Apparently, not everyone is a fan of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. The famous couple is reportedly facing backlash from Ohio neighbors over their mansion plans, with residents raising safety concerns and criticizing the stars.
During a village planning meeting, some of the couple’s neighbors lit into the couple with one describing their presence as being a “tremendous blow” to the neighborhood.
Kelce and Swift’s neighbors in Ohio aren’t happy with their plans
The criticism follows neighbors’ attempt last month to stop Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s plans to build a security fence and plant trees around their $5 million Bratenahl property, according to Page Six.
The couple intended to surround their Ohio home, located on the shores of Lake Erie, with an 8-foot fence. However, because a code requires fences around lakefront homes to be capped at 2.5 feet unless they are at least 75% see-through to preserve lake views and property values.
The Bratenahl Architectural Review Board either rejected or ignored the request at two separate meetings in August and September. The board would later approve a 6-foot black aluminum fence after more than an hour of objections, according to the Daily Mail.
A neighbor called the couple ‘absentee’ owners
At the most recent meeting, some of the landscaping the celebrity couple wants to undertake came under scrutiny. Katherine Bolton, who has lived next door to the property for more than thirty years, told the review board, “There’s a new owner, who is an absentee owner, who is not going to be here.”
“Planting 50 evergreen trees just ten feet from a 100-year-old clay sewer line is virtually guaranteed to cause severe root intrusion, pipe structural failure and catastrophic sewage backups,” Bolton claimed.
She said she was quoted $75,000 to line the pipe to prevent damage caused by the trees’ roots. Bolton also pointed out, “This applicant may decide to sell her house next year, maybe move on and buy another house. What am I going to do when I have 50 evergreen trees on my sewer line, and they’re gone? And I’m still living here in Bratenahl?”
Another neighbor, Chuck Bauernschmidt, who has lived two doors down for 39 years, shared photographs of what he called “the total clear cutting of the shrubbery and everything else.”
“All the trees are gone,” he said, blaming Kelce and Swift, adding that the couple’s spear-topped fence design posed a danger to wildlife.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s team are fighting back
Meanwhile, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s team fought back against the board, claiming they had gone above and beyond to maintain harmony in the midst of the escalating drama.
“The house was one of the largest sales in Cuyahoga County, so the homeowner is looking for privacy and security,” said Jacob Kutz of Tiny Construction, who is in charge of the project.
Additionally, Patrick Hyland, the property manager, informed the meeting that two weeks prior, his clients had paid $7,500 of their own money to fix a damaged piece of the shared sewage and had the entire line jetted and cleaned “without asking for any help, just to show that we’re good neighbors.”
Security and privacy have become a major issue for Travis Kelce
In 2023, Kelce dropped $6 million to buy a mansion located in a gated community outside of Kansas City—a move that reportedly stemmed from his former residence turning into a “mini tourist attraction” courtesy of fans who flocked there after Swift paid him a visit.
Unfortunately, he had to ask the post office to stop delivering mail to his house because he was being flooded with unsolicited packages.
Also, in 2024, Travis Kelce’s home was burglarized. That same year, Travis Kelce attended the Morgan Wallen concert at Arrowhead Stadium and walked out with the country superstar to open his show, but the concert had to be delayed after a man threatened to shoot him and his teammate Patrick Mahomes.