Edgartown had strong words and instituted a daily fine against a Katama Bay homeowner who illegally had nearly 20 trees cut down on his property.

The town’s conservation commission voted last week to institute the fine until John E. Waldron and his wife Amanda Waldron submit a restoration plan. Fines will run at a max of $300 a day for the alleged chopping of 19 mature cedar trees at the $31.6 million property. 

Members of the commission were blunt with the Waldrons’ lawyer at the Oct. 8 meeting, saying they were insulted that the Waldrons directly disobeyed the commission’s orders on what trees could be cut in the protected wetlands area. 

“Everything in the buffer zone has been removed with the exception of one oak tree,” said Geoff Kontje, a commissioner. “And you can’t make the argument that the owners were not aware of what they were doing…This is an intentional and willful disregard for what we required them to do in writing.” 

Robert McCarron, an attorney for the Waldrons, acknowledged that his clients would be on the hook to resolve the issue. 

“I talked with my client. He understands there would be some form of a fine,” he said. “He understands there needs to be restoration. He is committed to doing restoration in a manner that furthers the interests of the bylaw.”

Mr. Waldron’s New York City home address listed in town assessor records has been reported to be owned by a John E. Waldron who is now the president and COO at Goldman Sachs. The investment banker has posted on social media about hosting events on the Vineyard, but Mr. McCarron did not return a request for comment to confirm if the Katama Bay property owner was indeed an executive at Goldman.

The conservation commission first noticed an issue with the trees at the Edgartown property in April, when the conservation agent found the trees standing between the 15,000 square-foot home and the bay had been removed.

Aerial photos of the property indicate that the cutting had taken place over a number of years since the Waldrons built the home in 2022, according to the commission. 

The town sent a violation letter to the Waldrons in August that called on the owners to halt any further cutting and submit a restoration plan within 30 days. No plan had been submitted as of Wednesday, said Kara Shemeth, the conservation agent.

While acknowledging the need for restoration, the Waldrons’ attorney did question the legitimacy of the commission’s ability to oversee historic views. The trees in the area that were chopped down were estimated to be about 60 years old, causing Mr. McCarron to wonder if that really counted as historic and if it would even fall under the commission’s jurisdiction. 

“The historic views here are grassland,” he said, adding that the provision was “probably the weakest” in the commission’s bylaws. 

Mr. Kontje pushed back on that line of reasoning, saying that the trees were also in a wetland buffer zone which is supposed to be left untouched. 

“This is within our jurisdiction,” he said. “The idea is that this buffer zone is there to protect the wetlands, give the wetlands a place to migrate to.”

Coming to the commission without a plan, and then questioning the validity of the town’s bylaws, didn’t sit well with some commissioners.

“I feel a little bit insulted to hear about our laws aren’t valid,” said John Piekos, a commissioner. 

If the Waldrons disagreed with the violations, they could have appealed the decision, he said. 

“You really should have come with a plan tonight and you didn’t, and I believe that fines should start tomorrow,” Mr. Piekos said. 

The commission set a new deadline of Nov. 5 to submit a restoration plan, along with a description of the work and a cost estimate. Fines would continue until the plans are submitted.