On July 23, 2005 the Board of Supervisors passed A Tree & Beauty Tax Ordinance [#179-05] adding a tax of $3 per square foot of "sidewalk encroachment" on homeowners who plant trees, add greenery, or undertake beautification projects on their sidewalks. The minimum tax for #179-05 is $100 and due regardless of the size of the encroachment.
In 2005, a "Clean and Green City Summit", promoted sidewalk landscaping, tree planting, less concrete and more greenery as healthy and important for enhancing the City.
It is costly and time consuming for citizens to landscape or otherwise beautify their sidewalks and to maintain these improvements. If the City is sincere in wanting to beautify and "green" San Francisco, they need to encourage citizen's efforts.
This "Tree & Beauty Tax" will not only chill any attempts to plant trees or improve the pedestrian experience by sidewalk beauty, but will actually reduce existing trees as homeowners discover that quickly removing young trees without a permit and concreting over the gap will save them a minimum of $100 tax increase.
This "encroachment" fee is no more than a "stealth tax", a hidden "Tree & Beauty Tax" which strikes most severely on small home owners. This is shown by the fact that the Ordinance states that the increased tax will be added as a line-item to the homeowner's tax bill.
The DPW's John Kwong in answer to complaints writes: "The current law mandates that ALL encroachments are subject to this annual assessment, whether the encroachment has a general public benefit or not. For example, landscaping strips, or tree pots, are not exempted from the current law. In addition, there are no provisions in the law for the Department to waive these assessments. ...The Department of Public Works is working to identify those encroachments that benefit the greater general public. The law is being reevaluated and during this review process, all assessments are on hold pending Board of Supervisor's review of the law.
Concerned homeowners, neighbors who have enjoyed sidewalk improvements, Friends of the Urban Forest, SF Beautiful, and other organizations who wish to promote tree planting and beautification of San Francisco should protest to the Mayor's Office and to the Supervisors. Possibilities for further protest are: the filing a Writ of Mandate Against This Tree & Beauty Tax and/or supporting a RECALL Proposition against Ordinance #179-05.
