About the Tree Maintenance Transfer Plan
There are about 100,000 trees in the public-right-of-way (on sidewalks, in medians, etc) in San Francisco. The Department of Public Works (DPW) Urban Forestry staff have been maintaining about 40,000 of these, the rest are maintained by private property owners.
This year, the Department of Public Works (DPW) has started transferring responsibility for maintaining most of their 35,000 street trees to private property owners. The city, because of a diminishing budget, claims it cannot pay to take care of these trees anymore. Property owners will be notified of their new responsibilities by mail and DPW postings on their tree.
Historically, SF Beautiful has been a stalwart supporter of San Francisco’s trees. We know that street trees contribute immensely to a city’s beauty, health, environment, and economy. We strongly oppose the City’s abdication of responsibility.
In the weeks to come, we’ll be working with you to inform the public about these important changes and advocate for increased funding for street trees in the City Budget.
EffectsResponsibility of 24,000 trees will be transferred to their adjacent property owners over the next 7 years. This will mean these homeowners will be forced to hire professional arborists or employ volunteers to care for their trees on a regular basis (every 5 years) and clean up any weather damage and fallen branches. Depending on the type and size of tree, pruning and maintenance costs can vary (general range for upkeep costs: $300 to $1000 per visit). If trees are improperly pruned or die, homeowners can be fined up to $500.
The Street Tree Maintenance Transfer Plan threatens the health of our urban forest and threatens this important city infrastructure.
Benefits of Street Trees
- Trees Improve Quality of Life – Trees create relaxing, beautiful, healthy spaces, absorb traffic noise and increase privacy.
- Trees Strengthen Communities – The involvement of people in the planting and care of local trees can help build a stronger sense of neighborhood and civic pride.
- Trees Increase Property Values – A row of mature street trees has been shown to increases property values between 5- 18% *(A Dec. 2003 UC Davis report estimates that San Francisco street trees increase property values by $ 6.7 million per year).
- Trees Save Energy – A recent study at the Center for Urban Forest Research found that strategically planting shade trees could reduce the need for power plants in the long term.
- Trees Clean the Air – According to the U.S. Forest Service research, through photosynthesis the average tree in a residential neighborhood will annually clean about 330 pounds of carbon dioxide from the air as well as provide enough oxygen for a family of four.
- Trees Help Reduce Global Warming – Trees reduce the emission of carbon dioxide (by decreasing energy needs) and then absorbing the carbon dioxide released from our cars, homes, and power plants. Too much carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is the primary cause of global warming.
- Trees Decrease Flooding – Trees reduce flooding by helping to reduce runoff. A typical community forest of 10,000 trees will retain approximately 10 million gallons of rainwater per year (United States Forest Service Research).
- Trees Reduce Stress – Urban residents and workers suffering from stress have been found to experience less anger, sadness and insecurity when viewing well-treed surroundings.
- Trees Help Kids Learn – Studies have shown that students’ attention spans are increased when they have a view that includes tress.
- Trees Grow Business – Research from the University of Washington indicates that “..healthy and well-maintained trees send positive messages about the appeal of a [business] district, the quality of products and what customer service a shopper can expect.”
Source: Friends of the Urban Forest.
