Issue 321___Will you want to live in San Francisco - tomorrow ___August 2008
We’ll meet at the Presidio for Fun, Food and guided Hikes
It’s time for SFT Picnic 2008Saturday, August 23nd, 11am to 3pm at El Polin Springs, a beautiful natural site within walking distance of the Main Post MUNI 29 and 43, limited car parking (see map page 3)
We hold these picnics every August so that you, our members, may be informed of all that is new and happening at specific sites in the city. A great many changes are being proposed at the Presidio National Park, specifically the three major proposals for construction at the Main Post, and these are not changes that the environmental community supports.
We’ll hike the perimeter of the Main Post to study first hand the implications of the three new major construction projects on this most historic heart of the Presidio: the 100,000-square-foot Fisher Contemporary Art Museum (CAMP), the 90,000-square-foot Main Post Lodge and the expansion of the Presidio Theater.
We’ll also have two nature hikes, one along Tennessee Hollow where it is hoped that portions of the natural watercourse that lead down from El Polin Spring to Crissy Field may be restored. We’ll also hike along the Ecology Trail to Inspiration Point.
If you missed Harold Gilliam’s article about the Presidio plan in the Chronicle recently, it’s not too late to find it on line. Quote. . .
“A draft environmental document on the Main Post Update is well worth reading and it’s available weekdays at 50 Graham Street, across the Main Parade opposite the historic barracks. The Presidio Trust is seeking to have the environmental document for the Main Post Update approved (comment period extended to September 16) so that the Trust Board of Directors can approve the Fisher proposal and the Marriott lodge. Such a commercialization of this area is being conceived as a way to “revitalize” the Main Post; they never liked the idea of honoring the history of the Presidio with the creation of a Presidio History Museum (too stuffy and no fun), so they’ve ignored the public’s wishes.
The individual barracks buildings are being leased one-by-one to the highest bidder, without concern for the historic context: the Disney Family Museum is restoring barracks building 104; building 101 would be restored by Fisher as administrative offices for his CAMP. The Presidio Trust’s stated goal is to re-animate the Main Post which it sees as “dead” at night. Making the Post a lively place after dark with the construction of a motel (“the lodge”) beside the Main Parade across from the barracks. they’ve leased these fine buildings to international investment firms and other business offices, instead of making them available as housing for families who would give renewed life and meaning to these historic dwellings.”
DIRECTIONS:
via private auto: From the North or East, Enter the Presidio at Lombard, then right on Presidio Drive, next left--still Presidio, and left on MacArthur. Watch the signs and follow MacArthur to the Springs. From the South: Enter at Arguello and follow down right on Moraga, left on Funston, Right on Presidio, to right on MacArthur and follow it to the Springs. Or enter from Presidio and follow down to left on MacArthur.
via MUNI: The 29 and 43 stop within 5 blocks. If needed call 517-2754 for a lift from the stop.
DETAILS: If you wish to join us, send your check for $20, $25 or $35 for the picnic to “San Francisco Tomorrow,” 41 Sutter Street #1579, San Francisco CA 94104. If you are not yet an SFT member and want to join, your check can cover your first year’s dues – and the picnic.
For information, call Jane Morrison at 564-1482.
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850 AT&T BOXES ON HOLD
AT&T’s plan to install large boxes throughout San Francisco hit a snag at the Board of Supervisors on 7/29. Though the Planning Department had given AT&T a Discretionary Exception, the Cole Valley Neighborhood Association presented a petition demanding a full environmental review. Poised to be approved by the Board after three hours of hearing, at the last minute AT&T chose to remove the request. AT&T had been using a piecemeal approach, placing notices one neighborhood at a time, and treating each box as a single issue. If the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) were enacted, the Planning Department would have to consider the accumulative effect of all the boxes and AT&T would be forced to provide alternatives. 
To bring fiber optics to the neighborhoods, AT&T claim that the large boxes, 5 x 6 x 2 ft, need to be placed in pedestrian right of ways at about two block intervals. The project was called “Light Speed” and would allow AT&T to offer services competitive with Comcast who several years ago installed 400 such boxes, but on private property. AT&T planned to use a new California law approved in 2006, allowing them unlimited access to public right of ways.
Citizens protested that these installations would be unsightly, hazardous, and soon covered with graffiti. Though AT&T claimed 48 hour cleanup, past experience belayed that claim. A fact not mentioned is that the older the neighborhood would get more of these boxes as older telephone wire can’t carry the bandwidth of newer neighborhood service. By example, the Inner Sunset was identified to need a set of boxes at each block, while Golden Gate Heights would only need them on the parameter.
Though dead for the moment, no one expects AT&T to walk away from this project.
Western Snowy Plovers
their status this year from Golden Gate Audubon.
In San Francisco we can see the wintering population of Western Snowy Plovers in the Wildlife Protection Areas at Crissy Field and Ocean Beach.
Since 1996, Point Reyes National Seashore has been monitoring the response of Western Snowy Plovers to management actions recommended by the state's plover recovery team. Biologists survey breeding habitat starting in March to determine the abundance and distribution of plovers within the Seashore. Once plovers establish territories and build nests, the areas are fenced to help prevent human disturbance. In addition, when possible, a 10 by 10 foot enclosure is placed around the nest to prevent access by predators. Plovers can freely come and go and the eggs are kept safe. Once eggs hatch, the vulnerable chicks are protected by the male for 28 days until they are able to fly.
Snowy Plovers along the entire coast of California have suffered huge losses this summer and it appears the park will end the season with lower numbers than in many years. With weather and other environmental factors changing as they are, plovers are struggling. This year, within Point Reyes National Seashore, plovers have been particularly hard hit.
Of the 21 nests located to date, 10 have been lost to environmental factors such as wind and tide. Common Ravens and other predators have preyed on nests that could not be exclosed. Of the 7 nests that hatched, only one chick has survived to fledging. With big losses such as these, Western Snowy Plovers are particularly vulnerable within the Seashore this summer.
You can help!!
* Stay out of the posted habitat areas and remain at least 50 feet away from birds and nests. Even the most knowledgeable birder will cause impacts to plovers in these areas.
* Walk near the water line on plover breeding beaches.
* Walk dogs only where authorized and always keep them on a leash.
* Dispose of garbage properly to avoid attracting predators.
* Leave driftwood lying on the beach. It provides nesting and feeding habitat for plovers. Do not build wood structures as upright wood provides perches for avian predators.
* Share your knowledge with others going to enjoy the beach.
* Volunteer to educate the public or to restore plover habitat
* Contact the GGNRA to volunteer as a snowy plover outreach docent in San Francisco at george_durgerian@nps.gov .
* Call the Point Reyes National Seashore for more information about the snowy plover docent program there at 415-464-5124.PRESIDIO
Pressure on the Main Post Mounts
Mayor Newsom was booed by hundreds of attendees at the Presidio Trust Board of Directors’ open meeting on Monday, July 14 after he spoke in favor of the Fisher museum. Although 500 people arrived early and found seats in the Herbst Exhibition Hall, hundreds more were locked out by fire marshals.
The Presidio Neighborhood Representative Work Group was created in June by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to study and comment upon the Presidio Trust’s proposals in cooperation with the City Planning Department and City Attorney’s office. Members include representatives of various neighborhood associations and the Sierra Club. A resolution criticizing San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for endorsing the controversial Fisher Art Museum proposed for the historic Main Post of the Presidio of San Francisco was passed unanimously yesterday by the members.
On July 9, Mayor Newsom and Director of Cultural Affairs Luis Cancel sent a joint letter/email on Fisher’s Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio (CAMP) letterhead, strongly endorsing the museum and asking recipients to “Join us in supporting CAMP” by promoting the proposal at the public meeting on July 14. Newsom’s letter urged readers to send an online letter to the Presidio Trust expressing your support for CAMP. The pro-CAMP website is registered to political consultant Alex Tourk, who told a Presidio Historical Association member that he is working for museum sponsor Donald Fisher.
In its resolution, the Neighborhood Work Group said that,
“Mayor Gavin Newsom has, by his [pro-Fisher Museum] letter, inappropriately exercised his influence on the City agencies, and undermined the Board of Supervisors’ legislation creating the...Working Group by prejudging the issues they are to report and comment on, thereby jeopardizing the outcome of the otherwise independent report and comments by the City agencies.”
The public comment period for the Supplemental Environmental Review (SEIS) Main Post planning has been extended through September 19.
Attendees at the July14 meeting spoke to the Trust Board at the July 14 meeting regarding alternative sites for the museum. Because the Presidio is a national park, the City and County of San Francisco lack jurisdiction over developments there. Many expressed serious concerns over locating a large museum with no relevance to the historic Presidio nearby as well as negative impacts related to transportation, transit and parking for visitors.
Big Year Competition news from Brent Plater:
Ranger Mia Monroe at Muir Woods National Monument observed Northern Spotted Owl owlets near the Big Year spotted owl restoration site!
What could be cuter than that!!
Sunday Streets SF
August 31st and September 14th
Though new to US cities, creating temporary auto free routes on city streets for recreational use has become a weekly event in Bogotá, Columbia where 70 miles are closed on Sundays and holidays and up to 2 million residents spill into the car-free space provided from 7am until 2am. Called Ciclivia, the route connects neighborhoods with planned recreational venues where instructors lead groups in aerobics, yoga, tai chi, and various forms of dance. The city is not shut down as the routes provide vehicle crossings as needed and streets lights are observed. Mexico City has now copied the activity with equivalent numbers. 
Portland recently held a one-day “Sunday Parkways” connecting neighborhoods with six miles of auto-free roadway. New York has scheduled a Sunday Streets for August, where such a route will connect the Brooklyn Bridge with Central Park.
Climbing on the bandwagon, Mayor Newsom instructed his staff to put together a series of similar events for San Francisco. So the staff laid out a route hugging the waterfront, connecting Chinatown with the Ocean View. SFT are partnering with the Mayor’s office to coordinate tours of Pier 70. For more and current information on Sunday Streets visit: www.sundaystreetssf.com The videos of Bogotá’s and Portland’s events are a wonderful example of people working and playing together.
SFT AWARDS RECIPIENTS and PRESENTERS at this year’s Annual Dinner
