last their midst lamb. there is also a question on the larger and the work tree, which could show in the photographs you have already seen in your pockets. that limb is even more damage, more likely to come down. there is more question about the viability of the tree once it does, because of the balance on that slope. we do have issues about the health of the tree. even if we did not, there is this issue about their appropriateness on this very, very narrow street with a very narrow sidewalk. they impede progress both of vehicles and pedestrians. it is very actively used by both, for his series of reasons. i will seedtime to my partner -- cede time to my partner.

i will leave this up. >> good evening. i live at 270 prospect ave. i think all i have to say here is that as someone with an increasing visibility of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, navigating the sidewalk beside my own house is really hard. it is almost impossible for anybody with any kind of disability aid to get up and down the street safely with these kinds of trees. my father was a forester. i was raised with a reverence for the green. we are not interested in not having trees in san francisco. we intend to replace them with more appropriate trees for this site. the are not the trees that should have been there in the first place. i really ask you to take our

appeal. i am not the only disabled person trying to get up and down this hill. we are the main thoroughfare for commission and part up to burn oil. -- for mission and bart up to bernal. i have seen people fall on those sidewalks. no matter how vigilantly we sweep them. we are not asking to remove the trees in front of the house, where there is more room and street parking so that trucks do not hit the branches. thank you. i am sorry. i brought a card. >> my name is roy, and i am a consulting arborist. beth roy asked me to evaluate these trees. there are a couple of points i want to add to what they have already told you.

the canopies of these trees are a regular. there are gaps or openings within the structure. the problem with that is the wood is very brittle and limb failures like they've just experienced are common when you have breeches in the can of the for this type of tree. -- breaches in the canopy for this type of tree. the wind gets in there. because of the irregularities from prior storms, and partly because of clearance problems where limbs have been damaged and have come out of the tree -- out of both of the trees -- i think those kind of canopy or structural changes in the tree have created a bigger problem, in terms of hazards. the amount and type of debris that comes out of these trees is

extreme. the pods are over an inch in diameter. they are very treacherous, even on level ground. i do have some sympathy towards them. thank you. president garcia: i am assuming the sympathy is for your clients and not the trees. >> i am an arborist. but i certainly have some sympathy for my clients. i did have a vague hope they would name their grandchildren after me, but that would be roy roy, so that would not work. >> the grandchild's name is audie irving roy. >> par la -- carla short, bureau of urban forestry. first, congratulations on your grandchild. i do not think i have too much

to address. i would love to claim we were recommending removal was the one that failed. that may be true, but i do not know if it is. we did note that one lamb had a crack. that was the one we were recommending removing. trees to require maintenance. these trees do shed pods. we do not dispute that. that also do provide traffic calming. in particular, if there have been trucks that have run into the trunks of trees in the past, i would rather have them hit a large tree then my house, and the smaller trees would not stop a truck. it is important to recognize that there are irregularities in the canopy. that was likely caused by past pruning practices, which i understand was probably to get clearance for the solar panels. we certainly support having

solar panels, but it needs to be recognized that in proper pruning probably contributed to some of the issues the trees may be experiencing now, including someone failure. i thought a really elegant solution would be to have landscaping adjacent to existing trees, which would contain some of the seedpods. it might make sweeping them up easier, to have a water basin. we would like to see these trees preserved. the have been in the ground at least 16 years. they of substantial trunk diameter. and i think that while the past pruning has contributed to some structural issues, i think it is fair to characterize that the trees are healthy. if they are pruned carefully, it could help mitigate some of the concerns. i think that is all i have. commissioner hillis: are there a

lot of these trees in this neighborhood or elsewhere in san francisco? >> there are. they are not the most common species, but certainly do have a fair number in san francisco. commissioner hillis: do you recommend them for future clintons? >> we generally do not recommend them as street trees. it is a species i personally like a lot. we recommend planting them in places where there might be room for a larger tree basin. we have planted them in medians. the larger space can address the seedpod issue. also, they do get substantial in size and give a little more room for the trunk. commissioner fung: who planted these trees? >> there were planted with the permit 15 years ago. it was by the planning commissioner. i assume it was mrs. roy. we have a permit record for them

in '97. apparently, we do not have a good record of who planted them. my record conflict with the property owners. commissioner fung: these are fast growers. >> they are. president garcia: thank you. do these trees produce and shed not all year long? or is that a winter thing? >> i am sure the probably shed. it is usually a seasonal thing. we would say twice a year they would shed, and not necessarily all year long. but i would not dispute they may have dropped pods at other times. they do not necessarily shed all their pods. they might fall later on. president garcia: i think the worst thing about the trucks -- maybe some of hit the trunk, but i think it mostly has to do with a limb problem. >> i would say those lines are

not substantially damaged. that is probably because they have made an effort to clear them. the damage we saw was not substantial. but i may have misunderstood that also trucks had hit trees down the block. if i am wrong about that, i stand corrected. president garcia: i know you are bureau of forestry, not really dpw. it seems aside from these other problems, this should be a no truck street. >> i would agree with that, because also it is a t. it does not seem like a logical truck route. i would go up portland. straight shot. very few stops all the way. i do not live there. president garcia: we do not have the commissioner -- we used to ask this question all the time. i asked it on behalf of commissioner goh. how old is the tree and what is its life span? >> i will attempt to dodge the

question, as i frequently did. i thought the trees were 16 years old, which would not surprise me, given their size, since that are fast-growing. they may be much older than that. at the same time, a 16-year-old tree of the species could achieve that. life span is difficult to predict in urban conditions. these trees are native to australia and endangered in their natural habitat. many in australia are excited that san francisco has a population. i think they probably get removed before the end of their life most frequently in san francisco. we do not know how long they could live here if they were able to live out their natural life span. >> is there any other public comment on this item? seeing none, we have rebuttal.

>> just one thing i wanted to point out is that bernal heights has a certain reputation for contention. we have a stack of supporting letters about this issue. everybody living up and down eugenia has been grateful to us that we have initiated this process. to my knowledge, there have been no letters submitted protesting this. for what that is worth. it is a unanimous neighborhood project at this point. i do not know that there is anything else to add. one thing i would say about the truck route question is that roy explained as an ex trevor is a no-stop route. -- ex-truck-driver is that it is a no-stop route without a stop

sign. i think that is the reason we get so many trucks. i had never understood it before. but there is something about the traffic pattern. we love the suggestion that it should be made in no-truck route. commissioner hillis: how long have you lived there? >> since 94. the trees were there. it is part of what i love about this house. it is a cottage. it sits on the corner. it has old-growth trees. it has a huge palm tree in the front. talk about an inappropriate street tree, but it is beautiful. i love the tree. there is another flower in the wrong -- flowering gum on the prospect side of the property. i think that are beautiful trees. i have initiated this with some regret. i would prefer to have sizable trees on that side, and would certainly replant with the

largest trees possible, but trees that can sustain a canopy that really works. the issue of the solar panels, it is true that there is an issue about keeping the trees pruned for the functionality of the solar panels, but when i put the panels in, actually made a decision to do it even though they would work at less than full efficiency because the trees were there. i did not intend to remove the trees, nor to groom them in a way that was going to do damage. if that happened, it has not been with my knowledge. i am learning that for the first time. commissioner hillis: the trees across the street are the same species? >> yes, but there are cars parked under them, so there is a little more protection. it is also a wider sidewalks. both. there is one of these trees across the street on the

virginia, and the tree in front of my house on prospect. i told the neighbor who had to leave -- there was a decision made within the neighborhood to plant a cluster of them, back at least 25, 30 years ago. that is my understanding. president garcia: thank you. >> ms. short? any rebuttal? commissioners, the matter is submitted. commissioner fung: and anecdotal, -- i remember prospect street without many trees 50 years ago. i might as well give my opinion.

i think that this species, besides my normal discussion in terms of the rights of owners to be able to replant in front of their homes, since they bear the responsibility for street trees in front of their house -- i would add, besides that, that in this particular location, given the narrowness of the sidewalk and the street, the trees really need to be -- it cannot be full canopy trees without creating a lot of impact and disturbances. i support overturning the department. however, we will see where that goes.

commissioner hurtado: in the interest of full disclosure, i am familiar with that area, and had the unfortunate experience with these types of knots, where you can slip very easily. i have in fact had that experience. i can sympathize with that concern, particularly with your partner having to navigate that just to get out of the house. so i would support removing the trees, particularly because i see your concern about the trees and about replanting. to me, and that is personal and you have the right to do that. commissioner hillis: i think i normally would be against -- i would be for dpw in allowing these trees to remain. i am like you. i would not want to cut down a tree. they seem like nice trees.

they add to the canopy with the trees across the street. it is great. i think it is wonderful. but i think your testimony is compelling, and the fact that your dad was a forester. i think you share the same sentiment that you would not normally want to cut down these trees. i value that. you live there, and i think you have made a compelling case. so i would support that also, although not normally in the case. president garcia: thanks, guys. i think we are at this stage of negotiation. we have to have a discussion with ms. short as to what size tree she would choose to have them replaced these trees with, because i intend to vote with my fellow commissioners. >> a thank you for the opportunity to weigh in, since it looks like this is a losing

battle, so to speak. i think, given the narrowness of the sidewalk, it is probably unrealistic to get anything larger than a 36 inch box tree. if the property owner is really willing to do some type of landscaping, there is no parking on this side of the street. the can maximize sidewalk when escaping. we would love to see 36 inch box trees go in there, if that is possible. but it is a steep street. that would potentially be a bigger challenge than normal. a 24 inch box would also work. if they are willing to go for 36, i think that seems very reasonable. president garcia: could we get 324's - -three 24's in? >> depending on the species, we

might. if the species was more columnar, there might not be a conflict between the canopies. it would be a little tight, possibly, but we could probably do it. president garcia: would a reasonable way to leave this be to have you agree that someone would measure if two 36's fit or three 24's? when the decision be yours, assuming the owners would go for either of those options? >> that sounds like a nice compromise. commissioner fung: most columnar trees are fast growers. >> true. i meant there would not the competition. we could get them on in there -- commissioner fung: i understand. president garcia: i have no objection.

>> the consulting arborist. i am only here to contribute on a technical level for the replanting. we are prepared to do sidewalk landscaping. that is consistent with the property owner's desire. the 24 inch box i think would be more practical because of the cross slope, the steepness of that street. the soil rootball within the container has a level surface to it. we do not want to bury that down in order to create conformity to the cross slope. it would be harmful to the health of the tree. i would recommend that we go to a 24 inch box size, from a more practical standpoint. president garcia: do you think you could get three of those? >> i am certain two would fit. i am not certain about three. but i think if we had a smaller

species -- i am not sure which species we would end up with. with a smaller species, there would be room for closer spacing. president garcia: i am going to assume that you are willing to assume that ms. short will be as reasonable as she always is. >> ms. short is always reasonable. we are happy to work with her again. president garcia: we believe those options open and as other commissioners have a different thought. commissioner fung: do you want to hear from the property owners? president garcia: i think they are nodding vigorously. >> i am delighted to have the opportunity to work with ms. short and take her advice on what we should do. that would be fine with me. president garcia: i would move that we overturn the department and allow these trees to be removed, with the proviso that either three 24's, if there is enough room, replace these

trees, or two 26's -- 36's. the final determination of what is best in terms of species and size rests with the department of public works and the bureau of urban forestry. >> a thank you said two 36 -- i think you said two 36's, but it was not certain that would be practical. president garcia: i know. i wanted to give ms. short the opportunity to agree or disagree with that. >> with the department of public works' discretion. could we leave open all three of those options? there could be two 24's? president garcia: yes. and i have to justify why the trees could be removed? is that the glare from the city attorney? the reason is they provide a

hazard to the safety of one of the residence in terms of nuts dropped from the tree that make it difficult to work on the street. the present a hazard in terms of the fact that there are trucks that travel on that street and have on occasion made contact with the branches, and possibly with the trunk. therefore, because of those safety reasons, we are overturning the department. >> the motion is to grant this appeal, overruled the denial, and issue the permit, on condition the replacement be either two 36 inch box trees, three 24 inch box trees, or two 24 inch box trees.

the size and the species are up to the department of urban forestry. commissioner fung: aye. vice president hwang: aye. -- commissioner hillis: aye. commissioner hurtado: aye. >> the denial is overruled. with all those conditions. president garcia: even though i have a clock 30 -- -- 8:30 on the schedule to get out of here and we are blowing by that, we will take a short break.