A Bay area couple has been hit with a whopping fine of nearly $1 million dollars after removing trees from the property they owned, after officials said they violated Oakland’s protected tree law. Matthew Bernard and Lynn Warner of Emeryville purchased the lot behind the Claremont Resort and Club in North Oakland in 2019. In 2021 and 2022, the city claimed the landowner had illegally started cutting down trees without the proper permits, per a city council agenda report. The city said the couple ignored warnings about removing the trees without a permit, suggesting they had even done so on two neighboring lots. Last year, when the couple tried to apply for permits to build a single-family home on the lot they were denied, being told they had already reportedly violated the city’s Protected Tree ordinance .  A Bay area couple has been hit with a whopping fine of nearly $1 million dollars after removing trees from the property they owned.…