Board grants UC Hastings tree removal appeal with replacement‑planting conditions

UC Hastings sought permission to remove three street trees at 333 Golden Gate Avenue to accommodate construction access for a new academic building and associated staging. The university described a master plan that includes new graduate housing and a multi‑institution campus village; project staff said the trees block essential emergency and construction access paths and conflict with utility and hoist locations. Clark Construction explained how the three trees interfere with the construction hoist, power feed location and off‑haul/waste management.

Chris Buck, urban forester with the Public Works Bureau of Urban Forestry, framed street trees as long‑term infrastructure. He said the bureau generally favors protecting street trees but acknowledged the applicant’s mitigation planning and recommended a conditional remedy: allow removal only if replacement trees are planted in 36‑inch boxes, the species are approved by BUF, and the removed trees are replanted at an approved site or replaced such that the neighborhood achieves a net gain or equivalent replacement. The Tenderloin Community Benefit District offered support for UC Hastings’ mitigation plan as providing a net neighborhood benefit.

The board voted to overturn the Public Works order and grant UC Hastings’ appeal, subject to conditions: plant three 36‑inch box replacement trees in the frontage (fourth tree if feasible), BUF approval of species and planting locations, and replanting or relocation of the removed trees to a BUF‑approved site. The board directed UC Hastings to work with BUF to finalize the mitigation plan.