It's not a joke. Worked at mall with an outdoor section that Apple was interested in putting a store at. In front of all the stores between the street and sidewalk was plants and small trees, Apple specifically requested to remove them.

They did, and the mall had an Apple store without any obstructions to viewing its storefront.

Edit: Interestingly, that Apple store also had some crazy person ram their car into it. Luckily it was while the store was closed so no one was hurt, since they were trying to steal some iPads and Macs.