City looks to close tree fine issues

CITY HALL — The public reckoning of how a Glendale couple were fined $347,600 for illegally trimming 13 trees began Tuesday night, with the City Council assigning responsibility, accepting responsibility and assuring the public that things will change next week.

After enduring weeks of criticism over the more than $500,000 in fines that have been levied against a handful of single-family homeowners through the city’s Indigenous Tree Ordinance, the City Council sought to begin putting the issue behind them by first addressing the standout case — Ann and Mike Collard’s $347,600 fine.

Dated Sept. 21, their notice of violation was sent out after it was discovered that they had pruned 13 protected sycamore and oak trees in August on and off their property without the required permit. Arborists calculated the diminished value of the trees to be worth $173,800. Following the tree ordinance’s formula, it was then doubled to the final amount.

While City Council members accepted responsibility for toughening the ordinance in March, they said city staff members were out of line in deciding to drop the “unbelievably large” fines in the mail.

“That’s what I question, it’s not the technical expertise,” Councilman Frank Quintero said. “I don’t understand it.”

For their part, city officials said they never intended to cause the level of anxiety that led to widespread notoriety and exasperation, but were instead caught up in what, at the time, was strong public sentiment for tree preservation.

At the time the notices were mailed out, City Manager Jim Starbird told the council that executive managers had visualized the culprits to have criminal intent based on reports of extensive damage to the trees. That picture did not include the Collards, he said.

“The results on the family wasn’t something we had in our minds; it was a picture of people who have tried to maliciously kill and destroy trees,” Starbird said.

It wasn’t until administrators saw photos of Ann Collard with the trimmed trees in the background that they realized there may be a disconnect between the actual tree damage and the amount of the fine, Starbird said.

When the Collards retained an attorney, who then contacted the city, enforcement of all major tree fines were stayed pending a review of the ordinance and its fee structure. But by then, the couple had taken matters into their own hands.