In February 2021, Oakland city arborists responded to a report of an illegal tree removal on leafy Claremont Avenue. When they got there, they saw eight mature trees on the ground. In the middle of the property was a man holding a chainsaw.
Three years later, city arborist Tod Lawson said that moment marked the beginning of what he called “the most egregious illegal tree removal case” he’d seen in his 34 years with the City of Oakland.
City staff allege that the property’s owner, Matthew Bernard, and crews he hired cut down 38 mature trees without permits in 2021 and 2022 across his land, on an adjacent city property and on his neighbors’ lots. Bernard could face fines of nearly $1 million — one of the highest fees for tree removal in the city’s history. Barnard also is engaged in a bitter legal battle with his neighbors over the tree-cutting…