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By Bruce Wolfe, HANC Board

This month, at our general meeting on October 9, in the Community Room at the Park Branch Library, 1833 Page Street, beginning at 7 pm, HANC will sponsor an in-depth discussion of Clean Power SF.  A panel of folks knowledgeable on the subject will guide us through the ins and outs of recently defeated State legislation that would have killed Clean Power SF.

On Saturday, August 30, 2014, in an extraordinary legislative upset, David beat Goliath in Sacramento. Senator Darrell Steinberg brought down the gavel at 3:00 a.m. to close the 2013-14 legislative session, with no vote on Assembly Bill 2145. AB 2145, a monopoly utility driven bill aimed at crushing locally based clean energy efforts known as Community Choice energy programs in California, is officially dead.

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By Kevin Bayuk, HANC Vice-President

In 2013 California received less rain than in any year since it became a state in 1850. As you are reading this we may have experienced a rain event here in the Haight; at least a drizzle.  And, as you are aware, we are in the midst of a drought. An official Drought Emergency was declared by Governor Jerry Brown on January 17th.  What does that mean for residents of the Haight Ashbury?  Can we expect mandatory rationing?   What about water rates?  At our next general meeting on Thursday February 13th at 7:00pm at the Park Branch Library, we will host a representative from the SF Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) to share about proposed water rates increases to continue investing in San Francisco’s aging infrastructure and speak to conservation tips in light of our proposal and drought emergency.  HANC board member, Kevin Bayuk, will also share some context about coastal California climate patterns and what it might mean for future prospects for rainfall and how we, as residents, can prepare our properties and our lifestyles to be more resilient.

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The next members and neighbors meeting of HANC (June 12 beginning at 7 pm, at the Park Branch Library, 1833 Page Street) will feature representatives of the Haight Ashbury Merchants Association (HAMA), including their president, Christin Evans of the Booksmith. The meeting will cover some of the issues that HAMA has been working on including:

• • Sidewalk cleanliness -- Update on Supervisor Breed's plan for doggie bag dispensers.  Also, possible fundraiser for regular steam-cleaning service.
  • Formula retail definitions -- hearing will have just taken place on 6/5 expanding the definition to include subsidiaries.
  • Street Festival proposed for 9/7/14 which would be more like a Sunday streets style event -- street closure, music, kid activities (no booths).
  • Haight Ashbury Public Realm plan -- sidewalk amenities being discussed.

Also to be discussed is a proposal by two neighborhood organizations for a mandatory residential permit parking area for a portion of our neighborhood. Alamo Square Neighborhood Association (ASNA) and the North of Panhandle Neighborhood Association (NOPNA) are proposing to create a new permit parking area for some 66 blocks bounded by Golden Gate, Webster , Page and Masonic. The Haight-Ashbury portion of the proposal would be that 18 block area bounded by Fulton, Baker, Page and Masonic. Indeed, the Masonic portion would include both sides of Masonic from Fulton to Page adding another six blocks to the area affected.

Proposed New Permit Parking Area

The proposal, far advanced by the time any group in the Haight-Ashbury was notified, would add the $110 annual permit requirement to park anywhere in the subject area beyond the proposed time limits. There are currently two versions of the plan under discussion. One would impose a two hour parking limit throughout the area while the second would allow three hour limits along the boundaries of both the Panhandle and Alamo Square park and the side streets serving the Divisadero shopping districts , but not Haight Street.

HANC has long opposed permit parking in the area for the simple reason that it is expensive and reduces street parking opportunities for residents who, in a neighborhood that has few garages, are mainly dependent on street parking. Finally, we have opposed permit parking because it simply does not work as is evidenced by the failure of the three existing permit areas (J,BB and P) to address the issue by "increasing" resident parking opportunities. Come and express your opinion on the matter so that we may be able to "opt out" of the larger proposal.

Please join us on June 12 for what should be an informative meeting and voice your opinion on these and other issues in the Haight Ashbury neighborhood.

The December 12th HANC meeting , 7 pm at the Park Branch Library, 1833 Page Street, San Francisco, will feature a panel of players engaged in the various legal and legislative efforts to prevent the de-accreditation and closing of San Francisco Community Colleges by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior College (ACCJC). All accreditation agencies are certified/licensed by the US Department of Education.

This issue raises so many important questions about who controls the future of public education in San Francisco and all of California. However, it is easy to get confused by the multiple efforts in play to stop the destruction of our accessible and affordable City College system. To help you figure it out and update you, we have invited the following folks to participate in our panel:

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With the news of the sale of the Boys and Girls Club at 1950 Page Street to the Chinese Dance School, the start of construction for the French American School at 1155 Page, and the Urban School's plans for its new gym and classrooms on Oak street now at the Planning Department, we thought it might be time to revisit the major changes being proposed for Page Street, from Stanyan to Broderick.

In January the Boys and Girls Club announced the sale of the facility to the Chinese Dance School. The Boys and Girls Club will stay in the facility until “ at least October, 2014” according to Ms Maxine Wilson, BGC Vice President of Operations. What changes we can expect will be outlined by Ms. Sherry Zhan of the Chinese Dance School.

Mr. Aaron Levin is CFO and Director of Operations of French American International School and will lay out the plans and time lines for the completion of the project which calls for building nine classrooms for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten classes. Some 180 children, plus staff will be accommodate at the site. Of special interest to the neighbors is the drop off and pick up plans for the kindergarten classes planned for the site. 

Mark Salkind, Head of the Urban School, will outline the status of the proposed building of a 26,000 square foot combined classroom and athletic building in the parking lot behind St. Agnes Church and a 31,000 square foot below- grade parking structure for between 70 and 90 cars on the site below the existing St. Agnes parking lot. 

Please bring a friend and plan to join us Thursday, April 10^th at 7PM in the meeting room at Park Branch Library, 1833 Page Street.

By Calvin Welch, HANC Housing and Land Use Chair

HANC's October meeting, Thursday, October 10, beginning at 7:00 pm in the Community Room, downstairs at the Park Branch Library, 1833 Page Street, will feature a discussion with Art Agnos and Tim Redmond about Propositions B and C on the November ballot.

The proposed 8 Washington development on the waterfront would build some 134 luxury condo’s (costing an average of $5m each) in a 136 foot high building on a 3.2 acre site on the northern waterfront. The project would require a 62% increase in the current 84 foot height limit. A portion of the project would be built on port land.  The development would pay some $11 m in affordable housing exactions, $4.8 m in transit “improvements” and pay the Port $3m for the land. In addition the project would receive additional public funds through a tax increment bond payment, the amount of which is unclear but is in the range of several millions of dollars. No estimate has been made as to the additional costs the project will require of various City departments but a major potential cost impact is the development's 20 million gallon a day sewer line, should it be effected by earthquake or bay level rise over time noted by a recent engineering report.

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