Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s New Ohio Neighbors Are Already Pushing Back on Their Plans
Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift may be one of the most recognizable couples in the world right now thanks to their recent nuptials. However, in the town of Bratenahl, Ohio, that popularity and notoriety are making them persona non grata.
That’s because the Daily Mail reports that the couple’s new neighbors are unhappy about the updates the pair plan to make, after obtaining transcripts from a recent meeting. According to the outlet, residents blasted the new neighbors, calling them “absentee” neighbors as they discussed the plans for the property that include changing the treeline, installing new fencing, and adding a security system, which some believe is too much for the otherwise quiet residential neighborhood.
One distraught resident was so upset that they said they may even decide to move next year if the couple’s plans are approved by the Bratenahl Architectural Review Board.
Neighbors Shared Their Concerns About the Sewer
The Daily Mail reports that Katherine Bolton, the woman who lives next door to the celebrity couple, is worried about “catastrophic sewer backups” if Kelce and Swift’s planned landscape project moves forward. That’s because the location of the proposed trees would put them right over a 100-year-old shared sewage line.
Bolton told meeting attendees that she was so worried about the potential backup that she reached out to an expert to see what it would cost to add a protective barrier to prevent roots from entering the pipes and was given a $75,000 quote for the work. “This applicant may decide to sell her house next year, maybe move on and buy another house,” Bolton said during the meeting.
But her concerns were about more than just the sewer line; she also expressed anxiety over what would happen if something were to go wrong while the pair were off globetrotting. “What am I going to do when I have 50 evergreen trees on my sewer line, and they’re gone?”
Another Neighbor Worried About Wildlife
The couple has already begun trimming the treeline, which was something that bothered Chuck Bauernschmidt, who lives two houses away from the pair. He blasted Kelce and Swift for doing away with the greenery, calling it “ridiculous,” saying “all the trees are gone.”
As for the proposed six-foot fence, Bauernschmidt says he’s worried that the deer would injure themselves. Meanwhile, the couple’s planner, Jacob Kutz, defended the decisions, according to PageSix, saying that the famous pair were just “looking for privacy and security after one of the largest sales in Cuyahoga County.”
However, the Sunshine YouTube channel says that the improvements that the couple wants to make in the name of security may not help too much, since the neighbors claim that the real threats will come from drones or the boats on Lake Erie.
Neighborhood Disputes Like This Aren’t Uncommon
While a situation like this definitely comes across as larger than life due to the couple’s high-profile status (and the more than $5 million price tag on the property), community backlash over cases like this can happen in just about any neighborhood.
For example, one homeowner in British Columbia sued her neighbors after they cut back trees on her property that went beyond the scope of what she had agreed to. Court documents show that Jacalyn Hays gave her neighbors permission to trim some of the younger trees just inside her property line, allowing her neighbors a better view of the lake behind them.
While this situation is understandably different because it involves altering someone else’s property, it does go to show you how sometimes the changes that are made in one person’s yard can affect the surrounding neighbors, both in positive and negative ways.
