A California couple has been slapped with a nearly $1 million fine after illegally chopping down 38 trees on their hillside lot in Oakland. Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner purchased the land behind the Claremont Hotel and Club in North Oakland back in 2019. In 2021, city staff reported that the couple began clearing trees on the lot without the necessary permits, according to the Oakland Side.
Despite repeated warnings from officials, Bernard allegedly ignored them and continued cutting down trees, some of which were reportedly on neighboring properties. The couple later attempted to apply for permits in 2025 to build a single-family home, but instead, Oakland issued a notice stating they had violated the city's protected tree ordinance.
Officials gathered ample evidence of the cleared trees and violations, including photos of people cutting down trees on the couple's property, along with police reports from calls about the chopping. City staff estimated the value of each demolished tree, with costs ranging from $750 for a small plum tree to $95,000 for an old live oak. The total fine for all 38 trees amounted to a staggering $915,135.
Bernard and Warner requested City Council hearings on the tree removal, a right granted to those contesting fines under the city's tree protection law. However, both attempts failed as the council could not reach a decision in December 2025 or again in April 2026. A motion on April 14 to impose the maximum fine failed after three councilmembers voted no, and one member's absence was counted as a no vote.
The final decision came on Tuesday when the Oakland City Council settled on a hefty fine of nearly $1 million. Bernard attempted to plead his case, stating he tried to follow the permit process and claimed some trees were diseased or had already been cleared. "We dispute there were 38 trees removed," he said. "Some trees fell prior to our purchase, others fell during storms." The couple even asked the council to cancel the fine, promising to replant new trees after building their home.
Tree defenders rallied in support of the fine, bombarding councilmembers with emails and speaking out at the meeting. They raised concerns that if the city did not punish the couple, it would send a message to property owners that they could cut down any tree with little to no consequences. Some councilmembers sought a more favorable solution for the couple, calling the protected tree ordinance "outdated" and the fine unfair. Oakland councilmember Carroll Fife tried to reduce the fine to $300,000, saying, "I believe a truly equitable approach requires us to distinguish between preventable loss and inevitable removal."
In the end, a majority of the council agreed that laws matter and the city should not make excuses for those who break them. Councilmember Janai Ramachandran stated that Oakland needs "to be crystal clear" about law violations. "To anyone who wants to come into our city and trash our city, and violate our laws, and think you can get away with it: …You are going to be fined," she said.
