As an update, yesterday was Keith’s Hearing with Public Works about the ~$4,500 fine for over-pruning two trees outside Ambrosia Bakery, 2601 Ocean Ave.

The first 30+ minutes of the Hearing was a presentation by Public Works. While there were some interesting educational aspects (such as “pollarding” trees), it was infuriating to listen to an organization with an operating budget of $357.5 million complain that, on the one hand, they were suddenly given 125,000 street trees to take care of and it’s very difficult to keep up, but, on the other hand, they need ~$4,500 from Keith’s fine because it goes into a fund for planting MORE trees.

During their PowerPoint, Public Works talked about how San Francisco has fewer street trees than other cities. We support planting more, especially to address the tree inequity reported by the SF Chronicle. No one wants trees to die. Why doesn’t Public Works have a budget to plant new trees without relying on fines?https://www.sfchronicle.com/projects/2021/sf-tree-cover/

Public Works showed a slide with negative public opinion from other fines, saying that our new media coverage for Ambrosia Bakery has no impact on them.

There was something of a mocking tone with a slide that a simple google search would have taken Keith to all their tree rules and regulations. I put myself in the shoes of a busy small business owner like Keith and I do not find this website intuitive: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_publicworks/0-0-0-4066 .  

Through another slide, we learned that one of the trees outside Keith’s Bakery does not fit with Public Works’ own regulations because it is only 12-feet from the stop sign. Given the tree’s location, it’s not surprising that Keith received so many complaints from his customers about safety on the crosswalk.

Sitting with Keith in his tiny office at Ambrosia Bakery for the Hearing, I couldn’t help but notice the lack of empathy or recognition from Public Works for his situation as a small business owner working 6-days a week to survive during COVID-19, and that his intent was not malicious, it was to do the right thing for the community. Isn’t it a conflict of interest if the agency making the decision on its own fine wants the money for new trees?

At the Hearing, we hope that the Public Works officials heard Keith’s allotted 3-minutes where he apologized and stated how he was diligently trying to do the right thing.

Through 3-minutes for additional speakers from the community, we presented this online Change.org petition that now has over 5,000 signatures – THANK YOU for signing. We represented our long history trying to get these trees taken care of. We presented comments from a paper petition at Ambrosia Bakery with nearly 200 more signatures.

We asked for a solution that is manageable for a small business owner, such as a warning letter to Keith as a first time tree pruner, or a tree education class open to anyone interested, or a fine similar in size to a driving penalty for running a stop sign i.e., ~$200 not $2,000+++.

We are grateful to our District 7 Supervisor’s Chief of Staff for her support in speaking at the Hearing.  

We will let you know the decision by Public Works. We hope to report a positive outcome for Keith with broader education for our community.

And we will ask you for more help if necessary.

Thank you again for supporting Keith as a small business owner in San Francisco.
Kath Tsakalakis