Wide-ranging views of forest ringing Coit Tower parking lot

The thicket of trees at the base of Coit Tower makes it difficult for tourists to see the views beyond. But residents say the forest muffles tour bus sounds and keeps gawkers from staring down into their homes. The thicket of trees at the base of Coit Tower makes it difficult for tourists to see the views beyond. But residents say the forest muffles tour bus sounds and keeps gawkers from staring down into their homes. Photo: Stephanie Wright Hession Photo: Stephanie Wright Hession Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Wide-ranging views of forest ringing Coit Tower parking lot 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

The $1.7 million, seven-month restoration of Coit Tower did a lot for the building, but little for the once-breathtaking view from the parking lot - which remains largely an eyeful of overgrown trees.

And, thanks to the usual combination of environmental and neighborhood concerns - coupled with a lack of money, even in these boom times - there is little if anything to be done about it.

"Hey, it's San Francisco," says Sarah Ballard, spokeswoman for the city Recreation and Park Department, which runs the iconic tourist attraction.

For years, tourists could stand on the barrier that circles the tower and take in a view that extended from bridge to bridge. Over time, however, the surrounding cypress and Monterey pine trees got the upper hand.

"It's great, but it would be greater if the trees were not there," said German tourist Lars Helmke, staring at branches swaying in the breeze.

Cutting off the tops of the trees, however, is both dangerous for the workers doing the trimming and bad for the trees' health. Chopping down the trees and replacing them with shorter ones would leave the hill vulnerable to erosion, officials say.

Plus, the neighbors like the big trees. They may block views, but they also keep gawkers from staring down into their homes and muffle the noise of all the tourist buses rolling up to the tower.

"So you can't just go in there and take away the forest" - at least not without starting a riot, said Julie Christensen, who has been leading neighborhood efforts over the last two decades to keep the hill planted with trees and still make everyone happy.

Rec and Park and Telegraph Hill neighbors have come up with a plan to replace the trees over time and to create "view corridors." Some of that work has already happened, in fact, but just how long it will take to complete or how it will be paid for, no one can say.

Meanwhile, Rec and Park and residents are bumping heads over another Coit Tower project: a planned fence around the circular parking lot to keep tourists from trampling the hillside shrubbery.

The neighbors want the fence set back a few feet from the edge so it's less visible. Rec and Park says any gap would open the space to become a homeless campground.

As for the views?

Well, from the parking lot, you can still see the Golden Gate Bridge, part of Fisherman's Wharf and the Bay Bridge.

If you want more, you can shell out $7 to ride to the top of the tower.

The trees haven't grown that tall ... yet.

Jump ball: With the election less than two weeks away, San Francisco's Proposition B to limit waterfront building heights - once considered a sure thing - is looking like anything but.

A KPIX TV/Survey USA poll found San Francisco voters evenly split on the measure to require voter approval of new high-rises by the bay, with 31 percent favoring Prop. B and 33 percent opposed.

The biggest faction in the poll of 845 registered voters, taken from May 16-20, was the undecideds - 36 percent.

The poll, which has a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points, was a sharp departure from earlier surveys that showed overwhelming approval for Prop. B. It also indicates a shift since the landslide vote in November that killed a high-rise condo project at 8 Washington St.

What changed?

For starters, the Golden State Warriors opted to move their proposed 18,000-seat arena - which was Prop. B's biggest target - off the waterfront.

Also, the Giants have gone quiet on their high-rise plans near the ballpark and, except for a short-lived legal challenge to Prop. B, have stayed out of the ballot fight. And a major developer, Forest City, is openly talking about taking its Pier 70 project to the voters this fall.

"There's not a bad guy out there anymore," said former Mayor Art Agnos, one of the leaders in the Prop. B campaign.

"In a way, people think we have already won," said Prop. B campaign manager Jon Golinger.

Opponents, led by the Chamber of Commerce and the building unions, and supported by the local Democratic Party, are ramping up their campaign. They're emphasizing the potential downside of requiring voters' OK for every big waterfront project.

"You don't want projects like this being decided in backroom deals aimed at satisfying a handful of activists who can threaten to oppose you at the ballot box," said chamber Vice President Jim Lazarus.

Agnos counters that Prop. B doesn't replace the existing planning process - it simply forces developers to "spend the money they are now giving to politicians to educate voters."

The new poll does contain one bright note for Prop. B forces - they're winning among people who have already voted.

"But it is going to be closer than we once thought," Agnos said.