Perhaps the easiest way of doing it is to convene an EC meeting, including on the agenda a proposal for seeking Council approval to have the trees removed. (you are on the EC aren’t you?)
Then approve that resolution, noting that the Chair has been in correspondence with the Council without EC authority.
You may also want to contact the Council and tell them that the Chair’s application was made without authority and has no effect. Usually those sorts of things have to have the OC seal on them, although things can be a bit lax.
In relation to removal of trees and getting Council approval, it is not an easy road, so good luck.