An Oakwood Village homeowner, Ian Pearson, has accused developers from Modcity of attempting to unlawfully cut down a tree located on his private property. This allegation follows a troubling encounter in which chainsaw-wielding workers allegedly attempted to remove his tree without his consent.

Pearson described a chaotic scene involving Modcity workers, stating, “There were guys with chainsaws back here and they had taken out two sections of my fence.” He further explained that the property owner had misinformed the workers regarding the location of the property line, claiming the tree was his and indicating that it needed to be cut down. According to Pearson, Modcity recently acquired the neighboring house on Glenholme Avenue, and the company plans to engage in major redevelopment activities.

To Pearson’s dismay, the developers initiated tree removal efforts even before acquiring the necessary permits to commence construction on the property. “There were guys up here in the tree with harnesses and they were taking off branches not only on the property owner's side but on my side because the objective was to bring down the whole tree,” Pearson noted.

During this incident, Pearson and his wife were not present at their home, leaving a friend named Mike to house-sit. Upon discovering the situation, Mike confronted the Modcity workers, raising concerns about the encroachment on Pearson's property. Pearson expressed, “If he hadn’t been here, I would have come back to ‘Where the F is my tree?’ Right?” indicating the urgency of the situation.

Modcity has reportedly submitted plans for a fourplex and a garden suite on the neighboring lot. However, Pearson argues that his tree stands in the way of their planned development. He elaborated on the development’s implications, stating, “Their garden suite plan basically has them digging down four feet into the protection zone to build the garden suite. It’s on their survey, they know what they’re doing. They just figure one way or another, they’re going to make it happen, regardless of what the laws are or anything else.”

The city of Toronto imposes a maximum fine of $100,000 for the illegal removal of mature trees. Authorities have confirmed that there are currently three active investigations into Modcity for similar tree-cutting offenses at other properties. City councillor Josh Matlow has voiced his concerns over the issue, stating, “I want to see those fines actually laid down right now on Modcity. I want to see them enforce the rules that we have. If a company doesn’t care about other people and their properties, they might care about their own wallets. So, it’s gotta hit ‘em where it hurts.”

Ron Sheinen, the principal of Modcity, was reportedly seen at the site prior to the tree-cutting incident and was photographed by a neighbor. When approached for comments regarding the tree dispute, he initially sent a text message expressing uncertainty about the situation, but he later unsent the message. Pearson remarked on Sheinen’s behavior, asserting, “Well that’s typical of him right? That’s typical of him. He was here, yesterday morning right before they started doing this. I’m pretty sure he instructed them that as soon as the permit cleared that they were in there with a backhoe trying to take out the roots of the tree.”

In a bid to protect his tree from further attempts at removal, Pearson has taken proactive measures by placing a lock on the section of the fence that was previously damaged, thwarting access to his property by Modcity workers.