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San Francisco appeals board backs sending supervisors letter urging tougher penalties for illegal tree removal
Summary
The Board of Appeals reviewed a Bureau of Urban Forestry briefing on fines and enforcement for illegal tree removal and voted to send a draft letter to the Board of Supervisors urging stronger penalties and possible permit suspensions as deterrents.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on March 10 reviewed a presentation from the Bureau of Urban Forestry on the city's current fines and legal remedies for illegal tree removal and voted to send a draft letter to the Board of Supervisors urging stronger penalties.
Julie Rosenberg, the board's executive director, introduced a draft letter prepared with Bureau staff. Carla Short, acting deputy director of operations for San Francisco Public Works and a representative of the Bureau of Urban Forestry, summarized the bureau's authority, the structure of existing fines and the administrative process for imposing or changing fines.
President Honda and several commissioners discussed expanding sanctions beyond fixed dollar fines. Commissioner Honda suggested suspending permits for contractors or developers who remove trees illegally, saying a temporary permit freeze could deter actors who view fines as a cost of doing business. Short cautioned that not all illegal removals are equivalent, citing cases involving stump sprouts or confusion about permit requirements, and warned a wholesale permit freeze could delay affordable-housing projects.
Members of the public who called in supported stronger enforcement. One caller said the board should not shy away from 'assessing extremely prohibitive measures' to stop repeat violators and praised the board's leadership on the issue.
Commissioner Rick Swig moved to adopt the letter and direct the executive director to send it to the Board of Supervisors; the motion carried unanimously. The letter asks the Board of Supervisors to consider higher fines and other deterrents, including permit-based sanctions or penalties scaled to the value of the tree for development-related removals.
The board recorded the action as a referral to the legislative body; it did not itself change fines or impose permit suspensions at the hearing. The Bureau of Urban Forestry and board staff said they would incorporate the commissioners' direction into the final letter to supervisors.
The board proceeded to other items on the agenda after the vote.
