OCEANSIDE -- Steve "Tiki Daddy" Tustison gathered hundreds of signatures, hired an attorney and threatened to conduct protests in his front yard. But in the end, he couldn't save his roadside attraction.

On Monday, a city-hired tree service removed two towering palms along Freeman Street in South Oceanside. Tustison, 44, carved large, tiki-style faces into the trunks last year.

City officials said the Polynesian-style artwork weakened the palms and created a safety hazard. Two arborists recommended removal.

"The city just can't take on the liability," Kiel Koger, Oceanside's maintenance and operations manager, said Monday.

Tustison, who carves tikis for a living, paced the sidewalk and glared at city officials overseeing the work.

"These are just bully tactics," he said, as the trees, located in front his rented home, were reduced to stumps. "It's exactly what's wrong with this country."

Oceanside told Tustison to replace the trees last year. When the woodcarver missed the December deadline, the city took action.

"We haven't had a whole lot of luck getting him to do what we've asked him to do," Deputy Public Works Director Joe Arranaga said.

Tustison said he tried finding a tree service but nobody wanted the job.

Since August, he has tried a host of tactics to save the trees. He posted a "Save the Tikis" petition in his front yard, made unusual threats ("I'm going to carve full-sized nudes and put them in my yard in rebellion") and tried unsuccessfully to get his name on the mayoral ballot.

Monday's tree removal was swift. Crews arrived around 7 a.m. Tustison, alerted by a neighbor's phone call, rushed home from Buccaneer Beach. It didn't matter.

By 8:15 a.m., the tikis were gone.

"All they did was murder two bitchin' trees … for a safety issue that didn't exist," said Tustison, wearing a custom "Tiki Daddy" sweat shirt.

Neighbors gathered on the curb with their morning coffee to watch the trees come down.

"It's a bum deal," said Read Arnold, 32, who lives a few doors down from Tustison.

Oceanside officials said the city will bill Tustison "several thousand" dollars to remove and replace the palms. The new trees will be 15 feet tall, much shorter than those Tustison carved.

Most of the wood from the felled trees will go to the San Marcos Unified School District for a wood-carving project. Tustison can have the carved parts back when he pays his bill, city officials said.

Tustison scoffed at the idea.

"Hell, no," he said. "I don't buy tikis. I make them and sell them."

Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 901-4062 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.