The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Oct. 8 considered appeal 25‑057 from the Tenderloin Tree Campaign challenging Public Works’ order to remove three trees at United Nations Plaza and the circumstances of their removal. The board denied the appeal 3‑0 but pressed city departments for stronger mitigation and public outreach after evidence that some removals occurred before the 15‑day appeal period expired.

Tenderloin Tree Campaign representative Josh Klipp told the board the removals were tied to Rec and Park’s design for a new skate‑park footprint and that an email from a senior park official pushed removal without a documented tree evaluation or public‑process conclusion. The appellant said the city’s own process was circumvented and asked the board to press departments for accountability, reengagement and meaningful mitigation, and to recognize longtime volunteer tree stewards Michael and John Nolte.

Responding, Recreation and Park Department and Public Works staff said the removals were not random: Public Works staff had identified nine dead trees and three that it classified as hazardous after field evaluation. Rec and Park contracted HortScience, a horticultural consultant, to confirm conditions before removal. Rec and Park acknowledged it removed three trees before the appeal period ended to meet a project schedule for an activation and donor event and apologized for the procedural lapse. Public Works said it issued administrative fines and that code requires replacement of trunk diameter in kind; staff proposed a mitigation package: 10 new 48‑inch‑box trees installed with permanent drip irrigation at nearby tree wells (five in front of the Asian Art Museum, five adjacent to the plaza), plus earlier planting of 13 36‑inch trees to replace other dead trees removed earlier in the process. Public Works said the replacements and irrigation would exceed the monetary value of an administrative fine and that installations will be coordinated with relevant agencies.

Board members pressed Rec and Park and Public Works on enforcement and equity: if a private party cut trees in an appeal period, that party would face the same administrative process. Commissioners expressed that using municipal funds to satisfy a penalty risked eroding public trust and sought stronger accountability and engagement going forward. The board denied the appeal but included three explicit recommendations: the board asked Rec and Park to (1) plant and irrigate ten 48‑inch box trees as mitigation, (2) commit to longer‑term protection and maintenance for the new trees, and (3) publicly recognize the work of the Nolte brothers; the board also asked staff to prepare a letter to the Board of Supervisors documenting the breach of the 15‑day appeal process and asking whether the chartered process needs changes. Vote: 3‑0.

Departments said they will proceed with the plantings and irrigation and that Rec and Park already planted 13 replacement 36‑inch box trees in the site as part of immediate remediation for other dead trees; further mitigation and the disposition of the administrative fine remain subject to internal departmental procedures. The board also recommended that the departments reengage the appellant in negotiation and invited the departments to report back to the board on implementation timelines and on whether any administrative fines will be redirected to capital improvements for urban forestry.

Ending: The board used the hearing to press departments for remediation and public engagement after the procedural lapse. The underlying administrative process — an administrative fine and mitigation coordination between Rec and Park and Public Works — will continue to determine final penalty disposition.