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Tankhill neighbors fight for 2 trees on death row
- Rachel Gordon, OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
Friday, March 24, 2000
Eucalyptus trees are like pigeons.
Some consider them pesky intruders, better dead than alive. Others see the eucalyptus as a gift from nature that adds majesty to a city taken over by asphalt and steel.
The conflict has smoldered for years, flaring at times at Angel Island, the Presidio and San Bruno Mountain. Today, the hot spot is Tankhill, a little patch of hilltop open space in San Francisco's Cole Valley that provides visitors with spectacular views, a glimpse of history and a touch of tranquillity.
The fight on Tankhill is over two eucalyptus trees that city officials hope to cut down. They say the trees are ruining the natural habitat, killing off native wildflowers and grasses.
Eucalyptus trees, native to Australia, were introduced into the area in the mid-1800s with the hope of providing lumber for the burgeoning region, only to be found useless for that endeavor.
"Eucalyptus trees can really be quite destructive," said Mike Morlin, The City's assistant superintendent of parks. "If you look under them, you really don't see a lot growing."
The oils from the trees act like poison to native flora, such as the California buttercup, footsteps of spring, pink clarkia, lupine and grasses, said Pete Holloran, president of the Yerba Buena chapter of the California Native Plant Society. The trees' shadows also pose problems, he said.
'Stunningly beautiful'
But Morley Singer, a Tankhill neighbor for some 30 years, looks at those trees and sees august, natural towers.
"The trees are stunningly beautiful. You should have seen the fog drifting through them this morning," he said Thursday.
Singer, his wife and dog walk Tankhill just about every day. He can see the targeted trees from his nearby home.
"It just boggles my mind that they would cut them down," he said.
The two trees are not the only ones to stand on Tankhill; about 40 others also grace the 2.8-acre respite that developers once eyed for 20 single-family houses until The City designated it open space 23 years ago.
Neighbors fear that if these two trees go, more chain-sawing may follow. Other eucalyptus trees were cut down in years past.
"It's like a graveyard of tree
stumps out there," said neighbor Denise Scriver.
Morlin said The City has no plans at this time to cut down the other trees. The two with death warrants, he said, have been found to be particularly vexatious to the natural habitat.
Paul Castleman, another neighbor, doesn't buy it. "Anyone who lives near eucalyptus trees beware," he said. "They'll come after yours next."
Lisa Wayne, who heads The City's natural areas program, assured that won't happen. She said the only big project under way is to thin the eucalyptus forest on Mount Davidson.
City vs. neighbors
City Hall has a rocky history with neighbors and trees. Officials have been accused of cutting first, telling second. It wasn't long ago that neighbors in the Inner Sunset physically got between a chain saw and a line of trees when city workers tried to cut down the trees without the required permit. That incident, and another in Bernal Heights, prompted the Board of Supervisors to pass a law intended to give residents more notice when The City proposes to remove trees.
Critics living near Tankhill say the public process has been flawed from the get-go, with neighbors practically begging city officials for information.
What's more, say some neighbors, they're upset they were told about the trees' potential doom late in the game, rather than being brought in from the beginning to participate in planning the fate of the open space area.
The City planned to cut down the two Tankhill trees some time after this coming Monday, which would be 30 days after the public had been notified. Neighbors found out about the plan through postings attached to each tree.
But now, due to opposition - neighbors circulated a petition that was signed by about 80 people opposed to cutting down any more trees on Tankhill - the plan has been put on hold pending additional public input and education, Morlin said.
Education is key
Greg Gaar, a historian and naturalist who describes himself as the volunteer steward of Tankhill, has spent hundreds of hours tending to the land and attempting to restore its natural habitat. Education, he said, is key.
Gaar said he can understand how some people may think that
cutting down a tree may seem alien to nature lovers. However, he added, it's essential to preserving biodiversity.
"These native plants have been here for thousands of years, and represent remnants of San Francisco's natural heritage, 98 percent of which has already been destroyed," he said. "We have a responsibility to preserve what we have left for future generations."
Scriver has a different take.
"I don't believe opposition to the trees and wanting to preserve the natural habitat are mutually exclusive," she said. "What other interventions, other than removing these majestic trees, can be evaluated before doing something so final?"
City officials plan to hold a public forum at 1:30 p.m. Saturday to discuss the fate of the Tankhill eucalyptus trees. The meeting is scheduled in the park at the east end of Belgrave Avenue, not far from the southern foot of Stanyan Street. <
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