair access. If the trees are there, they can stay there, but once they are gone its over, ugly bare street forever. Or until the Caliphate is restored, anyway.