British Columbia: Trimming Arbor Vitae

I have an Arbor Vitae hedge which I need to trim back on one side. The plants are around 3 meters in height and 1 meter in diameter. In order to get proper clearance I would need to remove all material from the ground up to 1 meter above the ground, and cut all the way to the trunk(s). I realise this will not be pretty, but will it kill the plant or disturb the appearance on the other side?

 

The denuding of the one part would not be expected to bring a noticeable change to the rest.