Transcripts For SFGTV SFMTA Board Of Directors 20240712

The Board Meeting guidelines are as follows the board requests that you turn all our cell phones or Electronic Devices so they will not disturb the proceedings. Appellants and respondents are each given seven minutes to present their cases and three minutes for rebuttal. Members of the public who are not affiliated with the parties have three minutes each and no rebuttal. Time may be limited if the agenda is long or if there is a large number of speakers. For rehearing requests. The parties are given three minutes each with no rebutt al. Four votes are required to grant an appeal, modify any determination or grant a rehearing request. If you have questions about requesting a rehearing, proceedings, or appeals, please contact the board. Sfgov is broadcasting and streaming this item live, and we will have opportunity to offer Public Comment on every item on the agenda. It will be rebroadcast on fridays on channel 26. A link to the website is found on our website, sfgov. Org boa. You can join the zoom meeting by computer. Please go to our website, sfgov. Org boa and click on the zoom link or you can call in 8884754499, and then enter the webinar i. D. 81781676946. If you want to block your number before you call, press star67 before you dial in. If anybody needs disability or technical assistance, you can make a request to by email at boardofappeals sfgov. Org. I would like to announce that the board office has moved from 1550 Mission Street to 45 vanness, suite 1475. Please note that our physical office is currently closed to the public. Now we will swear in all those who intend to testify. If you intend to testify at any of tonights proceedings and wish to have the board give your testimony evidentiary weight, please stand and raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth . Okay. Commissioners, we do have two housekeeping items. Item 4, t19144 at 49 drum str we will not be hearing that item tonight. The second is item 8, 11741176 potrero avenue, the parties would like to continue the item to the call of the chair while they work on a solution, and we do need a vote to continue that item. Does that require any Public Comment, julie . Clerk yes, it does, so is there any Public Comment on continuing that item, please raise your hand. I see a few attendees raising your hand. Miss down, are you here to speak about this item being continued . No, im going to speak about something different. Clerk okay. So were going to hold off then. Well get back to you. Okay. I dont see any Public Comment on this item, so do i have a motion to continue it to the call of the chair. Commissioner swig so moved. Clerk okay. We have a motion to move from commissioner swig and second from commissioner santacana. [roll call] clerk okay. So the motion carries, and the item is moved to the call of the chair. We are moving to item number 1, which is general Public Comment. This is an opportunity for anyone whod like to speak on any matters in the boards jurisdiction but is not on the calendar. Miss down, are you here for general public calendar or a specific item . General Public Comment. Clerk okay. Would you like your video okay. Were going to move you to a panelist. Miss down, are you ready . Yep. Clerk please go ahead. Okay. Yeah, i just wanted to raise an issue and talk about something that happened in hayes valley. The three wells two of the tree wells that were dug up for replacement trees were concreted in by mistake by the contractor, and luckily, i spotted it in time, and i emails ana and madeleine, and she talked to them, and susan went to doublecheck that the fix was happening, but i wanted to raise that as an issue because i think it would be worthwhile to make sure to put some extra processes in place to make sure it doesnt happen again . I feel like i have to check on the tree wells to make sure theyre not getting concreted in. Thank you. Clerk thank you very much. Okay. We will now hear from the caller whose number ends in 4906. Please go ahead. This is kendra sharick. Im one of the appellants on the 24 street case. Id like to follow up on what was just presented about the cementing over of the wells in hayes valley. As somebody who has worked very closely with b. U. F. And with the other appellants to try to create some trust and transparency and good faith, when we see these things happening with the pruning and the cementing over of the wells in hayes valley, i can say its very alarming, and so im calling in just to put forth that these things are that weve been made aware of them, and that we find them extremely concerning, and that well be extra vigilant with the 24 street things, and i hope that all of us can be extra vigilant that this will not follow suit when it comes to the tree removal in our neighborhood. Thank you. Clerk thank you. We will now hear from miss siutot. Okay. Is it possible for me to share my screen . Clerk yes. Okay. Im calling on hayes valley. I just want to share some photos. This is some of the pruning that was done. We were a little shocked. About 80 to 90 of the foliage was removed, and the arborist that was hired by the 24 street folks looked at this and i think made a phone call to carla about how inappropriate this pruning was. Thats one photo. I have a couple more. This is one im sorry. You can see they basically just chopped off one half of the tree. Im not sure what the goal was, but its very unaesthetic. Heres another one where they seemed to have chopped off half the tree, and heres another one where they basically just chopped off half the tree. So im just very concerned about the type of pruning thats being done. It doesnt seem it doesnt seem right. I dont understand quite what the objectives are, and im hoping that they can come back and maybe fix it so that it doesnt look so awful. For the ones where they took off too much foliage, i dont think they can be repaired. But i just wanted to bring this to your attention because i dont think that the prunes is going very well. Thank you. Thats all. Clerk thank you. We will now hear from mr. Klipp. Mr. Klipp . Yeah, i also heard about the hayes valley cementing, and it was really disheartening because part of what we did in the 24 street matter, and we had this budget shortfall coming up, and we tried to find ways that we can work with the city. But i also do want to acknowledge that madeleine of the bureau of urban forestry was quick to respond to that, and i appreciate that. Thank you. Clerk thank you. Is there any other general Public Comment, please raise your hand. I dont see anyone else raising their hand. Okay. I do see one person raising their hand. One moment. Okay. Mr. Karnazes . Hi. Can you call hear me . Clerk yes, welcome. Thank you. My name is zach karnazes, and im a disabled advocate, and i want to thank everyone speaking up about another incident with d. P. W. , about their misuse of public funds and violating public trust in their care of the urban forest and natural habitat. This happens frequently. Theyve been cutting down trees since their appeals process. Their director, mohamed nuru, was arrested on charges of fraud, and study shows that this is the norm. I am not naive enough to believe that that department is worthy of that public trust right now, public trust they can continue to violate. I would like to see this board really recommend for appointing new members to the positions that are filled. Youre not going to get rid of corruption if you have the same people doing the same things. Im talking about chris buck, and nancy sarai, and the other people in that department that continue to do cut downs and removals. I also want to speak to how hard it was to get access to a disability presentation. Its usually quite easy, but this particular one, being denied that accommodation was really concerning, and im glad that its being granted now, but its really important that disabled people have the same access to public meetings, and moving another item up on the agenda is a really basic, nocost way to solve the item on the agenda. If theres another person struggling with Health Problems on the agenda, please, by all means, let them go first. But the only way for me to present an item or speak on an item, is to move my item to first on the agenda. The only way that people with disabilities will have the same access that everyone is to have access granted. Clerk mr. Karnazes, i did not know you would be presenting at tonights meeting. That was why i answered it the way i did. Okay. Well move onto commissioner comments and questions. Commissioners . I dont see any, so well move onto item number 3, adoption of the minutes. Commissioner swig motion to approve. Clerk okay. Is there any Public Comment to commissioner swigs motion to approve the minutes . Okay. I dont see any Public Comment, so on that motion [roll call] clerk okay. So that motion carries, 40, and the minutes are adopted. Karnaz i was raising my hand to give a Public Comment. Clerk oh, im sorry. Go ahead. Im visually raising my hand. The minutes for its july 29, 2020, is that correct . Clerk yes. They are not available on the board of appeals website to the public right now, and i dont think they should be available to the public until we can make sure theyre an accurate reflection of our statement. Clerk they are available with the Public Comments on our website. We put that with the hearing date after theyre approved, but are you suggesting that the draft since this is for example, this is item number 3. If they are posted on our website, its item number 3, but youre making the suggestion that we also post the draft possibly with the hearing date . Because they havent been adopted yet or they have now. Well, just like on the board of appeal website, if you look at the tabs, it has the agenda, minutes, and supporting documents, and for this meeting that were talking about, and july 15, and july 8, and june 27, and june 10, theres a category, but nothing there. Clerk right. Once the minutes are adopted, we put them next to the hearing date. So this is part of the supporting documents. Tomorrow, well post them. After theyre adopted, we post them. Okay. I appreciate your patience with me. I dont mean to derail the meeting. Clerk no problem. Clerk . Am i incorrect in understanding that in the past, theyve been posted clerk we post them after we adopt the item number. Okay. Thank you for the clarification. Clerk okay. So we are moving on. We are going to move onto item number 5. Item number 5 is a rehearing request for appeal 19099. Subject part at 24 street between pat remember ootrero s Mission Street. Zach karnazes is the appellant. This matter was decided on july 15, 2020. At that time, upon motion by commissioner tanner, the board voted 41, to grant the appeal and issue the order with the following four conditions only 33 trees shall be removed on 24 street. These trees shall be replaced by 50 trees that are of gingko and red maple variety and shall be in at least 24inch boxes. Further, they shall replaces within three months of removal. The removal and replacement is block by block and the trees and the stumps must be removed prior to moving onto the next block. An additional 95 trees shall be planted in the neighboring blocks as identifies in the Mission Verde plan that was presented at the hearing on july 15, 2020. The sees and species shall be determined size and species shall be determined by sfpbbuf in agreement with the community, and these trees shall be planted within six to 12 months of the hearing date. B. U. F. And the community shall review the sites together and ensure that the murals are protected. Any wood from the trees that are removed shall be made available to the community for art. The stakes that are used for the trees may be utilized by the community in collaboration with b. U. F. , for the purpose of displaying and showcasing art. Any damage trees shall be replaced within two months. B. U. F. And the community shall Work Together to develop a watering plan for these trees as submitted in the Mission Verde plan submitted on july 15, 2020. Prior to the trees being removed, there must be an opportunity for a recognition ceremony that is safe and socially distanced in order to say goodbye to the trees. This ceremony shall be organized by Mission Verde and calle 24. Mr. Karnazes, you may present. There was so many problems with this hearing. At one point, somebody was requesting that i share my screen because we couldnt access it. At one point, we had Public Comment from a mrs. Boler i hope im saying it right saying, people who dont have access to a computer, especially now with public buildings closed, where they do use the computers. So we had a people with tech issues, and i dont think its their fault. These meetings are confusing and hard to access, even though theres been some excellent efforts on the part of staff, but i do think there was a serious access barrier. I think these meetings can work well with five people, ten people from the public, but when youve got huge numbers of people like we had on july 15, many of which had been to these meetings before, had no idea on what was going on or how to be included, i think this board was really looked for the input that they received. In addition, this board has not even considered or spoken at all about the disability violations, and the accessibility violations leading up to our first appeals hearing. Chris buck said in his reply i think service chris buck, correct me if i am wrong, but there were public hearings on april 26. It wasnt until after i filed my appeal that the department of public works began to try to be in compliance with the americans with disabilities act. The fact that the actual hearing for these trees was inaccessible to me as a person with disabilities. I didnt know about it. The notifications are only put on trees, so i think it would be good if the board could consider and talk about the disability violations here, but they havent, so thats why i think there should be some consideration for a rehearing where those things with spoken about as well as those things seriously lacking on july 15. Thank you for your time. Clerk okay. We will now hear from carla short from the bureau of urban forestry. Can we spotlight her, please . Thank you. Good evening, president lazarus, Vice President , commissioners. Carla short, department of bureau of urban forestry. I would note that mr. Karnazes said that theres no realtime sensitivity to that, and i would just disagree with that assessment, as we have, in the intervening months, since this process began, we have had to limit failures along 24 street. And so the departments perspective is theres no new information, and therefore, we would request that you deny the rehearing request. Clerk thank you. Is there any Public Comment on this item . If so, please raise your hand. You called in, starnine. If youre on zoom, raise your hand. Okay. I dont see anybody raising their hand, so theres no Public Comment. So commissioners, this matter is submitted. President Lazarus Commissioners . Commissioner swig a motion to deny the appeal. I dont think theres any new information. The standard is very high, and i didnt hear any information that was presented before. Did yi did want to comment e requester. As an important and somebody on this board, i take very seriously the rights of Public Comment as well as those who are disabled to be accommodated. I dont think its accurate to say that the members of this board have not considered the complaints that have been made with respect to Public Access and the access for the disabled. Speaking only for myself now, i would say that we have made tremendous efforts in a very difficult situation to make it possible for the public to participate openly and freely, and i would like to thank our executive director for the efforts that she has made in that regard, and so i would support denying this request. Clerk okay. So we have a motion from commissioner swig to deny this request on the basis that theres no new evidence. On that motion [roll call] clerk okay. So that request is denied. Thank you. Okay. So we are now going to move onto item number 7 thank you. I believe item number 6 went away. This is lance carnes, at 15 joy street, appealing the issuance on june 16, 2020, to joy peak, l. L. C. , of a public works order. The applicant agrees to retain the trees as long as possible to mitigate disruptions during construction. Two, replacement with two 24inch box coast live oak industry trees. Tree Protection Measures shall be installed prior to the start of construction. This is order number 203269, and mr. Carnes, well hear from you first. Please spotlight him. Mr. Carnes, are you there . Operator trying to get the audio from him. Clerk okay. Bear with us. Were having some technical issues. Operator do you want me to give him a call . Clerk okay. President lazarus okay. Do you want to give him a quick call . Operator yeah, ill call him right now. Clerk well give him a few minutes, and, president lazarus, if approximate we cant get him, well go on and get back to that. President lazarus thats fine. Clerk thank you for your patience, everyone. Operator i just spoke with mr. Carnes. He will be joining us shortly. Thank you. President lazarus okay. Clerk okay. Mr. Carnes . Welcome. Thank you. I looked at the agenda and figured i had time to get a drink of water. Clerk okay. Were ready for you. Okay. Clerk you have seven minutes. Okay. Thank you. So alec has my slides going there. Good evening, president lazarus, Vice President , and commissioners. Im lance carnes, and were going to show the joy street project. In december 2019, one tree only was posted for removal. March 2020, b. U. F. Rights and order to remove four trees. Public pointed out that only one tree was publicly noticed for removal. B. U. F. Committed three major fouls. Allowed trees to be removed without complete filings, total of three trees to be removed. Altered their Public Record to accommodate the notification. First, well look at the subject property and then at 15 joy street. So if you move up to the first slide there, okay. So then stop here. Application for tree removal, this is the required application for all tree removal. If you notice, all the information in this application is completed. When you get to page 7, this is the tree back up, page 7. One back up. Thats the tree protection site plan for trees that remain during construction. Down to page 8, this is the paper notice attached to trees. It shows nine trees are going to be removed, and the listing on the d. P. W. S website, showing the number of trees and whatnot. Now well look at the filings for 15 joy street. So scan down to page 10, ple e please. So back up to page 10. So the basic request for removal was not filed for this project. Now page 11, and you notice that you can just scan page by page. Youll notice none of the material is filled out on this required checklist. Page 15. Okay. The tree protection site plan was not that was not filed. It must be filed at the outset, not any time before construction as the order 203269 says. Page 16 is the paper notice for trees. Notice of number of trees is blank. Page 17 is the listing on the d. P. W. S website. So page 17 shows a comparison of these two projects. So market street, everything was completed. 15 joy street, no removal application, no site Protection Plan, and the required checklist had no information. Supposed to have the number of trees removed, and the posting notice showed a blank number of trees. If you look at the bottom of this page, this is a listing from the database that shows how many trees are listed only at joy street, and theres only two trees there, a ficus tree and a josse pruitt. So in march 2020, b. U. F. Orders removal of nine trees. How can that be when theres only two trees. The public contacted b. U. F. Several times about the discrepancy. On page 19, if you go down to the next page, ian keller from b. U. F. , wrote me that all trees was properly noticed, and the number of trees was listed on the website. A quick look at the chart below shows that theres only one tree, 15 joy street, was ever listed on the d. P. W. Website, not four, as in the march order. On page 21, and this one is rather disturbing. This is the if you remember what the posting order looks like, this is what you know, the shows what the microsoft word keeps what happened to this document. Remember, it says no number of trees, 15 joy street, and it was created on november 18, 2018. Could i have the next page, please. Youll see a second document, which was the one that was included in mr. Bucks respondents brief, and here, it shows there are four trees at 15 joy street, and that document was modified on may 19, 2020. So its not its not an accurate document. The posting dated were 1219 through 12020. Okay. Going on, where are we . 22 . So on page 23, the number of trees on the removal order since march has been four. However, the original permit order was for one to three trees. Clerk 30 seconds removing. At the 11th hour, b. U. F. Decided to pull the remaining number of trees back to three, even though mr. Keller went through all the trouble of altering the Public Record. The next page, please. The board has requested to rescind d. P. W. Permit 784908, starting the removal process again, with properly filings and public notices. Clerk that is time. Thank you, mr. Carnes. Youll have time in rebuttal. We will now hear from the determination holder. I believe mr. Jerry colanning is here to speak. Mr. Colanning, welcome. You have seven minutes. Yes, hi. Im actually steven ansonares, the architect. I dont know if jerry is here to speak more, but it seems like the majority of the item , the appellant is pointing out are items pertaining to the notice. All i need to say about the street itself is i dont know if the board knows this, but its a completely atypical street. It is completely undeveloped, and no rightofway, and theres an abundance of flora, fauna, and plantings on the undeveloped rightofway. So theres one tree in particular that is very close to the house under construction that will be extremely damaged in terms of it being pruned in order for the instruction to take place, and the street people determined that that was, in fact, something we could try to save, but it probably wouldnt be a viable tree in the end. Again, i cant speak to all the detailed notice issues that were pointed out. I think somebody else will have to speak to that. I think im done talking. Clerk okay. Thank you. I see that jerry colanning is here. Somebody are you done with your time or mr. Colanning, did you want to speak during your time . Yeah, this is on behalf of jerry. This is joel bryan. Clerk okay. Joel bryan, okay. This is something directed at steven, so i think we should leave it back to Steven Keller. Clerk okay. Do you have anything further . No. We planted four trees, but the ones that are there, they cant be left there because were actually putting up development. Clerk okay. Thank you. So are you done with your presentation . Yes, thank you. Clerk thank you. So we have a question from Vice President honda . Vice president honda yes. This is addressed to the permit holder . Do you understand why were here tonight . Its regarding the permit for the process of the tree removal, and what id like to have addressed by you as a developer is who handled that permit because at this point, what the appellant is saying is that the permit is flawed, and at which point, you would have to start all over again on the tree removal process. So who is responsible for for for gathering that permit and requesting it . When i met Steven Keller at the project, and we went through everything, and he said, you know, the tree needs to go to do the project Vice President honda no, i understand that the tree needs to go, but who what is before us this evening is that the permit is flawed and it being issued. So if its flawed, it has to start from zero again. So im asking you, if youre the developer, who on your team is making sure applying and making sure everything was correct. So im the architect, and im responsible for the house the permits for the new houses. When it came time for the street encroachment permit, we have to actually build a set of stairs to the houses because, again, its undeveloped rightofway, and its natural ground out there. The trees themselves came up later as what i understood was completely taken over or Steven Keller sort of managed it. I responded with what was requested, and i think in there, ivana construction maybe handled some of the permitting. So i dont know. I submitted some of the permits after they were requested to be submitted. Vice president honda well just hear the case as it goes. Thank you. Clerk okay. Thank you. We will now hear from the department, miss carla short from b. U. F. , you have seven minutes. Thank you. Im going to try to share my screen here. I have the document if you need it. Okay. Lets see. Did that work . Clerk yes. Okay. Thank you, commissioners. Carla short, San Francisco public works, department of urban forestry. So mr. Carnes had three primary complaints, that the developer didnt follow our recommendations, that we treated them specially, and that we did he fended the incompletely removal and failed the public when we did not show all the tree removals on the public notification page. So i will just quickly try to address each of these points. The developer did ultimately submit all of the necessary paperwork. B. U. F. Staff met the applicant onsite for a preapplication meeting, and therefore, he was aware of all of the relevant information before they submitted it. He did follow up with an email, indicating the necessary documents, and they filed the Tree Planting and protection checklist as well as the site plan initially and then followed up with the removal paperwork, and all of the fees that were required were paid. To the assertion that we treated this developer favorably moving forward, mr. Keller did meet with them at the outset to require which trees would require permits. As noticed, this is an undeveloped rightofway, so where tree right side in the rightofway and where they are versus under our jurisdiction versus significantly where they are under the code, versus trees that are located within the property thats being developed is not easy to determine at that location. So he met with them and determined which trees would require permits. He noted that the bureau would not approve any of the native oaks for removal, and that they would require a tree Protection Plan, which he then followed up with an email, and afterwards, pending all of the necessary application materials and process, mr. Keller proactively put a hold on the release of their d. B. I. Addendum. I wasnt going to show all of these details, but ill just quickly scroll down to show that he sent this as a follow up, indicating what was going to be required after the site meeting, so this is i dont know if thats visible, but thats just an email from our inspector, mr. Keller, with all of the requirements that was required. Additionally, as noted, he contacted d. B. I. To notify them that he was placing a hold on the project for ten months prior to releasing the hold to ensure that all of the necessary paperwork was submitted. So i think that its clear we werent giving them favorable treatment, we were holding them to the necessary documents in order to issue the permit. And then lastly, mr. Carnes indicates that we failed to notify the public when we did not show or announce on the trees on the removals notification page. So its correct that we had an error initially on the tree removals notification page in december, which i will note was a brandnew notification process, which we implemented in order to make it easier for the general public to identify if there were trees posted for removal. However four stems, what we then determined were three trees were physically posted on on december 18. We announced on the website on the 23rd that trees at this location were proposed for removal. It is true that only one tree was listed on that page at that time, but anyone who was concerned about a tree being removed could have contacted us for more information. The initial hearing was cancelled due initially due to the shelter in place. The first hearing was scheduled i believe for march. The may hearing, we chose to postpone when we were aware that there was a mistake on the website. So in an effort to try to avoid a technicality, we proactively chose to postpone that item to the june hearing to ensure that all public notifications was properly received. So each time there was notice on our website about the hearing and about the trees proposed for removal, and each time, the trees themselves were physically posted with removal notices. I would submit that, clearly, the public notification process worked. The number of folks who rely on the website to determine if a trees going to be removed did get notice that there were trees posted for removal at this location. Clearly, some of neighbors who also participated in the hearing were aware that trees were proposed for removal because we had two additional people who participated in the public hearing. I would just say that, you know, we ultimately oh, to address the point about three versus four trees, one of the Hollywood Junipers is clearly a standalone, which ill show a oat photo of that. Its one stem, and its standing by itself. However, trees 2 and 3, one of them is a multistemmed tree, so initially, it wasnt clear if it was two trees or one tree with two stems emanating low on the trunk. We notified the public of four trees, and all stems were posted. Prior to the hearing, mr. Buck went out to the site and concluded that one of these two in trees two and three was actually a single tree, not two trees. So i would just like to state that i think the process worked. I dont see what we gain by starting over. Clearly, there was public notification. We ultimately got all of the necessary paperwork. Frankly, coming to the board of appeals is always a challenge, but in this case, i felt really comfortable defending the department because these trees were notified many times. In any case, they had six months of notification. Clerk thats your time. Thank you. We have a question from commissioner honda. Vice president honda thank you, mr. Sho you, miss short. We havent seen you in quite a while. Hearing the oral, that is a thats the reason why there was a modification in march regarding the tree count, was so that the department can get a present a more accurate number and then go forward for notification, and then the process for the property time going through . Is that is that what im understanding . Yeah, i think so. Let me just try to clarify. So again, initially, all the stems of the trees were posted, and there were four stems. One of the trees is a multistem tree with two stems that emanate from very low in the trunk, so it appears that they might be two trees planted very closely together. I did also just want to clarify, the initial notice was handwritten with a sharpie, so the word document that was shown by mr. Carnes showed a blank there, but thats because the inspector wrote the number in because he wasnt sure exactly how many trees were out there. At that time, he concluded four based on the stems. And then only after prior to the final hearing at public works and again, this had been rescheduled several times that it got switched to the three trees rather than four trees. Vice president honda okay. And then my final question. Because the time was extended, it means the public had proper notification, and were not talking with preferential treatment or anything, it just got extended so that the public got notification and was aware that the tree or trees were going to be removed. What youre saying is that there was a property notification and timing. Could you give me a quick scenario of what the property time notification is and what the department did . Sure. So the requirement by code is that we notify the public and interested parties for 30 days, and that initial notification took place in december, for beyond 30 days. Those notices were properly posted on the trees themselves, which has historically been our way of notifying the public. As i noted, the addition of placing notifications on the website is a relatively new practice that we are committed to and committed to getting right, but that has not been our historic practice for notifying the public of tree removals. So that initial notification took place in december for 30 days, and then the hearing wasnt due to the timing of the notice being placed in middecember, it wasnt scheduled until the march tree hearing because it has to go through, you know if we have many cases like you, it might get pushed to the march hearing. Prior to the march hearing, notices were also placed on the trees, so they were, again, public noticed, and then that hearing was cancelled due to shelter in place. We scheduled it for may, and noticed were placed on the trees, and the other notices were still on the trees, so they had been up that entire time, and we also notified the public of our the upcoming hearing on the website. The may hearing, we discovered that there was an error in the website notification for the hearing itself, and out of an underance of caution, we chose to postpone to june just to make sure that there was no misunderstanding about when the hearing was happening and that these trees were proposed for removal. And so we actually had two people who showed up virtually to the may hearing who spoke about this case and then came again to the june hearing when it was finally heard. So for each of those cases, noticed were placed on notices were placed on the trees themselves, and notices were placed on our website. Vice president honda so by my count, were at triple notices. Its typically one month, and were at six months from the original notice. Vice president honda okay. Thank you. Clerk okay. Were moving onto Public Comment. I believe miss natalie down, did you want to provide Public Comment . Yes, please. Clerk please go ahead. You have three minutes. Okay. Im told that this private Property Owner and Steven Keller from the d. P. W. Disregarded the process, the required process and is outright gaslighting the public about how many trees need to be removed and what process they actually followed. It doesnt matter how many other trees are on the street, we and the city have a responsibility to maintain and protect the health of every tree that we have. We cant just keep removing ecologically essential trees just because its inconvenient in this time of a worsening climate crisis. Im sure i dont have to remind the board that we have one of the worst ever canopies in the United States of america, and yet this is the effort that goes into looking after what little we have . This effort in the urban canopy by the developer in this matter is a joke. We should absolutely uphold this appeal to the removal permit. Clerk thank you. Do we have any other public speakers in. Operator joshua klipp would like to speak. Clerk okay. And i would like to share my screen, if thats okay. Clerk absolutely. You have three minutes. Okay. Can everyone see it . Clerk yes. Okay. Of all the complicates processes that developers face in San Francisco, taking out a tree thats not one of them. Theres an application and application fee, and buck either denied or grants the application, and then we go through this process. But here, the application didnt specify the number of trees. Theres no record of a decision issuing on the application. Then, weve got this notice issue that doesnt specify the number of trees. The notice online doesnt match the number approved, and lance pointed out the number that was changed about a year after application. And then, weve got this notice of four changes that was changed to three trees. In may 2020, i made a Public Records request on this address for these records, and i did not receive anything regarding updated applications, i didnt receive emails, nothing about tenmonth holds, and nothing regarding the physical notices that were provided in response to that document request. So i went out and took a look at it myself. This was last week. Whats still up on the post, you can see theres nothing, just a blank space regarding the number of trees. And i understand that there were a number of postings up around there, but its basically fairly impossible to climb around the hillside and try to figure out which notice is accurate. And then here, weve got the screen grab of b. U. F. S online notice of removal, which is one site, and one tree, and i would respectfully submit if this was corrected, evidence of that could easily have been provided today. And then, weve got screen shots of notices of the approval hearings, where weve got one tree, and then three trees. I trees dont move, and the plants dont change, and were trusting the arborists to clarify how many trees were talking about. And then, weve got this invoice from november, and theres some apparently discussion onsite how many trees are coming out. This was for 15 joy, and it was for one to three trees. [please stand by] i still havent heard anything about application for tree removal. Anyone can file. You have to fill out an application for a tree removal permit. If a developer forget to fill out a checklist and which ones will be removed, which ones will be kept and indicate whether you need a tree protection site plan. Third, this project did not provide tree protection site plan. The tree hearings, all three removal notices for the march 23rd, may 11th and june 1 tree hearing indicated four trees. The final decision to move it down to three was a little suspicious. I suspect somebody remembered that the number of trees in the permit was only one to three. If have been four, we would have had no problem today. Saying this decision was totally wrong. Ms. Short said that we were surprised how many trees were noted. Im careful watcher of everything, im not popular with the staff there, there was no updates on the removal numbers. Thats pretty much all i have to say. We have a question from Vice President honda. Vice president honda your main concern is that it went from four trees to three trees. Are you visited the site and determinely how many trees are physically there . I have not. Thats not my main concern. Im sorry. I have not visited the site. Josh went there. Vice president honda actuall y, can i ask a question . Josh . He heard you. Vice president honda how many trees are there . I think thats a great question for the arborist. They are the ones certified to make that determination. I understand it can be a scientific definition. Vice president honda have you been to the site . Is it three trees or four trees . Theres a whole bunch of trees that connect a couple of streets. Theres a whole slew of trees there. Vice president honda the one in particular they said they werent sure there was four trees or three years. Are you aware of that . What im saying, Vice President , there are no parcel markers. Its not like you can tell heres five, seven and 15. Vice president honda were those trees marked with tags for removal . I gave you a picture of what was posted there, which says 15 joy. Vice president honda thank you mr. Klipp. Well now move on to the determination holder. Is i didnt get your last name clearly. Stephen is your first name . What is your last name . I think the points were recently made are the most engineer germane. This is a natural block in city of San Francisco if it was stand alone, it would be something equivalent to a rain forest. We are taking out a number of trees and were planting more. Im concerned that there will be too many trees once they are planted. Thats not my determination to make. Were planting more than required for the four houses. I know this just for one. Its extremely hard to determine what is a tree and what is a shrub. There are references to tree shrubs that are being saved and some tree shrubs are being removed. Overall, joy street is an exemplary of an urban forest. The appellant are applying the guidelines for concreted asphalted blocks that are typical. This is not that. This is a greenland. Its an exceptional site for the city. Its unusual. Because its so unusual. , why it was so hard, i understand now from the detailed description. To determine what was being removed and what was being saved. It was for me an architect to connect to the new proposed houses. And find a place within this dense underbrush to place a new tree. Im trying to put it in perspective. Its not a typical block. I think the owners done as well as as they could in response to the permitting. They have produced all the proper permit whether they were done before, after or during some period. I think this points its the material. They have committed planting more trees than actually are required to replace those being removed. Thats all i have to say. President lazarus thank you. Well hear from the department. Ms. Short, you have three minutes. Thank you commissioners. Carla short, i dont have too much to add. I would note that i think its clear that theres a confusing site even the appellants and mrs hard to identify exactly whats going on out there. I think its for that reason that our inspector agreed to meet with the applicant and to try to determine which trees and shrubs would require permit and which ones would not. He was very thorough. He put a hold on the project to insist that we got the necessary documentations. Determines whether a multistem tree is one or two trees is not always easy. I think the department err on the side of notifying people that four stems were coming down. We tried to make it clear these four stems will be removed. He saw, this is actually one tree with a union restric rit the base. Maybe we should be stuck with four. Maybe that would have reduced some of the confusion here. It was an effort to try to correct the record so to speak. Lastly, i will just note that one of the Public Commenters said that these three essential trees removed. These are three relatively Small Chinese Hollywood Jun juniper ss being removed. They will be replaced by california native trees to the San Francisco area. If we do an analysis of those three junipers over their lifetime versus these oaks, the oaks provide for greater environmental benefits to the city, far better habitat and i think delaying this will delay starting to achieve those benefits by planting the oaks in lieu of these shrubs. We dont allow removal of trees because they are nonnative. They are Hollywood Juniper and relatively small. Well end up with large native oak tree. The characterization were three ecologically essential trees is not accurate. Commissioner swig carly, you understand that i think i would admit to carrying some baggage in this meeting due to the performance that weve exhibited oaover the last several months. If you paid attention to our hearings they have been contentious especially with regard to behavior and attention to detail. Mr. Carnes presented the perfect example of what causes frustration at least on my part. He shows 1629 market, perfectly filled out application for tree removal and then he showed the subject case which was not even close to being a comprehensive or adequately pulled out application. Why should we not also i agree with you, the trees that are here are all trees are important. But there are more Important Trees than these trees. Its the point of the matter, i think that buff is there to protect the city and its citizens from making sure that the urban forest is maintained. You heard with all due respect to the developer. I probably would have answered the same way. Hey, we got clear that tree because the house wont fit without it. That was testimony that i heard today from the developer. Im sorry, i didnt see his name, i apologize for not catching it. The developer wants to build a tree. Your department is there to make sure that the proper procedures are followed. Why should we not find for the appellant where it seem to be complete disregard to make sure that the developer was fodge the following the policies and procedures. The public as far as we know from the caretaker filling out the application, and the public isnt the public being abused by the lack of care to make sure the application is properly filled out . I think the description of the appellant and mr. Klipp goes to show that this is not a typical site. Where its very clear which trees are proposed for removal and which are not. The architect made a good point. Market street, thats pretty easy. I got four trees in front of my building. I want to remove two of them to build my building. Its not complicated to figure out which trees to remove. I think in this case, i think we handled this very well. Our inspector went out there, he said we will absolutely not allow the removal of these trees. Youre going to have to work around them. Those were the native oaks. You will be required to submit a tree Protection Plan and you will be required to protect those oaks. We err on the side saying four stems will be remove removed re. What did buff do . Buff err saying more trees will be removed to ensure that the public got the full impact of what was being proposed. I think that this process worked the way it should work. We made a mistake on the website. Theres no question about that. That was a brand new notification page. Our prior practice and our Current Practice post notices on the trees themselves. You can see from mr. Klipps photo the notice from december was still on one of those trees. Clearly, the notification process, which is our responsibility to the public, that we take very seriously, worked. There were notice the placed. There were notices placed about the hearing three different times on the website. Our job to protect urban forest. We granted the removal of three small shrubs and advocated for the planting of two large stature at maturity native oaks. That is our responsibility as stewards of the urban forest. We are to protect and enhance the urban forest. I think we met that obligation in this case. Was it an ideal case from when the documentations were filled out . No. The reality is its confusing sometimes. If people say i dont know how to fill this out correctly, can you meet me and tell me which one of these qualify. We will do that. This is not the first time weve done it. President Lazarus Commission ers, this matter submitted. Commissioner swig, you seem to have some feelings about this . Commissioner swig i was shown an example of right and wrong by the appellant. I was not shown with all due respect to ms. Short, why the even the application wasnt filled out correctly. Even in the record as it stands today, theres not a full and complete application. I would like to i dont know if i will get support for it, im not sure i like my own motion we have to hold buff accountable for making sure that all the procedures are followed. Clearly for me the procedures were not followed or they were followed in a sloppy fashion regardless of the diligence of the conversation to make sure that there was a site meeting, etcetera as ms. Short talked about. But the policies and procedures, the applications werent filled out correctly. We were shown that, ms. Short hasnt shown me that theres been an update or that the procedures ultimately followed correctly. If they werent, i got to support the appellant and support the appeal until this job can be filed in an appropriate fashion and goes through the proper procedures. That will be my motion to find Vice President honda normall y i love to step on the toes when procedure and protocol is not correct. In this case, theres several oath factors. One of the factors is that, this didnt happen in december and cutting trees down in january or march. Notification, the permit was applied for in december. Came back in march and came back in may and came back in june and here we are in august. The online notification as the department indicated, was brand new. Their notification process still to this day is notify and to tag the trees. You can see in the pictures that was presented this evening that those trees were tagged. At which point when even the members of the public who are very strong advocates, cannot point out if there are three or four trees there themselves. I dont see that theres a reason to have this go out again if its been notified since december or at least since march that three different notifications have gone out. President lazarus i got a question for ms. Short. Its about what commissioner swig raised, the application itself for the permit perhaps not having been complete. In my mind, that doesnt necessarily where were at. Do you have any when on that aspect . We did ultimately get the application itself completed. It did not come in a timely manner. It did ultimately get completed. President lazarus it would need to be part of the record Going Forward . Thats right. Before we can issue the permit. When was that fully correct permit completed and is it online at this point . Our permit database is not yet online. The notification page is online but the permit database includes, in most cases, personally identifiable information. Were working with our i. T. Department to figure out what of that information can be included online. Its not currently available ave online. They submitted it in july. I would have to i can try to pull up the database to get the exact date. Vice president honda thats fine. Do we have a motion . Commissioner swig . Commissioner swig thats my motion i was about to pull. I dont think its worth putting everybody through the aggravation of starting all over again. I wanted to make the point that these my patience is a little thin with regard to the bumpy nature what were experiencing and not Holding People accountable to do their proper paperwork, etcetera. Do you have an alternative motion . Commissioner swig somebody else can make the motion. Clerk another commissioner wishes to make the motion. I would move to deny the appeal based on the permit that not properly issued. We have motion from president lazarus. On that motion [roll call vote] that motion carries 40. The appeal is denied. Thank you. We are now moving ton to item number nine. This is appeal number 20027, Christie Barrett west versus Zoning Administrator. [agenda item read] on july 1, 2020 upon motion by Vice President honda, the board voted 40 to continue this matter to august 12th on the condition Zoning Administrator will submit a brief by august 6th. That matter was not heard on july 1st. We will now proceed with the hearing. Appellant, i believe mr. Chong is the attorney for the appellant. You have seven minutes. Good afternoon president lazarus and members of the board of appeals. At the hearing today is christie west. Before we get to the appeal i like to update the board and Zoning Department what the owners are doing on the property in our brief and our application for continuance of the hearing. We noted that 1215, 29th avenue is the primary resident christie west over 70 years of age and suffer Significant Health condition which delayed the processing of the work necessary to get the permit on file. We have managed to get the inspection done. They are preparing plans we submitted to the building department. We hope to be able to get them on file next 30 days or so. Regardless whether or not our appeal is sustained or denied. This has been an extremely expensive and burdensome process for the Property Owners and their finances are limited at this time. Were hoping board will reverse this decision and extend time for compliance st that the penalties are eliminated. Little bit of background, this information is large in our brief. I will not spend lot of time talking about it. Christie west and her husband purchased the property in 1980s. The rooms on the ground floor were rented out at the time. At that time, they were aware that the units not permitted. Mr. West did not understand that it was illegal. Other than maintenance and repairs to those spaces, notice of substantial work has been performed on the down stair spaces. About eight years ago, christie deeded the title of the property to her son for Estate Planning purposes that shes been allowed to maintain control over the property. Sometime after they purchased the property christie did obtain permit required at that time but was informed in light of the need for affordable housing, the city and county. There was a moratorium on enforcement of the violation of the unit. That work was not completed. She was not aware of any change of the policy. She did not remove those spaces. What she continues to do is maintain our gnome a maintain her home in habitable manner, responded to the d. B. I. Complaints. We raised a few grounds, they are due process issues. I will not belabor over it too much. The primary issue that were raising is the notices. The original notices and the violations were sent to incorrect addresses. It didnt get to christie west. There was no actual notice. Theres some question about whether or not they were sent to the addresses that an official record. Unfortunately, person to whom they were sent no longer at that address and forwarded to christie. The main thing about that, because the procedural defect, had two hvac. It creates the impression that christie was ignoring the notices because she havent responded to the notes. The second issue, deprived her any time which to work with the Planning Department to resolve the violations without further proceeding with the penalties. Second issue had to do with the nature of the violation os. They also added some comments or allegations regarding units in the main house. Last issue we raised had to do with the inclusion of citations from unrelated trial by former disgruntled upstairs tenant, theres no evidence weve been able to find in the Department Records supporting those statements. We did do a Public Information request for the records. I went through them and i did not see any citations on which those comments are based. Finally, although, this not something within the boards purview on this appeal. Our clients to be upset about the perceived enforcement zoning limitations. Theres thousands of these units in the city she feels picked upon, her house is subject to proceedings unlike the others. I understand theres the institutional issues related to that. Theres no real means for the property to go through. I feel compel to raise that issue because it is of concern to our client. The last issuabilit issue i wang up is [indiscernible] time involved in the original decision was very short. This allowed the additional time for her to complete this process. Were in the process of doing so. Hope to do it within the next 30 days to get it on file. Currently the income from the property is insufficient to handle all the burdens imposed on it and pay for the repairs and penalties. Commissioneyoull have to spg rebuttal. Youll have three minutes in rebuttal. Well let you know. Thank you. Well now hear from the Zoning Administrator. Welcome. Good evening president lazarus and commissioners. Im happying to here joining you all here. Its my first time for remote hearing board of appeals. I havent before you some time. Mr. Sanchez has this week off