The city of San Francisco tree policy is outlined in ARTICLE 16: URBAN FORESTRY ORDINANCE.
Content
See Article 16: Urban Forest Ordinance for additional information not covered in this article like Permit to Remove a Street Tree, Street Tree Plant Requirements, Voluntary Property Owner Maintenance of Street Tree, Significant and Landmark Trees, and Appealing a planting or Removal of a Street Tree.
A few quick takes for property owners:
There is no requirement for property owners to plant trees in front of their house if there is no tree in front of their house.
The only time a property owner is responsible for planting a tree is if they cause damage to an existing tree to the extent that it needs to be replaced or because of new development or some changes to an existing property (SEC. 806 (d) of ARTICLE 16: URBAN FORESTRY ORDINANCE).
Your street front property line is where the sidewalk begins. The sidewalk to the street is city property, but the property owner has maintenance responsibilities for this section of city property. You are responsible for maintaining the sidewalk in front of your house unless the damage is caused by roots of a street tree.
You can plant anything that will be below 10 feet at maturity without a permit from the city. There is a DPW list of drought tolerant plants here:
https://sfpublicworks.org/sites/default/files/THRIFTY%20FIFTY_FINAL_10_22_15.pdf
https://sfpublicworks.org/services/plant-lists-and-plant-pallets
If you plant anything that will be above 10 feet in height at maturity, a tree, you will need a permit from the city. You have to pick from a list provided by the city of approved trees. You are required to water and grow the tree for 3 years and assume all liabilities resulting from the tree for those 3 years. If your tree fails or is injured during the 3 years, you may face penalties from the city. After 3 years the city takes over liability, care and maintenance for the tree.
You cannot pave over the 3 foot section between the sidewalk and the street without a permit, which means you cannot pave over this section unless it is part of a permitted driveway.
Above is San Francisco property owner’s tree and sidewalk responsibilities in a nut shell. The below is going into ARTICLE 16: URBAN FORESTRY ORDINANCE more granular and parts may be of interest to property owners as far as existing trees, the city’s responsibilities, notices, and prop E confusion. This article does not cover all aspects of ARTICLE 16: URBAN FORESTRY ORDINANCE.
Map of Current San Francisco Street Trees
https://www.opentreemap.org/urbanforestmap/map/?z=17/37.75798/-122.46789
Mouse over the green dots and it will pop up with what tree is planted there and the size. The brown dots are potential street tree spots. They may in fact be occupied by a bush or garden.
When You are Required to Plant a Street Tree.
Nowhere in San Francisco City Articles is the property owner responsible for a Street Tree's removal or replanting. The only time a property owner is responsible for planting a Street Tree is if they cause damage to an existing tree to the extent that it needs to be replaced or because of new development or some specific changes to an existing property.
Here is what you want to understand from ARTICLE 16: URBAN FORESTRY ORDINANCE:
SEC. 806. PLANTING AND REMOVAL OF STREET TREES.
(d) Required Street Trees for Development Projects. The Director shall require Street Trees for the development projects as set forth in this Subsection (d).
(1) Applicability. This Subsection shall apply to development projects that involve any of the following:
(A) the construction of a new building;
(B) the addition of a dwelling unit;
(C) the addition of a new curb-cut;
(D) the addition of a garage; and/or
(E) a net addition to an existing building of 500 gross square feet or more.
Outside the above or injury to a Street Tree, a property owner is not obligated or responsible for Street Trees or to plant a tree. They can voluntarily plant a Street Tree with a permit, taking on the responsibility of watering and care, liability, and the possible penalty if the Street Tree does not thrive or dies in 3 years. This is not much of an incentive for property owners to voluntarily plant a Street Tree. What I have read and heard from Green Benefit District (GBD) proponents is that they confuse property owners by saying they are responsible for Street Trees for the first three years, but they leave out that unless you make specific significant property changes, damage an existing tree, create a new building, or you voluntarily plant a Street Tree that three year period of responsibility is not obligatory. A GBD would significantly help developers of new buildings in the planting and taking care of street trees, relieving them of liability (?), as they can say they are paying proportionally into a GBD.
Injury to a Street Tree and Requirement to Pay Value or Replace Street Tree.
SEC. 808. PROTECTION OF TREES AND LANDSCAPE MATERIAL.
(a) Injury to or Destruction of Trees Prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally, maliciously, or through gross negligence Injure or destroy a Street Tree, any Tree on City property, a Significant Tree, or a Landmark Tree. Removal of a Tree under City order or Removal in accordance with a permit issued pursuant to Section 806, 810, or 810A of this Article 16 is exempt from this prohibition.
SEC. 802. DEFINITIONS.
“Injure” or “injury” shall mean any act which harms or damages a tree, including but not limited to excessive pruning, impact, cutting, carving, painting, transplanting, or knocking over, and includes but is not limited to the following: injurious attachment of any rope, wire, nail, advertising poster, or other contrivance to any tree subject to the provisions of this Article 16; intentionally or negligently allowing any gaseous, liquid, or solid substance that is harmful to a tree to come into contact with a tree; setting fire or intentionally or negligently permitting any fire to burn when such fire or the heat therefrom will injure any part of any tree; pruning which in and of itself will kill or cause a tree to decline; or severing of all or part of a tree.
SEC. 811. PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF ORDINANCE goes into penalties for injuring or removing a Street Tree. (partial)
(c) (1) In addition to the penalties set forth in Subsections (a) and (b) above, the Director may require any person who removes, injures, or destroys a Tree in violation of the provisions of this Article 16 to pay a sum of money equal to the Tree's Replacement value or the diminishment of the Tree's value as set forth in the current edition of the Guide for Plant Appraisal (Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers). Further, in addition to the penalties set forth in Subsections (a) and (b) above, the Director may require any person who removes, fails to maintain, injures, or destroys sidewalk landscaping or the associated design improvements in violation of the provisions of Section 810B to pay a sum of money equal to the Replacement value of the affected Landscape Material and associated design improvements or the diminishment of the value of the Landscape Material as set forth in the current edition of the Guide for Plant Appraisal (Council of Tree and Landscape Appraisers). In no case shall the administrative penalty be less than $500 per violation. When one or more additional violations occur within one year of the first violation, the Director may assess a responsible party double the Tree's Replacement value or the diminishment of the Tree's value.
Voluntarily Plant a Street Tree. What a Property Owner Should Understand from the SF Urban Forest Ordinance, Article 16.
SEC. 805. RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF STREET TREES; LIABILITY FOR FAILURE TO MAINTAIN STREET TREES.
(1) Exceptions.
(A) If a private property owner plants a Street Tree, the City shall not be responsible for the Street Tree’s Maintenance until the Street Tree’s establishment. The establishment period for newly planted Street Trees shall be three years from the date of Planting. If the Street Tree is not established three years from the date of Planting, the Director may treat this as an Injury to the Tree, as defined in Section 802, and may seek penalties for violation, as set forth in Section 811.
Section 802 and 811 are just above.
(3) Exceptions. The City shall not be liable for any injuries or property damage resulting from the failure to Maintain a Street Tree after July 1, 2017, in the following circumstances:
(A) If a private property owner plants a Street Tree, the City shall not be liable for such injuries and property damage until the Street Tree’s establishment. The establishment period for newly planted Street Trees shall be three years from the date of Planting. Until the establishment of a Street Tree, the adjacent property owner shall be liable.
SEC. 806. PLANTING AND REMOVAL OF STREET TREES.
(b) Planting and Removal by Persons Other Than the Department.
(1) Planting and Removal Permits. It shall be unlawful for any person to plant or to remove any Street Tree without a valid permit for such work issued by the Department. All permits for the Planting or Removal of Street Trees issued by the Director for residential properties shall be recorded on the Report of Residential Building Records in accordance with Section 351 of the Housing Code. All work associated with a Street Tree permit must be completed within six months of issuance, unless an extension has been granted by the Department.
(2) Planting. An abutting property owner who desires a permit to plant a Street Tree shall apply to the Department on the designated form. If approved by the Director, the Department shall issue a permit to plant the specified climate appropriate species of Tree(s) to the applicant. There shall be no administrative fee imposed for a permit to plant a Street Tree unrelated to property development. The Director's decision on a Street Tree planting permit shall be final and appealable to the Board of Appeals.
Department of Public Works Plant a Street Tree Permit Information and Submision:
https://sfpublicworks.org/plant-street-tree
Friends of the Urban Forest will get the permit, plant and take care of a new tree for you for a fee in most parts of San Francisco and some parts of San Francisco for free. Visit their website and contact them for more information.
https://www.fuf.net/ This website is full of information on planting Street Trees but does not go into depth about the Urban Forest Ordinance as this webpage does. They also incorrectly state “You’re required to plant a tree in the basin unless it doesn’t comply with city code (if you’re unsure, we can advise you).” This is not correct.
Does DPW plant Street Trees? Yes
SEC. 806. PLANTING AND REMOVAL OF STREET TREES.
(a) Planting and Removal by the Department.
(1) Planting. The Department may determine to plant a new climate appropriate Tree(s) in a Sidewalk or public right-of-way.
and
SEC. 807. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS URBAN FORESTRY PROGRAM; POWERS AND DUTIES.
(a) Departmental Planting Program. The Department shall continue its program of appropriate street tree planting along major traffic routes and commercial streets throughout the City.
(b) Neighborhood Planting Program. The Department shall continue to encourage and support neighborhood planting programs. Support may include, but need not be limited to, provision of trees and materials, sidewalk cutting and removal, planting labor, technical advice, and organizational assistance. The Department is hereby authorized to donate such funds, materials, and labor to neighborhood planting programs as are deemed by the Director to be in the public interest and in the interest of the promotion of the urban forest.
It is also in the budget.
2016-17 Operating Budget Highlights:
Public Work’s total gross operating budget grew by 9%, from $256 million in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2015-16 to $279 million in FY 2016-17. These figures include day-to-day operations such as:
• Cleaning streets and curbs
• Removing graffiti
• Paving and repairing streets, potholes, and curb ramps
• Maintaining and repairing public buildings
• Design and construction management of public buildings
• Engineering, design and construction on various infrastructure projects
• Inspecting sidewalk safety and managing the public right-of-way
• Maintaining our drawbridges, tunnels, and plazas
• Planting and maintaining street trees, median landscaping and pocket parks
https://www.sfpublicworks.org/about/budget
DPW will probably replant any tree they remove because of
SEC. 801. PURPOSE of ARTICLE 16: URBAN FORESTRY ORDINANCE is to grow an urban forest.
Maintenance of Street Trees
SEC. 802. DEFINITIONS.
“Maintenance” shall mean those actions necessary to promote the life, growth, health, or beauty of a tree. Maintenance includes both routine and major activities. “Routine Maintenance” shall include adequate watering to ensure the tree’s growth and sustainability; weed control; removal of tree-well trash; staking; fertilizing; routine adjustment and timely removal of stakes, ties, tree guards, and tree grates; bracing; and sidewalk repairs related to the tree’s growth or root system. “Major Maintenance” shall include structural pruning as necessary to maintain public safety and to sustain the health, safety, and natural growth habit of the tree; pest and disease-management procedures as needed and in a manner consistent with public health and ecological diversity; replacement of dead or damaged trees. Pruning practices shall be in compliance with International Society of Arboriculture Best Management Practices and ANSI Pruning Standards, whichever is more protective of tree preservation, or any equivalent standard or standards selected by the Director.
DPW is Required to Give Notice of Street Tree Removal
SEC. 806. PLANTING AND REMOVAL OF STREET TREES.
(2) Removal of Street Trees. The Department may not cut down or remove a Street Tree, unless 30 days prior to the Removal date, the Department notifies all Interested San Francisco organizations and, to the extent practical, all owners and occupants of properties that are on or across from the block face where the affected Tree is located. In addition, 30 days prior to the Removal date, the Department shall post a notice on the affected Tree.
Prop E – City Responsibility for Maintaining Street Tree
There is plenty of confusion around Prop E that voters passed in 2016. Prop E only funded and changed street tree maintenance back to the city, but Prop E is not the totality of San Francisco Urban Forest legislation that would be the ARTICLE 16: URBAN FORESTRY ORDINANCE. Prop E was a Charter amendment that made the city responsible, once again, to maintain trees and surrounding sidewalks, the care and obligation of which had recently transferred to private-property owners in 2011. See History below.
Prop E changed the language in the ARTICLE 16: URBAN FORESTRY ORDINANCE to reflect the city’s responsibility for tree and to a certain extent sidewalk maintenance.
Short History of Street Tree Maintenance:
In 2005, Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Trees for Tomorrow campaign planted 25,000 new trees to San Francisco’s streets.
In 2011, Mayor Ed Lee, decided to save money by shifting that burden from the city to the owners of the private properties abutting the trees. The city faced a major budget deficit in 2011.
In 2016, Prop E was put on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors in a 11-0 vote.
https://sfelections.sfgov.org/sites/default/files/Documents/candidates/City%20Responsibility%20for%20Maintaining%20Street%20Trees%20Legal%20Text.pdf
Local storage of pdf
City Responsibility for Maintaining Street Trees Legal Text
