California landowners who cut 38 trees in Oakland hills hit with $915,000 fine

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2. More: Fife railed against what she said were racially inequitable policies, making comparisons with the drug war, mass i

https://oaklandside.org/2026/05/05/trees-illegally-cut-fine-oakland/

Bernard asked the council to resolve the matter by waiving the fine and allowing him and Warner to replant new trees after they built their home.

Councilmembers Brown and Fife wanted to find a solution more favorable to Bernard. Brown called Oakland’s protected tree ordinance “outdated” and said it felt unfair to impose such a large fine on the property owners for chopping down trees the city would likely have permitted removal of anyway.

“I believe a truly equitable approach requires us to distinguish between preventable loss and inevitable removal,” she said. She tried to get her colleagues to vote for a roughly $300,000 reduction in the fine.

Fife railed against what she said were racially inequitable policies, making comparisons with the drug war, mass incarceration and colonization, while noting that Bernard is Black and his property is located in an area where people of color were prohibited from living in the early 20th century. She supported Brown’s proposal.