SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Poway residents are once again voicing displeasure with the owner of the now-closed Stoneridge Country Club. Thursday, crews from Big Trees Nursery began removing dozens of trees from the property.
"I couldn't believe it," neighbor Brian Edmonston told 10News. "I thought it was outrageous and it was a cruel thing to do."
In 2017, owner Michael Schlesinger backed a ballot measure which would have allowed him to build more than 100 condos on the land. The day after Poway voters rejected the plan, Schlesinger closed the club.
Poway City Councilmember Barry Leonard told 10News that because the land is private property and the trees being removed are not "native trees", Schlesinger is within his rights to remove and sell the trees.
Leonard also said that because Schlesinger terminated water service to the property, he would rather see the trees removed than die.
