After months of debate and visible frustration, the Oakland City Council voted Tuesday to enforce a $1 million fine against a couple who cut down 38 mature trees across their property, a neighbor’s lot and an adjacent city lot on Claremont Avenue.
For some, the vote was about more than a single hillside property. It became a test of whether Oakland, which has gained a reputation for permissiveness and lax enforcement, would stand behind its own laws.
“We have to decide as a council if the laws mean something, or if they’re just ink on a piece of paper,” Council President Kevin Jenkins said during the meeting. “We have to decide whether Oakland will continue to have the reputation that people can do whatever they want without consequences.”…