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Board upholds permit for removal of 14 trees at Geary Boulevard park renovation
Summary
The San Francisco Board of Appeals denied an appeal by a neighbor and upheld a Department of Public Works permit to remove 14 trees as part of a park renovation, citing arborist findings of limb failure and decay and a replacement plan for one-for-one 36-inch-box trees plus additional plantings.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Dec. 5 upheld a Department of Public Works Bureau of Urban Forestry permit allowing the removal of 14 trees at a Recreation and Park renovation site at 1901 Geary Boulevard.
Appellant Pierre Vigneault urged the Board to save a mature ficus tree he described as at least 30 years old, saying neighbors found no safety reason to cut it. Recreation and Park project manager Dan Mower and Urban Forestry staff member Carla Short told the Board an arborist assessment found a prior major limb failure and active decay at the limb union; those conditions increase the risk of further large limb failures that could injure people or damage property. Mower said the project budget is part of the 2008 Clean and Safe Neighborhood bond, and the permit proposed replacing removed street trees with 36-inch-box stock and adding roughly 10 additional street trees along the frontage.
Short said the species in question is prone to limb failure when multiple large limbs emerge from a single union and that, after the earlier failure, decay and mycelium were observed at the crotch that failed. Board members asked about the likelihood and timing of additional failures; staff said they could not quantify an exact timeframe but that the species'structure and observed decay justified removal. The Board heard that James DeBenny of Urban Forestry walked the site with Rec and Park staff and concurred with the assessment.
After questions and a three-minute rebuttal from the appellant, Commissioner Anne Lazarus moved to deny the appeal and uphold the DPW order on the basis of the DPW findings. The Board recorded aye votes and the motion carried, upholding DPW order number 180717.
Next steps: the permit stands and the departments indicated the project will proceed with removal and replacement plantings as described.
