A Fair Share of Trees for Every Neighborhood
Mayor Daniel Lurie, City and County of San Francisco and Carla Short, Director, San Francisco Public Works
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Have you noticed the empty tree wells in our neighborhoods?
Across San Francisco, a flawed city policy is preventing new trees from being planted in neighborhoods like SoMa, Bernal Heights, Hayes Valley, and Glen Park. Instead of getting new trees, residents are seeing their neighborhood canopy shrink.
To make matters worse, the city is misdirecting $12 million in federal funds that should be helping our highest-need communities.
It's Time for a Change.
We are calling on the Mayor and Public Works to partner with communities to re-green our neighborhoods. Your signature tells city leaders we need a clear, funded plan to make our city healthier, safer, and greener for everyone.
Sign this petition to demand that City Hall:
- Reverse the ban on replacing trees on our historic, narrow sidewalks.
- Refill every empty tree well across San Francisco.
- Direct federal funding equitably to the low-canopy neighborhoods that need it most.
- Create a long-term goal to close the canopy gap city-wide.
If you would like to review our full research before signing, you can find it in our report "Concrete Over Canopy: How San Francisco is Failing Its Environmental Justice Communities".
Petition by
To:
Mayor Daniel Lurie, City and County of San Francisco and Carla Short, Director, San Francisco Public Works
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Mayor Lurie and Director Short,
As residents of San Francisco, we are writing to ask for your partnership in addressing the critical lack of tree canopy in our most vulnerable neighborhoods. A combination of a restrictive planting policy (PWO 187246) and a lack of funding has left communities across the city with hundreds of empty tree wells.
This situation is made worse by the fact that 15 designated Environmental Justice Communities, particularly in SOMA, Bayview, the Mission and Tenderloin were inexplicably excluded from the city's $12 million federal tree planting grant for low canopy neighborhoods.
We urge you to take immediate action to develop a comprehensive plan to re-green San Francisco. This plan must include four key commitments:
1. A reversal of the policy that bans tree replacements on our historic, narrow sidewalks.
2. A funded initiative to replant every existing empty tree well on both our alleys and main thoroughfares.
3. A formal correction to the federal grant allocation to ensure all Environmental Justice Communities receive their fair share of resources.
4. The establishment of official, long-term canopy targets to finally close the green gap for all our neighborhoods, as mandated by the General Plan.
We are encouraged by recent productive conversations with Public Works staff and stand ready to partner with you. Let's work together to build a greener, healthier, and more equitable San Francisco.