concordtom said:SFCityBear said:Aunburdened said:Anarchistbear said:
Landowner in Oakland hills who cut down 38 trees without permits fined $915,000.00
https://oaklandside.org/2026/05/05/trees-illegally-cut-fine-oakland/
I knew that lumber costs were going up, but I didn't know it was that high.
THANKS PRESIDENT TRUMP!
The size of this fine has nothing to do with the cost of lumber.
According to article, the trees on the property which might had the highest valuation was the Coast Live Oak, which City staff may have evaluated at $95,000. This species of tree has very little or no value as timber, from which to produce lumber. A mature tree of this kind has value only in preventing some erosion and of course, aesthetic value, which is very subjective. The maple might have some value for timber for furniture, but it is not likely to approach the $95,000 for the oak. The cost to remove any tree is expensive, and I would guess the cost to remove any of the mature oak trees would be $50,000-$100,000.
The fine is shocking, perhaps, but the property owner made a costly mistake in deciding to remove the trees without approval from the City. Planning and Building departments can be difficult to work with, and it is really a bad idea to go ahead with clearing the property, without getting their approval. They do not take violation of their rules and codes lightly, and can punish you by delaying your project, increasing fines, etc.
As to Donald Trump, yes, the Trump Administration's military action in the Middle East has caused a rise in gasoline prices, which in turn has caused a rise in the cost of lumber, but there was apparently little or no loss of any trees on the property in question which had value as lumber, only aesthetic value, or maybe erosion prevention value.
I didn't read the article as to WHY cut trees in the Oakland Hills, but I'd offer up VIEWS as a distinct possibility.
I read an article about this particular situation which stated that the owners cut down the trees in order to clear space to construct a building on the property. I'd expect that the City Planning Commission and the Building Department will make this project as difficult (and costly) for this landowner to do, in addition to the fines already imposed.
SFCityBear
