>> that is correct, that is a lift species that is an olive brush tree and i am not sure why that tree is there and how that tree got planted but it does not match the rest of the trees on the blk, but most of the trees on the block, all of the other trees match this subject tree species which is the new zealand christmas tree and, these are the patterns that we see in the middle and on to the right. >> why is the subject tree so much smaller than the tree on the right of the property? >> considering that they probably were planted at the same time correct? >> correct. i would assume that they were planted at the same time

it is hard to say, that tree does have a locality of competing branches. and when we do prune the trees, we prune the trees to enhance the structure pushp and at times we will thin out some of those stems. it could be partly because the property owner has been staying on top with this particular tree and making sure that it is kind of pruned, and but no, no real obvious reason, other than sometimes different trees develop larger stems >> do you approve the canopy or does the city just let them grow. >> the city staff do thin and prune the canopy of the tree, we may keep a limb and just thin out the secondary branches, >> so when they did the roots in the repair, did they prune the tree at that time and that canopy at that time? >> it was no longer, that was a comment and a practice for many years, the thought that if you prune the roots you should

prune the canopy and remove that off of the canopy of the tree to offset the loss of the roots but scientifically that has been not bourn out in the published documentation and so it is really a sign that the tree requires pruning of the canopy, and how safe is that tree? and we, and what is really been studied and it just produces more of a stress to the tree and so typically when we prune, we don't need to prune the canopy of the tree unless it is an extreme example. >> okay, thank you. >> thank you. >> may i see a show of hands of how many people plan to speak under public comment. >> we are going to have the first speaker come up and if you can fill out a speaker card that will help us in the preparation of our minutes. >> two minutes per speaker. >> the president has said two minutes. is that because of the size of the crowd.

>> yeah. >> okay. >> good evening, commissioners i am betz y and i am the president of the diamond heights community association and i am speaking on behave of our association board. in the documents that we provided with our diamond heights community association letters, we had 12 letters signed by 15 different residents, requesting that the healthy tree not be cut down and so we are asking your no vote on this appeal. four of the letters, four of the letters were from neighbors who lived very close to the tree, and see the tree every day. the following photos will explain why we think that the tree should be saved

as mr. buck stated the tree is healthy and the lean has been corrected and you can see that the tree is growing up right and that the arborist report that you have shows that this tree is not any more likely to blow over in a wind storm than any other healthy tree in san francisco. the next one, shows the repairs to the sidewalk, that were done to about 6 trees along there, and after a year of there was no damage to the tree and the roots and the damage is not likely to happen for a long time. here is a photo that shows that the para transit van, and in this photo, you can see that the van is not going to be affected by the branches over the roadway, and also, it shows that the branches do not extend over the path of travel. and on the sidewalk. and in this photo, i just wanted to show that it was

unlikely for anyone to bump their head on the tree and even supervisor weiner visited the tree on wednesday and he is tall, and it would not be, and so, lastly, here is the, and a view of the lovely row of trees, and we just hope that you vote no to this appeal. because, we want this tree to continue to provide pleasure to the neighbor and to walkers, and to residents, of diamond heights, thank you. >> thank you. >> next speaker please? >> good evening, commissioners my name is paul macaluchi and i am a ten year resident of diamond heights and i am the volunteer steward for the median which is about 6, tenth of a mile of the boulevard and very close and across the street from the property that we are discussing right now. and i am here just to say two things, one we are very

conscious as we replant and redesign the median, how it is going to look aesthetically with the rest of the neighborhood. and we are conscious of the trees over there currently are trees that will soon reach the end of their life span and may need to be taken out. and so what we are hoping is that we keep all of the mature trees in the neighborhood, both for the aesthetic appeal and for the wind resistance, which is important in diamond heights. the neighbors that are working as volunteers to fix the median are motivated to keep the neighborhood looking good, and we believe that keeping this tree alive and healthy is a good thing for the neighborhood. thank you. >> next speaker please? >> hello commissioners, my name is karin and i am a 21-year resident and i live just around the corner from the tree in question and i oppose the destruction of this tree because it is a healthy and the same in size and type of trees along the street and no

legitimate public policy reason has been offered to justify the destruction of this tree or use of the city funds to destroy the tree and the arguments made by the appellant both in the letter and today, i believe, are irrelevant, such as her ability to sweep the leaves, although i do have compassion for her situation. and some statements that are just wrong such as that previously healthy plants were removed from the medians. so please deny this appeal and do not destroy this tree. thank you. >> is there any other public comment? >> okay, seeing none, and then, you have three minutes, of rebuttal if you would like to speak to the board. >> returning the tree and why

is the tree so small next to me, it is because it was removed and a new one was planted but no one protested that and that is why it is so small and she said, she took pictures of a para transit bus, but, the para transit bus, recently, i had before that, i had the tree pruned and because, it was pruned the branches on that were lower now, but are they going to keep up with the pruning? and the reason that they did it so fast was so that the tree

two doors from me, the branches fell down and a big branch and could have killed somebody and so they had to come out and prune that tree. and the tree was knocked down and it was a big big big mess and that was directly across the street on the corner and then two accidents from the trees falling how can you guarantee that the tree will not fall although you think that it is healthy, there are two accidents i know that they said was a perfectly healthy trees and person was killed and

last week on the 13th, you can read about the tree, four trees, fell. because they said that it is because of the common species. but who knows shltion that is what i said, only god knows, what will happen. because the wind, i tell you is so strong you come out there and look at the wind and when it is raining, it is very bad. but, even on the clearer day, those trees buckle down. my my time is up but there are things that i would like to say. >> you have 30 seconds.

feel free. >> my neighbor protested the tree, and he called and they... and as we... >> go ahead and finish your thought. >> finish your xhept. >> okay, he called me and told me, that the tree was guarantee that the tree will not fall, he then signed it and the tree falls, they could sue him. but, what good is the suit if the tree falls on me, and i get hurt, where am i? it makes no difference and he says that to your house and the building of your house and if the tree is there. i don't care about that money. i care about my life. and i don't want to have to call someone else being hit by the tree. and my responsible because i didn't do anything about it. >> okay, thank you.

>> mr. buck, anything further from the department, you have three minutes of rebuttal. >> the department has no additional testimony to provide at this time. >> mr. buck, yeah this both of this area was a redevelopment area. they mentioned that there are trees on this side but none on the other side, is there a reason for that? >> i am not aware of why there are no trees across the street. i am trying to visualize that part of it. we could pull it live on google street view. but i believe i know that those houses are set further back or there could be a utility that

is running underneath the sidewalk? so i don't know the answer to that question and it is something that i can look into. but i am not sure why that is. and how many trees are in this section that they are referring to the roll of trees. >> well there is probably, in that immediate row, there are 8 in a row. and they are all uniformed species except for the one directly to the left, which is a different species again, i dent know the specifics on how that was removed, or replaced. but i do know that the species along that side of the block if the tree was approved for removal. we would recommend that the same species be replanted by public works and so we will replant the same species and we are not looking to change the species because of the wind and the fog. >> what occurs then beyond this row on either side? >> as you head down hill, the street tree pattern, pretty

much peters out and i don't think that there is, and it just stops, and then there is no street trees on either side of the block. and as you head uphill, my recollection is that there is a little and there is some gaps here and there and then some of the tree canopy picks up again. so it is a little mixed, and it is not all, you know the tree lines and say like across the street from start to finish as you go through the neighborhood. and we actually have the very few calls and in nine years of the department, and i don't think that i have been involved with the removal along with particular stretch of street trees. thank you. >> commissioners the matter is submitted.

>> commissioners? >> i understand the appellant's concerns and we don't want anything to happen but i have not heard any compelling reason to think that that tree is a danger or a threat to anybody including the resident of the house so i would be inclined to deny the appeal and up hold the department decision. >> i guess. you know a feel a little bit different about it. when the city turned over the maintenance of the street trees to the individual property owners, i think that they gave up some of their rights. it is now the right of the property owner and this particular property owner doesn't want it and i see no reason why we can't have renewal of our trees in the city. and i think that i have said that a number of times publicly to the committee. >> so, what do you mean,

commissioners? so when they gave up their rights for the tree so that the city does not have the responsibility for that any more? >> well, it is a..., well they have some responsibilities but only in certain areas, it is not... so. >> okay. >> in other words, i am voting to let her remove the tree. >> i am kind of mixed on ti grew up in diamond heights and i went to diamond heights elementary prior to it becoming the police academy, to me the aesthetics would bother me, i have the trees in front of my home that i planted along with 270 in my neighborhood and i spent the time to make sure that my tree is straight as i leave my house because it would really me personally, bother me to have a tree at a 30 degree angle in front of my home. >> so i am not sure where i am going to go with this at this

point. >> i too am sympathetic to the home owner. but i have real trouble destroying a healthy tree. and so i am inclined to vote with the president. >> so i will make a motion to deny the appeal and up hold the department's decision on the basis that it is a healthy tree and they are committed to the maintenance of the property. >> could i ask the dpw, i mean the department prior? >> so what was the reasoning why did it take so long to get to the repairs, because that was evidently a tripping hazard. >> the city has a backlog of probably 1,000 sidewalk repairs across the industry. >> i moon that i remember, i got a notice for a cracked sidewalk and i had to remove

within 45 days. and exactly. >> and i did not have the same policy for themselves. >> exactly. we hear that a lot. the one difference is that the city responsibility for thousands of street trees, whereas a single property owner is responsible for a single street trees and so in that sense, the odds are stacked against us and we should have to abide by the same rules that you enforce correct? >> it would be the world that we are all striving to live in and we are trying to get there. through a change in policy, and there could be a valid initiative of the funding mechanism to maintain the street trees and we do try to prioritize and we are repairing the sidewalk all of the time. and this certain will be a site that would be at the top of our list should we notice that the sidewalks are being damaged or a report again of the sidewalk damage and what we are doing is

putting out the fires and dealing with the sort of the worst cases, but this one, is on our radar. and just remember for your information, mr. bment uck what is the average time response that you have from the complaint to compliance. for the sidewalk repairs it ranges quite a bit. >> so the average. >> i don't have an average but it could take on average, sometimes a couple of years, if it is a relatively minor sidewalk, damage where it is not in the main path of travel along the curve, some repairs occur quickly and we have some that have gone for years before they have been repaired. thank you. >> president lazarus, would you like us to call the roll on your motion? >> yes. >> no other questions or comments? >> sorry. >> that is fine. >> lazarus, we have the healthy and the what was the second part? >> dpw is committed to

maintaining it in the sidewalk. >> okay. we have a motion from the president to up hold this denial, on the basis that the tree is healthy and on the further basis that the dpw is committed to maintaining both the tree and the sidewalk. on that motion, to up hold the denial, commissioner fung? >> no. >> and commissioner honda? >> no. >> okay. >> commissioner wilson? >> aye. >> thank you. >> the vote is 2-2, and under the city charter with our vacancy, three votes are needed to over turn any departmental action. as such, this motion fails,

however, absent another motion, the denial would be upheld by default. okay, no other motion. >> okay, the denial is upheld by default. >> thank you. >> and so then we will move on president, lazarus? >> yes. >> item 6 has been reschedule and item seven and i will call item 8 which is appeal number 1 4-149, charles pappas, with the property owner being 954 geary, and the property is at 958 geary street appealing the issuance of a letter of determination regarding the medical cannabis may be reestablished. >> and mr. pappas is the appeal ant and we are able to hear

from you and you have 7 minutes to present your case. >> how is the staff, can you hear me? >> yes, pretty well, yes, thank you. >> it will be the same question. >> good evening board and

secretary and my name is charles pappas and i realize that you, this is a normal in the sense that it is a dispute between a landowner or a tenant

on a piece of property with planning, and in that way, this is a normal case. but, it is a very unusual case. i would like to show you how unusual it is, i want to suspend my time and show you why it is closed. >> you have the use of the overhead or the computer whichever you need. >> overhead please. >> we were closed because of our approximate of the park which is in the last and in the park and the strip club and the other and the annual view, and

around the corner on geary. >> could you reduce it a little bit. >> there is a strip plumber and put it down and the reference of the shell. >> to the extend that you can speak to the mic it is helpful. >> i know that you are trying to look at the picture. we were able to see that. >> as i was saying the community tree in the top left is a star, and the park is kind of the bolt bottom left and the row is at the end of ofarrell and that is a block away and that is the park and also the strip club is the centuries. >> so, and i also this is my name now, and it is also

unusual because whatever you decide probably we will not be able to reopen in at 958 geary, but we feel that it should not have been taken away for the tlaens it was taken away because of the 18 month closer period and we were not informed of that. let's see, we were referred to... and the attorney threatened the fines, or the (inaudible) toward the board of land lords and just this measure and the 18-month closure period was not part of the original permit process and it was added in the april of 2011 and meetings in april of 2012, and in september, and meetings, in may and september, but within the department of public health and also, a meeting in, with planning in may and discussing the location

and an 18 month closure period and i felt that strange is the fact that it was not measures is not answered in my request and right here is my led request, and you can see how thick it is. and i just feel that we should have been, if we had been, knowing that this permit of the agent and the closure period would probably are reopened last fall and will be the closure period and in october of 2013. and according to the planning, and when i was doing research for the ned and the letter of determination, i discovered that the department of public health had us closed december of 2012 and that would be june of this year. and so any knowledge of that would have you know, changed, our, why were they doing and it would have changed the plans, but what we were trying to do last fall or a year ago was

after the call memo which was the guidance for local u.s. attorneys saying that you don't get involved in california or any other states with the cannabis or legal cannabis if there was no threat to public health or if it was enough on the public safety and if there was enough regulation and enforcement and i always saw in san francisco that it was the regulation and enforcement was a permit process. and so we were trying, and with the supervisor kim, we were trying to work on whether the local u.s. attorney to get the assurances for the lapped lord that we could reopen without you know, these fines and before we finished our letter bab bra lee and three u.s. representatives (inaudible) in november of last year and so we decided not to write a letter

and i (inaudible) the efforts of moving back in, and i will call and i will continue it in the enhanced relocation and in the land lords and finelely we would welcome one of the final decision as a measure of support for too many well rounded san francisco dispensaries nowhere except for san francisco (inaudible) and the lack of public officials that the supporters and slots here and (inaudible) and so now i realize this is not, and i want you to purely for the medical cannabis but i think

that planning and the doening administrator should not have taken away the permit without informing us at least or they could have offered the discorrection. and at least they are extending the closure period and as a matter of fact, the department of public health can offer this concessions or considerations for dispensaries such as a lower permit fee, and the possible reopening during the permit process, which you would need for the new and for the new location. so i am asking for your discretion it will not make a difference but we will not be able to move back in because the building was sold. >> did you say that you cannot move in because the building was sold. >> the dr does not seem interested in renting to us now. >> thank you. >> but it is a change with your decision. >> thank you.