Overview
- The City Council voted 5–3 on Tuesday to fine the property owners $915,135 for cutting 38 protected trees.
- City staff say crews felled oaks, maples, and buckeyes in 2021–2022 on the couple’s lot, a neighbor’s land, and a nearby city parcel after repeated warnings.
- Public Works set the penalty using each tree’s species and stump diameter, and officials say the city can place a lien that could halt building or a sale until payment.
- The owners contest the tree count and condition and asked to build first then replant, while three councilmembers argued for a smaller penalty.
- Environmental groups and residents pressed for full enforcement, and some councilmembers now want to revisit appeal rules that let such cases come straight to the council.