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Permeating San Francisco

When San Francisco resident Jane Martin took a jackhammer to the concrete in front of her Mission District home, she did it for two compelling reasons. "I'm from Iowa," says Martin, "and I'm not used to so much concrete and so little room for plants." The second reason was that Martin was tired of the sewer backups that plagued her low-lying neighborhood-and realized that by creating more permeable surface she might be able to help the situation just a bit.

What she didn't foresee was that before the concrete could start flying, she would have to jump through endless bureaucratic hoops. To take away six feet of sidewalk-which left eight feet for walking-Martin had to get a permit and a variance (because she wanted to take out more than 10% of the existing sidewalk), provide a design plan, and give 30-days notice to the neighbors, none of whom objected. Martin says the permitting process was intimidating and difficult; it also cost her $250, a fee that was recently increased to $780.

Martin persevered, and in 2004, founded Plant*SF (Permeable Landscape as Neighborhood Treasure), an advocacy organization working to get San Francisco to streamline the process of creating more permeable landscape and to educate the public about its benefits.

Her efforts are starting to pay off. This spring, the S.F. Department of Public Works helped Martin expand her project to most of Shotwell between 17th and 18th Streets, says the S.F. Bureau of Urban Forestry's Paul Sacamano. The Department surveyed all the block residents and found that at least 80% percent agreed to have the concrete in the public right-of-way removed. The Bureau hired a landscape architect, removed the concrete, and is now putting the finishing touches on the landscaping, which property owners will maintain and water.

Says Sacamano, "It's the beginning of something that could reduce of flooding if it's implemented on a wider scale. It's important because it's the first of its kind; there may be others like it in the future."

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