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Board backs removal of 25 Junipero Serra greenbelt trees but withholds finding on who must pay for replacements
Summary
After hours of testimony from residents and arborists, the San Francisco Board of Appeals approved removal of 25 hazardous trees along Junipero Serra Boulevard for public-safety reasons, and adopted findings that leave replacement and long-term maintenance responsibility unresolved and subject to later action.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on a unanimous vote approved the Department of Public Works' order to remove 25 trees from the greenbelt along Junipero Serra (Junipero) Boulevard, citing repeated limb failures and overall tree senescence that staff and a privately retained arborist said create a public-safety hazard.
Carla Short, bureau chief of the Department of Public Works' Bureau of Urban Forestry, told commissioners that staff and an independent certified arborist largely agreed on 24 of the 25 trees and that one tree posed an immediate risk because of a recent limb failure. Short said the bureau initially proposed removing still more trees but scaled the list back after review with the independent expert.
"We did a thorough evaluation of these trees, and the department feels strongly that they need to be removed to protect public safety," Short said.
Residents, neighborhood advocates and property owners urged the board to delay removal until a concrete plan for…
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