The Oakland City Council voted Tuesday to impose a fine of $915,135 on two landowners who cut down 38 trees without a permit.
Landowners Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner had the trees removed from their parcel as well as two neighboring parcels, one of which was owned by the city, between February 2021 and May 2022, according to a December 2025 report by Oakland Public Works.
Mr. Bernard told the council Tuesday that “some trees fell prior to our purchase, others fell during storms.” The city council ultimately voted 5-3 to impose the fine, among the largest ever levied in the city for bringing down trees, according to local nonprofit newsroom The Oaklandside.
Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, who voted for the fine, told KQED-TV that “this was a knowing violation of our Tree Protection Ordinance, and we need to comply with our existing law and fine him the amount as recommended by city staff.”
Most of the felled trees, 30 in total, were California live oaks. The rest were two California buckeyes, three big-leaf maples, one California bay tree, one Canary Island pine and one cherry plum tree, per the report.
The assessed value of the trees was $909,600, the most expensive of which were a California live oak that was 38 inches in diameter and worth $94,100, and a California live oak that was 37 inches in diameter at breast height worth $89,200. The rest of the fine is to pay for the investigation and other administrative costs, per the Oakland Public Works report.
