A few months ago, prompted by a notice for fire abatement from the Glendale Fire Department, we had our oak/sycamore trees trimmed. We hired a tree company to do light pruning and they assured us we did not need a permit for this kind of trimming. On day 3 of trimming someone from the city of Glendale stopped by and told them to stop trimming because we didn’t have a permit. A few weeks later an arborist from the city came out and assessed the damage to the trees. On October 1st we received a fine for $347,600 for trimming our 13 oak/sycamore trees without a permit!!!!
There is a new tree ordinance that went into affect in March of this year. We are among the first residents to be punished under this ordinance and we think it is insane! This is no fine, it is financial ruin. We love our trees and only wanted to maintain them. There was no malicious intent and yet we are being treated like criminals.
The Glendale City Council has currently called a time out in order to review the ordinance in light of our case. We feel the need to rally support of citizens and send a message, loud and clear, that this is not okay!