Remarks by John Trasviña
308 remarks on the record, newest first · Page 7 of 13
- Play at 1:06:07
“I was just trying to clarify your testimony because the acoustics, or maybe because the distance between you and the microphone, I couldn't tell whether you were saying trees or whether you were saying palms.”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:06:24
“And was that one of the findings of the arborist? This palm and this wall?”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:06:46
“I'm just asking whether the arborist found that the tree was not causing the damage to the wall.”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:07:27
“I thank you all for your written testimony, your presentations tonight, and the public commentary as well. I think in this case, I will yield to any of my colleagues who'd like to go first. I'll have some comments. But if there are any to anyone else who wants to start, I'd be happy to yield to you. Vice President Soroyan, thank you.”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:10:22
“Commissioner Lopez, do you want to proceed?”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:14:11
“Thank you, colleagues, for the breadth of views on this matter. I see this as a growing nightmare. For a member of the public. Had a terrible unfortunate. Situation with the tree prior to this, which is. At one level, legally, it's not relevant. On another level, it is relevant as to the harm and trauma that she has expressed in her papers and that she obviously has, as she shared with us. My first trial, I've been a lawyer now for 43 years. My first trial was representing a tree that fell on Golden Gate Park when I was a young deputy city attorney. And I know a little bit about this matter,…”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:20:53
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:21:52
“The question is, had On a request to remove a tree, what is the typical, what are any typical requirements on the homeowner to replace it or to pay a fee and whether you might be able to, if you can, opine on what would be appropriate in this particular case if the tree were a granted removal?”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:23:10
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:24:03
“OK. Commissioner Wong, it sounds like we are able to make our best judgment on this matter. The department is, in a sense, leaving it up to us, and they have their parameters. I think we're not in the best position to do that. If it were possible, I would ask the appellant and the department to work out something that's mutually agreeable on whether it's that we could, and as you note, at least from the appearances, this appellant seems to be doing more than her fair share for providing greenery. And maybe that should be taken into account, but I don't think we're prepared to make that kind…”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:29:44
“I appreciate your comments, Commissioner Lopez, and even though you're currently not an officer of this board, you certainly add value through your seniority and your experience on these matters because you've given me a lot of things to think about. In particular, I think in terms of the precedent. The precedent that is being set, I believe, is that the department, any department, must present its case and be persuasive to us. In this particular case, on the issue of the wall and of safety, we have a statement from a construction professional. It's not based on. We don't know his…”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:32:38
“I don't see anyone who seeks to be heard. I would say two things. One is I will withdraw my motion for now. But I also wanted to say, because I was intending to say this earlier, just to reiterate, that my comments about the department are about the department. They're not about the representative who's come before us tonight. He inherits this case from many months, perhaps longer than many months. But I want to make sure that the message that goes back to the department is in terms of an institutional perspective and not anything about the individual who comes before us. So your motion is…”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:37:39
“I haven't. It doesn't matter to me. I would like to keep it as early as possible. We have a member of the public who has been waiting. And it's her house. It's her wall that's in danger, potentially. So the department has, according to the record, has taken quite a while on this. The department should know Between now and September 23rd whether it can do that can do the work and and they should be able to get this done if they're not willing to or unable to Or for whatever reason then we should know in three weeks what what the answer is going to be Okay, so do you want to make I see…”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:38:28
“Let me just ask, or you may want to ask the appellant if she is available on September 23rd.”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:38:51
“Well, then we need even further delay if we're going to go down this road of continuing because we need both parties here.”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:40:10
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:40:46
“You have brought as an issue that the tree is causing damage to the retaining wall. Right. You have your witness providing testimony. We are now giving the... city the opportunity and put in the requirement to give its expert as to whether the tree is causing damage to the retaining wall.”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:41:13
“Well, that may be, but we need an answer from them.”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:42:24
“That would give the, well, the appellant should have the opportunity to respond.”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:43:39
“We have a request for a five-minute break.”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:54:23
“Vice President Cerrone is recognized for a question.”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:57:59
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:59:24
“So it would be obtaining planning approval and then obtaining the building permit.”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 1:59:49
“It's three things, at least. Obtain the planning approval, obtain the building permit, and obtain the CFC. Correct. What else do they need to do? That would complete the abatement. What about the conditional use?”
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026
- Play at 2:00:07
Not quoted here: it may name a member of the public. Hear it at the meeting.
Board of Appeals · Sep 2, 2026