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Hays Valley neighbors lose challenge to tree-removal permit; replacement size set at 36-inch boxes
Summary
After hours of testimony from neighbors, the property owner and DPW arborists, the Board of Appeals upheld a DPW decision approving removal of two ficus at 580 Hayes Street and left the replacement requirement at 36-inch box size after a tied 2–2 vote on an amendment to require 48-inch trees.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Feb. 25 upheld a Department of Public Works decision allowing the removal of two mature ficus trees at 580 Hayes Street, rejecting neighborhood appeals that emphasized the trees’ public and environmental value.
Jay Rosenberg, chair of the Hays Valley Neighborhood Association’s Greening Committee, urged the board to preserve the ficus, citing canopy, wildlife habitat and carbon-storage benefits and pointing to successful corrective pruning nearby. "The 2 trees at 580 Hayes are not sick," Rosenberg said, arguing pruning and maintenance could preserve them.
Property owner Laguna Hayes LLC, represented by Rob Isaacson and landscape architect Marta Frey, and DPW urban forestry staff presented arborist assessments finding structural defects and codominant stems with included bark. DPW urban forester Chris Buck described the trees’ condition: "Both of the ficus trees at 580 Hay Street have poor structure," and noted recent city guidance on removing high-risk ficus species after large stem failures.
Commissioners debated whether to increase the required replacement size from the hearing officer’s 36-inch box to 48-inch boxes to speed canopy recovery. Commissioner Honda moved to uphold the permit but condition the approval on 48-inch box replacements on Hayes Street; that motion resulted in a 2–2 tie and therefore failed, leaving the DPW approval in place with the existing 36-inch box requirement.
DPW said replacement trees would be planted on all three frontages and that construction-related sidewalk repairs and tree-basin expansion will be required as part of typical construction permits. The board left the permit approval intact; DPW will enforce the replacement and construction conditions.
