Board conditions Tesla supercharger permit on planting six city trees funded by permit holder

An appeal over the removal of a mature street tree at 601 Van Ness for a Tesla DC fast‑charger installation (vault/transformer placement) ended with a conditioned departmental approval.

Appellant Joshua Klipp and community members criticized Public Works’ approval, saying the city prioritized a private‑company charging installation over canopy preservation and that the city had not adequately applied its own vault‑placement rules. They questioned whether replacement in‑lieu fees and appraisals fairly mitigate loss and whether the city had sought other sites that would avoid tree removal.

Tesla representatives said engineers and PG&E determined a vaulted transformer was necessary to supply DC fast charging power in that location and that they evaluated alternative sites; they said Tesla is privately funding the installation and had offered additional tree mitigation. Public Works (Chris Buck) explained staff initially recommended denial but the department approved removal after further review and engagement with SF Environment. SF Environment provided carbon‑sequestration modeling that suggested the fast chargers’ emissions reductions offset some loss from tree removal when considering long‑term EV adoption.

After extended debate, the board approved the Public Works action conditioned on a commitment by the permit holder to fund planting six 24‑inch‑box street trees (to be planted by Bureau of Urban Forestry in the Tenderloin or agreed sites) within six months of the final decision. The motion carried 5–0.