A notice of violation dated Sept. 21 was sent to the Collards for pruning 13 indigenous trees on and off their property on the 500 block of Whiting Woods Road without a permit. The couple said they were following a Glendale fire-abatement notice to cut back overgrown tree branches, and that they were unaware they needed a permit.
A violation notice dated the same day was also mailed to John Oppeheim for illegally pruning five protected trees on and off his property on the 3300 block of Park Vista Drive. That fine totaled $170,000.
Several other residents have also found themselves on the business end of the city’s Indigenous Tree Ordinance to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars each, city officials said.
But the Collards’ story catapulted the issue to the forefront of the City Council’s agenda.
Even after the city attorney’s office announced that all tree-trimming fines would be put on hold until the City Council addressed possible changes to the ordinance, public pressure to do more continued to mount.
On Nov. 27, City Atty. Scott Howard announced his office would not pursue the $347,000 fine against the Collards. On Monday, the couple met with Howard to sign paperwork making that decision final, Ann Collard said.
“When we got out of there, it was, ‘We’re going to frame this,’” she said. “It really felt like the final chapter, and we can move on with our lives.”
But the issue remains with the City Council.
While the majority have said they favor implementing safeguards in the process, others are questioning its validity altogether.
