[travelguy]

what a nightmare. when my bother-in-law had a pool built in encino ca the earthmoving equipment was lowered into the backyard by a crane with a long boom that was parked in the street in front of the house. and that was 30+ years ago. i have seen equipment lowered from a helicoptor also. the side yards in most of los angeles are only about 3 to 4 feet to the property line, and there are block walls around the backyards. i do not know why any contractor has to use a neighbors yards to get into your yard.
the only reason i would ever consider having my own pool was so that i could skinny-dip. i guess we cannot designate one night each week at our neighborhood pool for that.