The development planned for the corner of Hayes and Laguna has already caused some minor controversy—and ground hasn't even been broken yet.
In 2013, plans were revealed to demolish the existing building on the block and replace it with a 5-story, 29-unit multi-use building. Hayes & Kebab shut down in September, and since then the space has been laying dormant, awaiting its next iteration.
Although the site is currently devoid of activity, drama is still building. As we mentioned back in November, the former site of Hayes & Kebab is also home to two large ficus trees. The new building's property management group, Village Properties, applied last fall to remove the trees, citing a conflict with the upcoming construction. Woojoo Chung, an Urban Forestry Inspector with the city, reviewed the trees and denied the application, stating that the trees were in good health and that they posed no risk to the impending development.
Not to be deterred by the city's denial, Village Properties then appealed the decision. A public hearing was held on November 24th to review the proposal, which got the Department of Public Works involved.
Ficus trees have been a hot topic in the city recently, ever since the Department of Public Works' tree pruning budget was cut back. A rash of falling trees has hit the city of late, with one large fallen tree closing down Divisadero yesterday, and another nearly crushing a cyclist in the Panhandle on Saturday.
Older trees can suffer under the weight of too-heavy branches, often causing falling limbs or the uprooting of entire trunks. In addition, California's recent drought has caused tree branches to become more brittle, which in turn means that many trees lose their limbs during big storms. Ficus trees in particular are high-maintenance and tend to lose their branches as they age.
In an effort to save these two trees, The Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association has chosen to get involved. In a letter to the city, Jay Rosenberg of the HVNA's Greening Committee cites the trees' aesthetic presence, and their environmental and economic benefit to Hayes Street. He also points out that despite ficus trees' bad reputation, the ones on Hayes Street are very well-maintained, which lowers their likelihood of collapsing or dropping branches.
Rosenberg also cites the value of having older trees in a neighborhood. Although a condition of removing these two trees includes replacing them with 36-inch tall box trees, the environmental benefits to the neighborhood would be lessened, said Rosenberg. Not only that, but removing the trees would diminish the leafy aesthetic of Hayes Street overall.
