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Board upholds DPW removal of four trees on Third Avenue, requires 24-inch-box replacements
Summary
The Board of Appeals upheld the Department of Public Works' recommendation to remove four of five street trees adjacent to 2495–2530 Third Avenue because arborists found significant decay and weak branch attachments; the vote was 4–1.
The Board of Appeals on May 5 upheld the Department of Public Works Bureau of Urban Forestry's recommendation to remove four of five street trees adjacent to 2495–2530 Third Avenue, citing significant decay and weakly attached limbs that arborists said could not be mitigated through pruning.
Carla Short of DPW explained the department's assessment: prior improper topping had created decay pockets and weak attachments in four of the five trees, and "the only way to truly mitigate the risk of additional limb failures would be to cut those limbs back to the point of decay which would result in 4 stumps." She said the fifth tree showed much less decay and was left in place. Neighbors and the property owner presented termite reports, sidewalk damage photographs and testimony arguing for preservation, replacement size increases and alternative mitigation.
Commissioner Frank Fung moved to uphold the DPW order. After discussion about replacement-tree sizes (DPW recommended 24-inch-box trees; larger sizes such as 36- or 48-inch boxes are possible but costlier), the board voted 4–1 to uphold the permit (Fung, Goh, Garcia and Peterson voted yes; Mandelmann voted no). The board instructed that standard replacement requirements apply and discussed the option of larger replacements where feasible.
