Board modifies tree‑removal order for 577 Sanchez Street, conditions replacement tree and fees

The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Jan. 30 considered competing appeals tied to a homeowner’s plan to install a one‑car garage at 577 Sanchez Street and the resulting Department of Public Works Bureau of Urban Forestry (BUF) order authorizing removal of two trees.

Ed Hardy, an adjoining neighbor and appellant, urged the board to deny the permit allowing removal of two large mature trees, presenting revised architectural drawings and an 11‑page arborist report and offering an alternate design that he and his team said would preserve both trees while accommodating a garage. Architect Suhail Shatara and consulting arborist Roy Leggett testified that the alternate plan — shifting the garage south and raising the front wall roughly 12 inches — could avoid excavation near the significant on‑site juniper and preserve the street trees while yielding some excavation savings.

The proper…