They look like yew. Where approximately are you located?

They yew indeed. Here is a list of yew problems. Take your pick.

Yew Problems (missouribotanicalgarden.org)

I would first compare with root rot.

as they came with the house

==>> two problems..

first.. whomever planted them planted a monoculture.. and now that one has a problem. they all will have the problem ...

second.. well.. its ugly .. lol ...

is there a purpose to this planting.. other than you have to shear them once or twice a year ... they arent tall enough to be hiding much of anything.. except a property line i susppose ...

personally... i would waste money on trying to save them.. and would plan for removal ...

and if you decide to replace it ... chose a bunch of diverse plants ... avoiding the monoculture issue in the future ...

if your ground is not frozen.. there is no reason you could not remove in winter ... and come up with some nefarious plan for planting in spring ...

ken

Thanks everyone for the help!
Located in Vancouver and the plants are west facing so they get a lot of sun (although this winter has been exceptionally rainy).

The plants separate the driveway from the yard...eventually we will likely redo the yard, but weren’t planning on it quite so soon.

Yews are drainage sensitive, with even the local native species of your (and my) area tending to be seen on ridges and other locations where it might be expected there is better drainage than in low places.