HANC Blog

Come to a Redistricting Task Force Meeting

We are asking you to attend a Redistricting Task Force meeting:

Wednesday, April 4, beginning at 6 pm, at City Hall, Room 406.

For more detail about this meeting, click here.

Through the advocacy of hundreds of community members, the Redistricting Task Force Map (as of 3-22-2012) has progressed a great deal from where it started and now looks close to our Community Unity Map (pictured above and described below).  We need to keep the pressure, reminding the Task Force of the good work they are doing, and pushing back on new cynical maneuvers from real estate interests.  The April 4 Task Force meetings will literally shape San Francisco's future beyond the next decade.  Please join us at this meeting and tell others!

Why Should You Care?

Why do we want you at this meeting, and why should you care?  The short answer is that revised District boundaries could ultimately mean the loss of District elections and the loss of rent control.  Downtown interests (such as the Realtors Association and the Chamber of Commerce) want to make Districts 5 (Haight/Western Addtiion), 6 (South of Market / Tenderloin)  and 9 (Mission / Bernal) the only progressive districts.  This could result in a permanent 8-3 fix for downtown and business interests.  Those who remember the days when Tom Ammiano and Sue Bierman were the only progressive votes on a citywide elected Board of Supervisors know how serious this could be.  A couple of blatant examples of this kind of gerrymandering include a proposal to move Seacliff (a conservative voting bloc) out of District Two (which it shares with the Marina) and into District One (Richmond), or moving the western boundary of D8 to include Twin Peaks.

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On May 26, the eviction lawsuit against the Recycling Center was voluntarily dismissed by the City and County of San Francisco and the Recreation and Parks Department.  Our position, since we first received notice to vacate the premises in December, 2010, has been that the notice was premature.  Through the operation of law, our original five-year lease became an annual lease, and our right to remain on the premises extended well beyond the date we were told we needed to leave.  Although Rec & Park claims to still disagree with our position, we believe that the eviction was dismissed because the City Attorney’s office recognized that our position would likely prevail at trial.

The new notice terminates our lease on June 30, 2011.  The notice includes this sentence:  “As we have repeatedly stated, without waiving any rights the City has, we hope to have HANC’s input and cooperation as we transition to a community garden or other use consistent with the Golden Gate Park Master Plan, and are willing to discuss possible HANC involvement in any new use.”

We have been having discussions with Rec & Park about how HANC, with our gardening and recycling experience, can help transform the site while retaining vital recycling services for the surrounding neighborhood and for Golden Gate Park.

We will keep you updated on further developments.  Meantime, we are still open.  Please stop by our Recycling Center and Native Plant Nursery at 780 Frederick (next to Kezar Stadium).

Despite attempts to evict us, HANC's Recycling Center and Native Plant Nursery remains open.  Come visit us at 780 Frederick Street (at Arguello), Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 4.

Here is a brief history of the attempt to evict us:

Last November, the Recreation and Park Department announced its plans to convert the Recycling Center to a Community Garden.  HANC supports community gardens, but the Recycling Center site is far from ideal for a community garden.  There inadequate sunlight, as the site is shaded by trees, and the soil is likely toxic from the site's prior use as a train depot. 

In December, although public comment supported keeping the Recycling Center at its present site, the Recreation and Park Commission voted to support the plan to replace our Recycling Center with a community garden.  We were served with a notice to vacate the premises within 90 days.  Our attoney examined our lease with the City and determined that under California law, our lease had become a year-to-year lease, and that we have the right to remain until the end of the annual lease.

Despite being informed of our right to remain at the Recycling Center site, the Rec and Park Department filed an unlawful detainer (eviction) lawsuit against us in March.  Our attorney has filed motions challenging procedural inadequacies by the Rec and Park Department and by the City Attorney, but judge hearing the motions has not dismissed the lawsuit.

The eviction is proceeding toward trial, but as of late May, no trial date has been set.  We believe that if the case proceeds to trial, we are likely to prevail.

While the trial is pending, we are also planning for the future of the Recycling Center and Native Plant Nursery and discussing possibilities with individuals and entitites within the City.

Meantime, we continue to operate as we have been doing, so please stop by.