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Board allows school to remove 13 aging trees, strikes 36-inch replacement requirement
Summary
The San Francisco Board of Appeals upheld Department of Public Works' removal permit for 13 aging acacia trees at Claire Lilienthal School but struck a previously imposed requirement that replacements be 36-inch boxed trees; replacement size will be determined after DPW, the school district and neighbors negotiate.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Dec. 6 upheld a permit allowing the San Francisco Unified School District to remove 13 aging acacia trees at Claire Lilienthal (Claire Lilienthal School) but removed a previously ordered condition that replacement trees be 36-inch box specimens. The board left the ultimate replacement size 'to be determined' and asked DPW and the district to work with neighbors and report back.
The school district's landscape manager, Tony Lascano, told the board the district needed smaller stock because its landscape budget and staffing could not manage 36-inch box trees, which he estimated could cost about $1,500 each to install and require cranes and outsourced crews. Lascano, a certified arborist, said the trees were near the end of their lifespan, shedding large limbs and posing safety concerns for children.
Carla Short of the Bureau of Urban Forestry at DPW said staff supported removal based on the trees' condition and that the 36-inch replacement requirement was intended to mitigate the sharp loss of canopy for neighbors after the removals. Short said the ordinance requires only a 15-gallon replacement as the default, and larger sizes are sometimes imposed by hearing officers when neighbors protest removals.
Neighbors and advocates urged larger replacements or staged removal and replanting; one resident, Bruce Stone, offered to help pay the incremental costs for trees on his block. Several commissioners urged negotiating a compromise. Acting President Knox moved to uphold the removal permit but strike the 36-inch box requirement and leave replacement size to be determined through coordination among DPW, the school district and neighbors. The motion passed 4–0 with President Fung recused because of a prior disclosure.
The board directed DPW to report back (the department agreed to update the board in January) and allowed the district to proceed with removal once the board's written decision is issued. The decision suspends DPW’s imposed replacement-size condition, enabling the district to address what it described as safety hazards while the parties seek an agreeable replacement plan.
