The previous owner of my house planted a row of Leyland Cypress as a screen. They are now over 30' tall and the shade they create is killing a large part of my Bermuda lawn. I would love to just cut the tree about 15' up and prune branches near the top of what is left to taper in.

I'm pretty certain this is a ridiculous idea but I would like to know exactly why? I'm sure the trees would look ridiculous for a year or so and I might shorten the life of the trees, but the thinning grass looks terrible and it is not feasible to turn the thinning area into a bed. That leaves removing all the trees which will be a pretty big job.

I would love to hear advice and/or opinions on this situation.