Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in California

Our next door neighbor has been harassing us. We rent our house and she seems to think she can bully us. Most of her behavior is just immature and obnoxious, i.e. dirty looks and snide comments. However, she has harassed us, our relatives (including my small children), threaten my 7-year-old to his face, trespassed onto our property and tampered with our trash cans, causing bodily harm to me. She has shown up at my son's football practice and bad mouthed us. She has violated our privacy by eavesdropping and watching us from her upstairs windows. She has intimated me at school functions. We also strongly suspect that she grows illegal drugs in her garage. We've asked her husband to keep her away from our property and to leave us alone, but he says she doesn't listen. Recently, she called the owner of the property and asked if she could come on the property and put mulch in our flowerbed, (which already has mulch). When the property manager called me regarding this, I told him about all the problems we've had with this neighbor and that I was very uncomfortable with her doing anything to the property. He was speechless.

The neighbor's behavior has caused constant stress and anxiety, to the point where our children rarely play outside of the house. She does have prior convictions for assault and making false statements, which makes dealing with her even more nerve racking. Yes, we could move, but we plan on buying a house next year and don't want to incur extra moving costs because of her. Also, our children go to school together, so I'm sure that even though we won't be neighbors, we'll still run into each other. What is our recourse at this point? When should I complain to the police? Should I file a civil harassment retaining order against her?...We just want to be left alone to live in peace. Thank you for your advice.

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