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Board upholds Park Merced tree-removal permits after lengthy neighborhood hearing
Summary
The Board of Appeals affirmed three Department of Public Works/Bureau of Urban Forestry permits to remove three trees in Park Merced, rejecting rehearing requests by neighborhood groups that argued inadequate notice and lack of alternative conservation measures.
After extensive testimony from neighbors, arborists and Department of Public Works staff, the San Francisco Board of Appeals on Nov. 20 upheld three tree-removal permits issued to Park Merced LLC and Arborwell Inc.
Appellants argued the Bureau of Urban Forestry (BUF) had not provided sufficient evidence that the trees posed hazards and that restorative treatments or cabling had not been fully considered. "We believe the burden is on the permit holder and be left to show that the trees are hazardous," said Julian Lagos of the Coalition to Save Park Merced.
BUF urban forester Carla Short testified the trees were overmature and showing structural decline; she said independent arborists agreed on decline for certain specimens and cited limb failures and reverse taper at one specimen as structural concerns. "All the independent arborists ... agree that there's substantial decline," Short said. In recognition of community concerns, BUF had required each removed tree be replaced by three trees of the largest available size.
After hearing neighbors' concerns about watering and maintenance practices, the board found the permits to be code-compliant and voted 5-0 to uphold the three permits. The board also discussed enforcement paths and replacement requirements for unpermitted removals.
