A SOMA resident is sounding the alarm about what he says is an old City rule that could result in 19% of Glen Park’s street trees disappearing over time.
Shaun Aukland will speak at the Glen Park Association’s fall quarterly meeting October 15, 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Glen Park library.
He wants to make sure neighborhood residents are aware of the issue ahead of a City hearing next week that will evaluate a rule prohibiting the re-planting of trees on narrow sidewalks.
At issue is an obscure rule, Public Works order 187246, enacted in 2018. It says if a street tree is removed, it can’t be re-planted if the sidewalk is less than 7.5 feet wide, which characterizes many of the smaller streets in his neighborhood.
According to Aukland, that would also cover a good portion of Glen Park: Mostly all of the 17 blocks of Chenery Street, as well as stretches of Arlington Street, Gold Mine Drive, Conrad Street, Crags Court and Berkeley Way.
Though Glen Park is not designated an Environmental Justice Community, it does have narrow sidewalks, which is why he reached out to the Glen Park Association.
“Based on an analysis of city data, this policy is projected to cause a net loss of 19% of Glen Park’s existing trees,” he said. “This would reduce your neighborhood’s enviable canopy cover from 25.1% down to 20.4%, reversing years of growth and investment.”
There are also clear exceptions to the rule, however. For example, the tree being removed in front of 660 Chenery will be replaced although the sidewalk is less than 7.5 feet, Anh Ha, legislative aide to District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, confirmed to the Glen Park News.
No one’s ripping out healthy trees, City says
None of this means healthy trees would be summarily ripped out if they ran afoul of the seven-year-old statute, the City told the News.
The rule is not an order to tear out trees on narrow sidewalks but rather a guideline for replacing dead, damaged or dangerous trees, said Rachel Gordon, spokesperson for the Department of Public Works.
Public Works maintains the policy was born from the frequent death of poorly-placed street trees.
“We’ve seen far too many [trees] over the years destroyed by vehicles, since the alleys tend to be narrow, making it difficult for some trucks and other large vehicles to navigate without hitting them,” Gordon said.
“Additionally, narrow sidewalks limit the depth of a tree well to 24 inches, a size that really limits growing space, resulting in greater risk of poor rooting and tree failures,” she added.
Further, the four feet of width required for wheelchair accessibility and pedestrian travel can be encroached by the developing limbs of young trees.
But she acknowledged the need for solutions in low-canopy areas. The department is looking into tree cultivars that might allow for more upright canopy growth and trying to identify spots for tree bulb-outs, as exist on the western half of Chenery.
A call for neighbors to get informed
Aukland’s challenge to the policy has brought the issue to a hearing before the San Francisco Urban Forestry Council, a division of San Francisco’s Department of Environment, on Friday, September 26, 2025, at 8:30 a.m., in City Hall, room 416.
Those who cannot attend are encouraged to email their feedback to jesus.lozano@sfgov.org.
Aukland frames his argument as a violation of environmental equity. San Francisco’s Environmental Justice Framework directs the city to “develop neighborhood specific targets for tree canopy cover and urban forestry” but those aren’t being met, he said.