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Board allows removal of two palm planters at 3634 Twentieth Street after split neighborhood testimony
Summary
The Board of Appeals overruled DPW and granted a homeowners association permit to remove two palm trees and planters at 3634 Twentieth Street without replacement, finding the planters functioned as fixtures and raised ongoing public‑safety and nuisance concerns; DPW had recommended repair or replacement of containers.
The Board of Appeals on Sept. 10 granted an appeal allowing the removal of two windmill palms and their wooden planter boxes at 3634 Twentieth Street, deciding that the palms and containers are fixtures and that removal without replacement was permissible in this case.
Homeowners Association representative Greg Gabwood told the board the containers have created persistent problems — daily trash, graffiti, loitering, human waste and drug paraphernalia — and argued new containers or replanted boxes would not eliminate those issues. The HOA said the palms are container‑bound and that the containers are the primary nuisance, requesting permanent removal without replacement.
DPW Urban Forestry (Chris Buck) responded that the palms had been planted under a minor encroachment permit in Feb. 2001 and that in many cases DPW prefers to require replacement. Buck said the site lacked required clearances to plant in the ground near water and sewer lines and proposed alternates: repair or replace containers, replant in different containers, or remove and require replacement in containers if removal were pursued.
Neighbors were split. Several residents, including Robert Mintz and other tenants, argued the palms are healthy, low‑maintenance and contribute to neighborhood character; they offered low‑cost repairs and volunteer maintenance. Other neighbors and building residents supported the HOA, saying the containers invite loitering, trash and unsafe conditions and that repairs are short‑term fixes.
After rebuttals and board questions, commissioners found sufficient basis to treat the palms and containers as fixtures in the public right‑of‑way at this site and voted 3–1 to overrule DPW and grant the permit for removal without replacement. The board’s finding that the palms and containers are fixtures was integral to the outcome.
DPW and the HOA may coordinate on logistics; the decision records the vote and the board’s factual finding about the status of these particular planters. Commissioner Honda voted no; Vice President Hurtado, President Lazarus and Commissioner Fung voted to grant the permit.
