A Nigerian-born medical doctor, Matthew Bernard, and his partner, Lynn Warner, have been ordered to pay nearly $1 million in penalties after illegally cutting down protected trees around their property in Oakland.
The ruling was handed down by the Oakland City Council following a long-running dispute over tree removal at the couple’s Claremont Avenue property.
City records showed officials visited the hillside property five times between February 2021 and May 2022 after receiving complaints that several trees had been cut down without approval from authorities.
According to reports by California-based media outlet KQED, more than 20 residents attended a public hearing on Tuesday, urging the council to strictly enforce the city’s tree protection laws.
Residents argued that the trees were vital to the area’s environmental stability, especially in reducing wildfire risks and maintaining public health.
Bernard and Warner reportedly maintained that the trees were removed based on recommendations from an arborist. Speaking during the hearing, Bernard said the trees had been “dead, dying, leaning, or hazardous.”
He also requested permission to carry out replanting after future construction work on the undeveloped property, but city officials rejected the proposal.
Instead, authorities imposed a fine of $915,135.40 and placed a lien on the property, meaning it cannot be sold or developed until the penalty is fully paid.
Explaining the decision, community tree specialist Erys Gagnez said mature trees of that size could not simply be replaced overnight.
“Even with replanting, it could take decades or even centuries to restore the environmental value that was lost,” Gagnez said.
The case has sparked fresh debate in the community over environmental protection and enforcement of tree preservation laws in California.
