Nulty Demands Community to End to San Francisco “War Against Trees”
Nulty Demands Community to End to San Francisco “War Against Trees”
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (2/27)- In a month or so, the seven stately ficus trees bordering Washington Square Park on Columbus Avenue in the North Beach District, San Francisco, CA are likely to meet their fate at the business end of a wood chipper. On Monday night, in what was probably the final appeal to save them, eight San Franciscans rose in their defense. Among them was Michael Nulty. John Nulty, the author of the online petition speaking at the same hearing. Michael Nulty offered his comments during a San Francisco Public Works meeting to consider the plan to remove seven ficus trees along Columbus Avenue next to Washington Square.
Like much of San Francisco’s ficus population, the Columbus Avenue trees have been condemned by the Public Works Department as too risky to leave standing. But Nulty pointing to the online petition by Change.org noted, “San Francisco has posted tree removal notices on a series of healthy, mature 61 (Ficus) trees on opposed by neighbors and merchants. The lead agency for this threat is the Bureau of Urban Forestry/Department of Public Works (DPW). According to the latest tree census, there are an estimated 7,000 mature Ficus street trees planted in the city. DPW is acting under a 2014 standing order (#183151) to eliminate Ficus trees that neatly folds in with a recent 2016 voter initiative (Proposition E) returning maintenance of street trees to the City.
Simply put, removing this many trees reduces maintenance costs in the long run for the City but also further diminishes the size and volume of our urban forest canopy, already the smallest (at 13.3%) of any major American city today.
In the case Ficus Trees, tree removals will deprive a diverse neighborhoods of its character and wildlife habitats, contribute to local climate change by removing carbon sinks, increase respiratory health problems of residents caused by auto pollution, eliminate the cooling provided by shade trees, exacerbate storm water drainage by diverting water into an antiquated sewer system and destroying nesting grounds for a variety of bird populations.
Please sign our petition, share and comment to end this War on Trees happening throughout San Francisco...”
The San Francisco Examiner noted though, “Despite their impressive canopies, ficus are susceptible to limb failure, and their particularly belligerent roots warp and buckle sidewalks. It’s been illegal to plant the spindly trees in San Francisco since the 1990s, and in 2014, Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru issued an order that made it easier to remove the trees after a rash of limb failures.
And while speakers came to address the case of just seven sidewalk trees, their objections reflected wider concerns about the city’s tree-maintenance practices and what many see as its anemic attempts to grow San Francisco’s urban canopy....”
-Jose Ricardo G. Bondoc
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