Most trees have TPOs or Tree Preservation Orders as trees are for the benefit of everybody. The planners have statutory duties to protect landscapes, and the style of community development. They also have a duty to lean towards the developer because the law recognises that any development will upset somebody and so the law tries to get a balance and to put the elected planners as arbitrators in the middle. But the structure plan governs all. As an individual you cannot necessarily do what you want on your own land.
Society has rights too and they are superior.
All this does mean that in a crowded island land prices are high because developable land is limited. Go West young man' . Somehow, if the landscape is to be protected America must find a way of tranferring individuals rights to society and in a way that everybody perceives the benefit. Writing as a Berkeley resident, zoning would be a good start. But when times are good why shouldn't I be able to use my land in ways that benefit me most.