The St. Francis Woods neighborhood has always had professionally managed street trees - when the neighborhood was laid out in the 1920s, the developer created a resident-funded homeowners association, and gave it control over the neighborhood’s street trees. The result has (usually) been beautiful and consistently cared for trees in the neighborhood.

So it was shocking to drive down Santa Clara Avenue and see dozens of eucalyptus trees topped so severely that not a leaf was left. It’s the worst example of pruning I’ve ever seen in San Francisco. I know that this neighborhood is unusual in the unusual local control it has had since the 1920s, but I have to believe that the city has the ability to levy fines for this abuse.