This is California. California has a court system, and the property owner has access to the courts. Given the price of land in Los Altos, I suspect money to go to court is not a problem. So, where exactly is the banana republic?
IIRC, the official Los Altos Hills fence-cutter was on holiday that week, and so the Mayor had to step in. Believe me, this was all above board.
No, it's a jerk on Hacker News.
Please don't make the thread even worse by posting like this.