Arborist Richard Conning said the trees were in good health and well sited on a generous grass berm and removing them because of leaf drop was "a very poor rationale".
He said the resident at 7 Burnt Oak Drive had declined the offer of up to four gutter cleans a year.
Mr Conning said it would cost $440,000, including GST, to remove and replace all of Tauranga's 759 birch trees based on the current contract rate to remove, stump grind and plant new trees. There was not enough in the council's budgets for the next 10 years to carry out this scale of targeted removals and replacements.
He said that although the council's vegetation management strategy recognised that silver birches were problematic, they were not listed in the guide for replacement plantings in specific streets.
The council said its decision was inconsistent with the tree management policy but argued that the reason for the inconsistency was health and safety. Because it did not fit the criteria for felling a tree, the council agreed to amend the policy to accommodate its decision.