Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Street Trees Uc Hastings topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board upholds Public Works tree‑removal order for UC Hastings, endorses 3:1 replacement plan
Summary
The Board of Appeals denied John Nolte’s appeal of a Public Works order permitting removal of eight street trees adjacent to UC Hastings and accepted a Green Community Benefits Plan committing to 3:1 replacement (24 trees) and three years' maintenance.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Jan. 13 denied an appeal by neighborhood activist John Nolte challenging a Department of Public Works order that allowed UC Hastings College of the Law to remove eight street trees adjacent to its campus for demolition and reconstruction work.
DPW and UC Hastings officials told the board removal was necessary for safe and feasible construction staging. DPW Urban Forestry staff said the staff decision and resulting permit (order no. 203887) approved removal of seven olive trees along Hyde Street and one small ginkgo on McAllister Street after reviewing tree condition, site constraints and construction logistics. Justin Zucker, attorney for UC Hastings, said the project will require deep excavation adjacent to the sidewalk and that retaining the trees would either prevent required construction movements or require closing lanes that SFMTA has not supported.
UC Hastings presented a Green Community Benefits Plan that DPW said it supports. Rhiannon Baylard, chief operating officer at UC Hastings, said the plan commits to planting 24 replacement street trees (a 3:1 ratio), with 14 trees adjacent to the campus and 10 additional trees in the Tenderloin neighborhood, and to three years of maintenance and replacement if trees fail during establishment. The plan also includes a proposed parklet at Golden Gate and Hyde and seed money for a community green‑benefits fund.
Appellant John Nolte and other residents raised questions about discrepancies in document lists, missing posted notices for some trees, whether some campus trees (olive trees in a plaza) fell under DPW jurisdiction, and the need for clearer funding and implementation details for the Green Community Benefits Plan. DPW and UC Hastings replied that campus trees on state property are outside DPW jurisdiction, that the staff review addressed alleged irregularities and that the implementation work plan provides funding and roles for plantings and maintenance.
Several representatives of Tenderloin community groups, including Simon Bertrand of the Tenderloin Community Benefit District and Curtis Bradford of the Tenderloin People’s Congress, spoke in favor of Hastings’ mitigation plan and told commissioners the neighborhood needs more trees and community investment.
Vice President Daryl Honda moved to deny the appeal and uphold the Public Works order; the board voted 5–0 (President Anne Lazarus, Vice President Daryl Honda, Commissioners Tina Chang, Rick Swig and Eduardo Santa Cana) to deny the appeal and uphold the permit. The decision leaves in place DPW’s conditions, including a 3:1 replacement commitment and required tree protection and establishment maintenance.
