Board votes unanimously to place street-tree maintenance and $19 million fund on November ballot

On July 29, 2016, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously (11-0) to submit a charter amendment to the Nov. 8, 2016 ballot that would transfer responsibility for maintenance of street trees to the city, including trees on San Francisco Unified School District property, and require an annual contribution of $19,000,000 to a special fund (adjusted annually for changes in aggregate discretionary city revenues).

Supporters said the measure would relieve property owners of maintenance and liability, give the city the ability to fund ongoing care, and allow the planting of additional trees. Supervisor Scott Wiener told colleagues the measure would allow the city to "assume responsibility for maintaining those trees, for fixing the sidewalks for tree related damage, and to assume liability, and to relieve property owners of this responsibility." Wiener said the measure also includes funding to plant "an additional 50,000 trees."

Supervisor Avalos thanked Wiener and others for years of work on the measure and noted the effort to build budget flexibility as an alternative to a parcel tax. Wiener credited staff — naming DPW, the planning department and the controller's office — and his office staff for preparing the financial analysis required for the proposal.

The clerk called the roll and recorded 11 ayes. The clerk announced, "There are 11 ayes," and the charter amendment "will be submitted." The item was read into the record as a charter amendment to "transfer responsibility for the maintenance of street trees to the city… to require an annual contribution of 19,000,000 to be paid by the city into a special fund adjusted annually… and to affirm the CEQA determination." The charter amendment will appear on the Nov. 8, 2016 ballot if approved by voters.

The record includes no motion-maker or seconder in the transcript; the clerk conducted a roll call vote.