Residents of San Francisco’s Bernal Heights have been asked to remove benches from sidewalks or pay a $1,400 permit fee.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — A group of neighbors from San Francisco’s Bernal Heights are asking for leniency from the city after they were asked to clean up some so-called “unresolved encroachments”. They are benches for you and me.

Residents hoped to improve the look of their street by making it more family-friendly.

Mirabell Avenue in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood is known as a kid-friendly street.

Neighbors tried to make the street more attractive. People even use these stone benches for outdoor meetings.

But what residents have had in place for nearly 20 years is now under the guns of the Public Works Department after someone complained to 311.

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“The city asked us to apply for a sidewalk encroachment permit or remove the benches,” explained Josh Crandall, who has two benches across from his property.

Encroachments on the city are full.

We’ve all had to walk on them, e-bikes, scooters, homeless camps just to name a few.

“The main thing we want to make sure is that there will be no dangers, especially for visually impaired people if they use a wheelchair, we want the travel path to be safe for all users,” he said. Rachel Gordon of the San Francisco Department of Public Works.

Neighbors here usually have wide sidewalks. Thus, we measured from the curb to the benches in question almost 14 feet of available space. Plenty of space for wheelchairs and more.

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The notice sent to the neighbors said they must apply for a minor intrusion permit, which will cost them $1,400.

“There is no way I am going to pay $1,400. I’ll just tear it down if I have to,” vowed Gail Wilson, who built a beautiful tree bench and spent hours painting it.

“It’s like how the school board dealt with renaming high schools during the pandemic rather than distance learning and it doesn’t seem like it’s an issue that’s creating a lot of energy and using resources for something that wasn’t an issue in first and foremost,” Crandall added.

Public Works is now working with neighbors and local county superintendent Hillary Ronen to find a solution.

In a statement, Ronen said: “My office is working with DPW to maintain a community atmosphere on Mirabelle, which means keeping the benches where they are.”

Only the Supervisory Board can waive the fee or pass a law that would allow this kind of encroachment within the neighborhood.

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