General

2015 was another busy year for both the Haight-Ashbury and for HANC. Our new President, James Sword, began his term in December, 2014. At City Hall, London Breed became president of the Board of Supervisors, the first District 5 Board President since Matt Gonzalez in 2003-2004. We continued to focus on recurring themes—housing, transit, parks, homelessness, and local elections. We were also one of the first neighborhood organizations to discuss the impacts of the so-called “sharing economy” on an urban neighborhood, with discussions at our monthly meetings and articles in the Voice.

 We began 2015 with a discussion of proposed Panhandle improvements. So far we have seen an upgrade to lighting and a few additional signs, and not much else. We also discussed SFMTA’s plans for the new Area Q Residential Parking. HANC advocated for a reduction in the proposed area, and we were partially successful. The Haight-Ashbury Public Realm Plan final report was issued in February. The most desired element—pedestrian lighting—was not funded. Initial work on the plan (bulb-outs, traffic lights, moved bus stops) is scheduled to begin in 2016.

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By Calvin Welch, HANC Board

On January 16th, 2015, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) held a 10 a.m. hearing at City Hall on the proposed “Area Q” Residential Permit Parking“ covering some 20 square blocks of the Haight-Ashbury, making it the largest such area in the neighborhood.   The proposed “Area Q” had been reduced at HANC’s request in mid December.  Maps of the original and reduced area Q were printed in the January issue of the Voice and can also be seen at http://www.hanc-sf.org/general/sfmta-reduces-proposed-permit-parking-area-q-at-hancs-request-more-reduction-needed.html.

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Beyond Vape,  a sixteen-store national chain selling electronic smoking devices with a  mission, in addition to selling the devices,  “to inspire and educate customers about vaping” held a “pre-application” meeting  at their proposed location at 1463 Haight Street (between Masonic and Ashbury).

HANC members attended the October 12th meeting and were not “ inspired” to support what would be at least the tenth such high- or low-tech  “smoke shop” on Haight Street.

Beyond Vape was seeking a Conditional Use permit to locate on Haight Street.  According to the Planning Code a primary requirement for such a permit is that the  use is both “necessary and desirable” at the proposed location.

In HANC’s view, Beyond Vape is neither.  HANC wrote to the Planning Department urging it not to grant the permit. 

By Calvin Welch, HANC Board Member

On December 17th, Kathryn Studwell of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) informed HANC that the agency had removed more than three blocks from the proposed “Area Q” Residential Permit Parking (RPP)  addition now under consideration by the SFMTA.

The area removed was the three blocks from Baker to Masonic, between Fell and both sides of Page Street originally included in the proposal  (See maps, below).  The area removed would also include Panhandle parking spaces along both sides of Oak Street, west of Baker.

Original Proposed “Area Q” Permit Parking Area

Proposal After HANC’s Advocacy

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By Calvin Welch, HANC Board

This November will be fifth anniversary of the passage of the deeply controversial--at least in this neighborhood--Sit/Lie law by the voters of San Francisco, which made it a jailable offense to sit or lie on a public sidewalk .  One month later the Recreation and Parks Commission voted to end some 30 years of operation of the HANC recycling center at Kezar Stadium.  Both actions were sold by both the Gavin Newsom administration (chiefly. Rec and Parks General Manager Ginsburg and Chief of staff Steve Kawa)  and the Chronicle (chiefly through the ranting of columnist CW Nevius) as effective measures to reduce homelessness in the Haight-Ashbury.  It didn’t quite turn out that way, however. Not even close.

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By Calvin Welch, HANC Board 

In the lowest national turnout in 70 years and the lowest governors’ race turnout in modern history, Haight-Ashbury voters swam against the rising tide of voter cynicism in numbers that exceeded city, state and national levels-56% of us cast our votes in the November, 2014 elections.

In the chart below (click on the "read more" link) voter turnout is given for  each precinct in the three “sub areas” of the Haight-Ashbury:  the North Panhandle (N PAN), that area from Fell to Fulton, Stanyan to Baker; the “Flatlands” (FLATS), Oak to Frederick, Stanyan to Baker and the “Hills” from Frederick to 17th, Stanyan to Clayton/BV West.

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