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San Francisco kicks off Prop E urban-forest program; city to spend $19 million a year on street trees
Summary
City leaders and partners gathered for a Prop E kickoff. The measure transfers street‑tree responsibility to Public Works, triples staffing for maintenance and sets aside about $19 million annually for tree maintenance, with initial rollout in District 8 and a phased ramp‑up through 2019.
City officials and nonprofit partners used the SFPUC meeting day to highlight implementation of Proposition E — a voter‑approved measure that returns responsibility for all street trees in the public right of way to the city and sets aside a dedicated annual fund for maintenance.
Mohammed Nuru, director of the Department of Public Works, said Prop E gives the department full control of street trees within the public right of way (defined as 10 feet from the curb to the back of the sidewalk) and provides about $19 million a year to maintain a roughly 125,000‑tree urban canopy. The measure triples staffing needed at DPW for the effort (over 50 new employees planned) and begins a phased maintenance cycle of approximately three to five years per tree.
Mayor Ed Lee, Supervisor Jeff Sheehy, planning and public‑works officials, Friends of the Urban Forest representatives and city administrators spoke at the kickoff. Speakers emphasized the expense and neighborhood benefits of tree maintenance, the program’s priority mapping for high‑need trees, and efforts to ramp up equipment and crews. Naomi Kelly, city administrator, noted an estimated 31,000 sidewalks need repair from tree‑related damage; Prop E includes resources to address this liability.
The demonstration day included pruning and bucket‑truck demonstrations and recognized partner organizations and volunteers who helped develop the urban‑forest plan. Friends of the Urban Forest and department staff said the plan will aim for 40,000 new, well‑cared‑for trees equitably distributed through neighborhoods and stressed the need for public‑private collaboration as the program scales up.
Implementation will be phased and requires staffing, truck procurement and coordination with planning to prioritize the worst‑off trees first; full rollout of continuous maintenance is expected by about 2019.
