It’s a bit like the Prop 8 thing: Hurry up and wait.
It looks like I jumped the gun when I posted that UCSF was doing something about the hazardous trees. I’d written to UCSF to ask if they’d pulled permits to deal with the hazardous trees on Crestmont — from Devonshire to the cul-de-sac, and especially around the area where the road turns from west to north. (City permits are needed to remove any tree over 20 feet tall if it’s within ten feet of a public right-of-way.)
Nope. That may be happening later. Here’s the response from UCSF’s Damon Lew:
The work that is beginning this week will focus on overgrowth and removal of hazardous ground material and not the removal of hazardous trees.
The trees you mention may have been identified in a recent hazardous tree survey that was done for the Facilities Management (FM) Dept. The work that will be done once the tree hazard survey is received by UCSF will not take place until later this year.
So I guess right now it’s precisely what they said: Mowing down vegetation for 2 feet from the roadway, including overhanging shrubs. (This may take care of some overhanging trees, actually; we’ll find out.)
If you are living on Christopher or Crestmont and have plants across the road you want to save, it may be a good idea to mark them in some way. Or be out there to talk to the crew.
[ETA: Today Damon Lew sent out a notice that they actually will be removing two hazardous trees:
I’m writing to inform you that on either Monday, August 23rd, or Tuesday, August 24th, Bartlett Tree Experts will be performing the following hazardous tree work along Crestmont Drive:
· Cutting down 1 Monterey Pine located across from 171 Crestmont Dr.
· Cutting down 1 Monterey Pine located across from 90 Crestmont Dr.
· Time permitting – cut down branches overhanging the street within the area
The stumps of the trees will be cut down to 2-4” above grade and debris from the project will be removed from the site. These trees were recently identified as part of a hazardous tree survey performed by Hortscience and were also brought to our attention by several of our neighbors. No noisy work will be performed by 9:00 a.m. but staging of the area may begin earlier.]
Some time ago I wrote about the problems Crestmont residents in particular were having with hazardous trees on the edge of Sutro Forest, and in getting either the city or UCSF to do something about them. They eventually complained to the Fire Department. UCSF said they’d do something about it, and it looks like they will. [Edited to Add: Not quite…see followup post.]
It’s scheduled for August 18-27. There will be parking restrictions in some areas of Christopher and Crestmont while they work.
Here’s a letter we got from UCSF’s Damon Lew today:
Dear Neighbor:
I am writing to inform you that in response to both neighborhood concerns and a Notice of Corrective Action we have received from the San Francisco Fire Department, the UCSF Facilities Management Department has arranged to have grounds maintenance work done along Crestmont, Christopher, and Clarendon Drives. This work is scheduled to begin on August 18, 2010 and will be completed by August 27, 2010. The nature of this work will include the following actions:
· High weed mowing
· Brushes and shrubs overhanging the street curbs will be trimmed back up to a distance of 24” from the curb
· Dead and dying vegetation to be removed
This work is scheduled to take place between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. During this time parking along certain areas of Christopher and Crestmont Drives will be prohibited in order to allow access to the site.
Please feel free to contact me at dlew@cgr.ucsf.edu if you have any questions about this project or if you would like to be added to our listserv to receive updates about other projects pertaining to our Parnassus campus.
If you have questions or concerns during the operating hours of this project please contact the UCSF Customer Service Center at (415) 476-2021.
Sincerely,
Damon
Hope it goes well.
Just as a PS: Some neighbors have mentioned there are areas along Clarendon where our gardens, tamed or untamed, are spilling over the sidewalk and making it difficult to pass – especially in rainy weather. So this is a heads-up to anyone whose home backs onto Clarendon: Please check whether your plants are seeking world dominance by way of Clarendon Avenue, and if so, restrain them…
Last Saturday, SF’s Department of the Environment had a 3-hour bus tour of Landmark Trees and I went.
It wasn’t what I expected. I thought we’d see maybe the city’s most spectacular trees, on a cold foggy day. What we got was a bus ride through parts of the city I don’t usually see, a visit to a few trees, some fascinating local history, and the Quesada Street community garden. And really nice weather.
The same trees, late 1920s
We started with six old eucalyptus trees planted by Mary Ellen (“Don’t call me Mammy”) Pleasant, an amazing character who was active in the underground railroad. A little research indicates the trees are probably around 120-125 years old, about as old as Sutro Forest. They were gnarled and large – much wider and more branched than our Sutro trees, though not as tall. I think this is all about light: forest trees have to grow tall quickly to get sunlight before nearby trees block it; street trees in a sunny area need to grow bushy to take advantage of the available light, and develop thick trunks to support their heavily-branched structures.
The Canary Island Palms in the center of Dolores, about 175 of them, are landmark trees. Among them are four small endangered Guadalupe palm trees.
We saw a Moreton Bay Fig planted by Bancroft (of Bancroft Library fame); it has lost half its size owing to storms. It dropped a huge branch 2 weeks ago, making us wonder if it’s nearing the end of its life. [Edited to Add on Sept 16, 2010: Apparently it just dropped another branch, on top of a car. This site “Burrito Justice” has pictures.]
Then we saw an ancient Brazilian Pepper Tree, growing on a traffic island. It had also lost branches after storms.
The tour ended at Quesada and 3rd street in Bayview Hunter’s Point, where the community saved a line of 13 Canary Island Palms in the median, planted around 1932. The city apparently wanted to fell them in the 1970s, because they needed too much maintenance. A few years later, neighbors started Quesada Gardens along the length of the median, and then added a mural at a cul-de-sac at the street’s end.
The houses in the picture are just across the street
It was really inspiring, especially since one of the leaders explained that the median had been a trash dump before, and the cul-de-sac a place where people stripped down stolen cars. Overhead, squawking parrots flew in to feast on the palm fruit. It was sunny and pretty, and despite being in problem neighborhood, quite a few people on the tour thought they’d like to live there.
NATIVE TREES?
Mei Ling Hui, the cheery Urban Forests Coordinator who led the tour, remarked that most San Fran street trees were not native, and were similar species to street trees in Melbourne, Australia. She commented that eucalyptus were planted (1) because people liked eucalyptus and palm trees back then, and (2) developers planted them to drain marshes and furnish lumber for building, but it turned out eucalyptus makes crappy timber. She specifically mentioned Sutro Forest.
We pointed out that Sutro is on record as saying they were for the enjoyment of people who walked among them; it was only after his death that his heirs tried to start a lumber operation.
“…people… will wander through the majestic groves rising from the trees we are now planting, reverencing the memory of those whose foresight clothed the earth with emerald robes and made nature beautiful to look upon.”
She kindly made the correction.
She said non-native trees were planted because they did really well as street trees, and provided the benefits of urban forest trees, unlike trees from nearer here that required much more care and herbicides. Two authorities in the city plant trees: the Department of Public Works, and the non-profit Friends of the Urban Forest.
On the tour, I saw a lot of newly planted trees. Most were doing well, though a few were leaning over despite the cage of wooden posts intended to hold them upright. It was encouraging.
SAN FRANCISCO’S LANDMARK TREES
Total trees visited: 6 eucalyptus; many Canary Island Palms; 4 Guadalupe palms; a fig and a pepper tree. I’d expected to learn more about trees; instead I learned about local history, community gardens, and the Landmark tree program.
The Landmarking process is lengthy, and complicated, with an uncertain payoff. The result is that many truly spectacular trees are not landmarked. Some trees are landmarked because of a historical connection rather than because the tree itself is extraordinary. Some of the Presidio eucs are larger and more impressive than the ones we saw. Many of the Sutro Forest eucs are taller. I’ve seen some glorious araucarias in the western part of the city. Even the city’s Christmas tree (in front of McLaren Lodge) isn’t landmarked because Rec&Park doesn’t want to.
Here’s the current list of landmark trees, updated March 2009:
California buckeye (Aesculus californica) at 730 28th Avenue
Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) at 20-28 Rosemont Place
Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) at 4124 23rd Street
New Zealand Christmas Tree (Metrosiderous excelsus) at 1221 Stanyan Street
Six Blue Gum (Eucalyptus globulus) adjacent to 1801 Bush Street
All Canary Island Date Palms (Phoenix canariensis) in the center island on Dolores Street
Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius)at Third St. and Yosemite Street in the median triangle
Flaxleaf paperbark (Melaleuca linariifolia)at 1701 Franklin Street
Sweet Bay (Laurus nobilis) at 555 Battery Street
Thirteen Canary Island Date Palms (Phoenix canariensis) located throughout the Quesada Street median West of Third St. to the dead end.
Two Cliff Date Palms (Phoenix rupicola) in the Dolores Street median, one across from 730 Dolores Street and the second across from 1546 Dolores Street
The grove of Guadalupe Palm (Brahea edulis) in the Dolores St. median, across from 1608-1650 Dolores Street.
Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) at 3555 Cesar Chavez Street
Two Flowering Ash (Fraxinus ornus) at the Bernal Height Library at 500 Cortland Street
Blue Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) in the Bernal Height Natural Area near the intersection of Folsom and Bernal Height Boulevard
Monterey Cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) 2626 Vallejo Street
California Buckeye tree (Aesculus Californica) located behind 757 Pennsylvania Street.
(Three others have been nominated: A Norfolk Island Pine and two Canary Island Date palms at 2040 Sutter Street, and a Redwood Tree at 46 Stillings Ave.)
But I didn’t get to see the city’s most spectacular trees. I might start blogging about those. There are certainly some really wonderful trees in San Francisco. I’ll be looking out for them. The only problem is how to photograph really huge trees. Meanwhile, ‘BurritoJustice’ carried a great tree post on their blog. With photographs.
Someone’s little Bichon Frise mix was stolen in a Contra Costa robbery. They’re offering a reward for her return. I know Contra Costa isn’t in our neighborhood, but anything we do to boost the signal (spread the word on the internet) may help locate her.
Here’s material from their website. The website also provides a donation button so you can add to the $500 reward being offered. If Lula isn’t found, the money will be donated to an animal-loving cause.
Lula is the beloved pet of Rob and Julia Cassidy. She is small and fragile and NEEDS TO TAKE MEDICATION EVERY SEVEN DAYS for a medical condition…without it she may not survive. On August 6th, 2010 somebody broke into Rob and Julia’s home and stole several items including their precious puppy. Currently there is a $500 reward offered for her safe return. You can make a reward donation on this site via PayPal.
Please spread the word because time is of the essence and she needs to be back home with her family. You can help by printing and distributing the fliers, send everyone you know the website and post it on FB. If someone has seen her or knows where she is – please call the number on the flier – there will be NO QUESTIONS ASKED!
We are on KTVU! Check out the video and share it with as many people as you can!
If you would like to email Rob and Julia please use helpfindlula@yahoo.com
There will be no questions asked – strictly confidential – they just want the safe return of Lula
As many of you know, UCSF is planning some major changes in Sutro Forest, the dense eucalyptus forest behind our homes – the “Forest” in Forest Knolls. Many of these will affect our neighborhood directly. Details are on the SaveSutro website. A few people from our neighborhood – including Walter Caplan and Kristine Zaback from the Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization – have been attending these meetings.
1) On South Ridge (the forest area above the junction of Christopher and Crestmont) UCSF plans to cut down around 2000 trees on 3 acres to space them an average 30 feet apart, mow down all the plants growing under the trees, and use Roundup/ Garlon on a 1-acre test site to prevent it from coming back.
Our concerns are the use of herbicides upslope from our neighborhood, potential for displaced wildlife (including rodents) to move into our area, micro-climate changes and how it will look. Drying out the forest by thinning the trees may also create a fire hazard similar to the forest in 1934, when it was being logged.
No other demonstration area lies directly above a residential neighborhood, and we had hoped UCSF would consider a different area. It hasn’t.
2) The trail leading straight up from Christopher into the forest will be re-routed into a hairpin trail that lies above Christopher. Houses below this route may lose some privacy as trail users will be able look down into them.
3) A new trail will be cut from Clarendon behind the new pump station and through the curtain of trees between the Aldea student housing and Christopher. This screen of trees has already been thinned considerably because of the PUC water project.
In the map above: 1 is the Gash cut into the forest for the water-line; 2 the concrete pad that was supposed to be returned to the forest but has instead been enclosed with a chain-link fence; 3 the area of the old pump station where the thinned trees make the buildings on the Aldea campus quite visible; and 4 the new pump station, with very few trees behind it. The blue lines are the planned new trails, and the pink one the existing trail. (Edited to Add: The aqua line shows the boundary of UCSF’s Aldea Student Housing.)
Residents nearby had hoped the screen would be regrown, not further thinned. In fact, there is no hope of a screen of trees between the new pump station and the Aldea campus; there’s no space. The pump station grounds extend nearly all the way to the Aldea campus boundary.
Pump Station on posterNew Pump Station in reality
The issue of hazardous trees along Crestmont was also raised. UCSF says they are the City’s responsibility; apparently the City, after staging the area (see the picture) has said they are UCSF’s problem and didn’t remove them. UCSF said they would discuss the matter with the city.
Edited to Add 2: We understand neighbors complained to the SF Fire Department. UCSF’s Barbara Bagot-Lopez sent out a message saying: San Francisco Fire Department had recently issued a “Notice of Corrective Action Required” stating that an area of the Reserve above Crestmont Avenue contains an “accumulation of combustible material”; UCSF will be resolving this issue.
We hope the corrective action will deal with the hazardous trees rather than merely further implementation of the predetermined plan.
Edited to Add 3: Kathleen asked for contact information. Here it is:
Whom to contact:
For UCSF, there are whole bunch of people. The Chancellor, Dr. Susan Desmond-Hellman, is at 3333 California Street, Suite 103, San Francisco, CA 94143. Here’s a link to others involved.
For SF PUC: Not sure, try Suzanne Gautier(SGautier@sfwater.org). Here’s a link to the meetings schedule of the SFPUC Commission. (If anyone has other contacts/ resources, please note them here.)
For the City, the Urban Forester is at (415) 641-2674.
Mayor Gavin Newsom and Supervisor Sean Elsbernd are at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102.
I dropped in on the Forest Knolls Playdate at Midtown Terrace Playground to find kids running around the play structures, and the adults standing around a table laden with snacks and drinks. Kids swooped by from time to time, foraged among the snacks, and disappeared back into the newly refurbished playground.
Ethan and Laura
It’s looking great and seems to be good for play. There’s no sand there any more, which the kids probably miss (mine used to spend hours digging in it) but the adults, not so much. (I used to spend hours afterward shaking sand out of their clothes, their hair, and my car.)
Laura Bloch, who organized the Playdate was there with her husband and two children. So were a number of other neighbors, of all ages. I was in a rush, but I wish I could have stayed longer and chatted. Despite the grayness of the day, everyone looked to be having fun.
Here’s another batch of some of my favorite stores at West Portal…
[Edited to Add: Read HERE for the previous batch.]
Growing Up Toys
I love this toy store for its charm and warmth; it feels like a place from a children’s story book. I think the half-door helps… It also has a fun selection of toys, often as quirky as the store itself.
Ambassador Toys
And here’s another, larger, toy store. This has enticing window displays, an area displaying glow-in-the-dark stuff, and dolls and toys of different cultures. Again, a pleasant stop when I’m seeking a gift for a kid.
Shaws
This store elevates my blood sugar just by existing… it’s wonderful. It has an unusual selection of candy, including liquorice allsorts and fantastic designer chocolate. On a hot summer day, there are often school-kids on the bench outside with ice-cream.
Just Because
The shop for interesting greeting cards, seasonal decorations, and cute stuff… it’s got a fun, modern vibe. [Edited to Add (June 2012): This has now transformed into a more formal stationery store, the Desk Set. Not sure if it’s the same ownership.]
GGs
This might be the most romantic, feminine store I’ve ever encountered. Scented soap. Candles. Delicate gifts and flowers. If I’m buying something for a girl, this is a place I browse.
Andy Jewelers
As long as we’re talking about gifts for girls… this is a nice little family-owned jewelry store. We’ve bought small things here now and then. But they also help us with things like ring re-sizing, changing watch straps, and replacing batteries.
The City Antiques
This is an eminently browseable place, with a really eclectic bunch of stuff. Furniture. Glassware. Jewelry. Art. Silver. All kinds of collectibles. Again, a great place to get a unique gift for someone.
The Grateful Head
Every couple of months or so, these people battle my genes to make my hair stop resembling a bird’s nest. I’m Grateful, notwithstanding the pun.
Pacific Rim Optometry
Half our family needs glasses, and we’ve bought a bunch from here… it’s a personal touch, unlike some of the big chain names. [Edited to Add, June 2012: This store has also changed hands, but is still selling specs.]
West Portal Produce
The perfect place to pick up some veggies for dinner, or fruit for desert. Again, family-run, small, easy, and not expensive. The fruit displayed outside all tempts me.
West Portal Bakery
The perfect place for a cup of coffee and freshly-baked bread… and a selection of pastry and cookies. [Edited to Add, July 2012: Disappointingly, this place closed overnight some months ago. I believe Goat Hill Pizza is coming in instead.]
Walgreens
Walgreens. Walgreens? Yes, Walgreens. It’s like the anchor store of a mall. Open late, stocks everything you might need in a hurry. Once upon a time, this was a Woolworth’s; then it was RiteAid, and then Walgreens bought RiteAid.
Years ago, when we were buying a house, the realtor showed us one in Forest Knolls. In pointing out its advantages, she was careful to show us West Portal Village, the little shopping street only 2 miles away. It is indeed quite delightful, and here are some of the shops I visit. (I haven’t included restaurants, even though it’s one of my favorite places to eat out. But that’s a story in itself, and I’ll tackle it another day.)
This is the first installment on West Portal… there will be more. Meanwhile, a public service announcement on behalf of the merchants there: They’re suffering a 20% drop in business because of the SF MTA work going on at St Francis Circle. If you have the need and inclination, remember they’re open. (And parking is less of a problem.)
So for now:
Bookshop West Portal
This space, maybe because it’s so attractive, seems always to have interesting stores in it. Years ago, there was a toy-store that seemed a little magical and always had unusual things in addition to balls and dolls and bears. (There are still toy stores in West Portal, just not here. I’ll post about them in the next installment.) Then there was a cool home-furnishings place. And now, there’s a pleasant independent book store that pulls at me like a magnet… nice display, friendly staff, and a nice range of author events and readings make this a winner.
Papenhausen Hardware
Papenhausen Hardware is cool, even more than the big-box stores down the peninsula. It’s got an easily accessible range of products, and you don’t have to track down a staffer to get questions answered… anyone at the counter will happily help you. In summer, they have pretty displays of plants outside, and in winter, really clever, often funny window displays.
West Portal Daily
It’s a little bit of Europe in West Portal. Foreign newspapers and magazines. Candy from England (less special after Cadbury got acquired, but still… ) Cool stuff in general. I’m rooting for this store to find its audience and regular fans; it’s quite new.
Cine Arts
Despite the competition from the big new multiplex just over the border in Daly City, this theater is hanging on. I love having a place where I can make impulse decisions to watch a movie, just because I’m in West Portal and I have a couple of hours to spare…
Simi's
I don’t go into Simi’s very often, but I window-shop the well-displayed bling in there each time I’m in West Portal. Everything looks unusual and different, and just a little bit over the top. In a good way.
Eezy Freezy
Years ago, we used to call this store Eezy Freezy Somewhat Sleazy. It sold cheap liquor, lottery tickets, and the kind of thing you buy at gas stations. (And It’s Its, which made up for everything.) Anyway, with different management and a makeover, it’s a nice well-lit store with organic products and foreign newspapers, and a good range of groceries as well as some unusual products.
St Francis Market
This is a convenient grocery store, for when you don’t need enough stuff to justify a trip to Cosco or Safeway or Lucky. It’s so much easier to shop here or at Eezy Freezy. They’re both open pretty late, past 10 p.m.
Edited to Add:
Goodwill Boutique
And how could I forget: Goodwill. It’s not just a Goodwill, it’s a Goodwill Boutique. It sometimes carries new clothes, sent in by retailers at the end of the season, or interesting glass-ware including cut-crystal, or brand-name porcelain (I saw Lenox candlesticks), or weathered real-leather bags… visiting it is always a treasure hunt.
If you’d like to share which your favorites are, and why, leave a comment. Or email me at fk94131@yahoo.com
Most of the time, we think of Golden Gate Park as pretty safe, and most of the time, it is. But recently, there were two unusual incidents.
Two dogs, believed to belong to homeless people living in the park, got loose and attacked visitors. One dog was shot by the police, the other was captured. (It happened near Lloyd Lake, Area 1 below.)
And separately, one homeless man stabbed another; he claims self-defense, and the case remains open. (Behind the Conservatory of Flowers, Area 2 below.)
In response to this, the police are stepping up their presence in the Park. Here’s the Captain’s Message from the Park Station newsletter:
Park Station is working together with Park and Rec and the Park Rangers to increase patrols in Golden Gate Park. In order to keep Golden Gate Park safe for everyone to enjoy, Park Station and Richmond Station will be doing daily early morning patrols in the park to address illegal camping and sleeping in Golden Gate Park.
Good news from our monthly Compstat meeting this week; our year to date stats for Park Station show a reduction in Part 1 Violent Crimes of 14 percent.
Working together with the community has helped us reduce crime through strategic planning, community information sharing, and teamwork. Thank you for your continued support and input.
Captain Teri Barrett
Commanding Officer Park Station
Today, out walking in the neighborhood, I saw a black cat on the hillside. It was too high to get close to it, but here are a couple of photographs. Is this a neighborhood cat? If not, could it be the long-lost Sebastien?
Edited to Add: Someone sent me this comment: “No, that is not Sebastien….that cat has been around forever and is being fed by a neighbor on Warren.”
Attention Neighbors with kids (or kids who are neighbors!):
Edited to Add: The date has been changed to July 25, 2010, from 1-3 p.m. The lawn area has been reserved.
There’s a Forest Knolls Neighborhood play date planned at Midtown Terrace Playground. Here’s a message from Laura Bloch on Evite for this event:
Calling all Forest Knolls families, especially those with kids! Come on over to Midtown Terrace playground for a neighborhood get-together. We have some new families in the ‘hood, so it’s a good chance to say hello to new faces and old.
You can REPLY directly to LJBloch@aol.com. Please indicate # of adults and # of kids attending. We’ll advise if there’s a change to the date or time.
We have someone bringing finger sandwiches, water and a folding table. Feel free to bring other food or drinks to share!
Last, if you know a family who is not on the Yahoo Group, let them know they are welcome to join us!
While the Musee d’Orsay is closed for renovations, we’re getting to see a hundred of its masterpieces in two exhibitions. Yesterday, I was there with friends. They’re marvelous – amazing pictures, beautifully displayed, and arranged. Some of them are so well-known that they’ve become part of the idiom of popular culture. Whistler’sMother. Manet’s Fife Player. Degas’s Dancing Lesson.
But what I especially noticed was a quiet Pissarro, called Path Through the Woods in Summer. It reminded me so much of our own Sutro Forest, it could almost have been painted there. Except for the horse, of course (or maybe it’s a mule).
Actually, when the Legion of Honor had its 2006 Monet exhibition, I noticed how the landscapes resembled the Bay Area – so much so I felt I could have replicated some scenes with photographs from around San Francisco.
This is the first time, though, that the resemblance has been so close to home.
If there’s anything I’m learning from having gotten drawn into neighborhood issues, it’s response times. And implementation times. And that the two are sometimes quite different.
At the Laguna Honda Reservoir, the SF PUC has built a gravel yard where it was supposed to restore the site to greenery, and decided to locate its Dive Team there. When neighbors protested and pointed out that it had Open Space zoning, the PUC promised to put the project on hold. That was on June 9th.
The Dive Team visiting the site on June 15th, unaware that any plans had changed.
PUC trucks and a dump truck on June 29th and 30th.
Loud truck activity from 11.18 and until after midnight, June 30th-July1. When a neighbor investigated, the guard said something about a water main break and asked him to leave the site.
ANNOYED
By this time, the neighbors were both suspicious and annoyed. Said one on Facebook: “It is obvious that this site is being used and I think we have all had our fill of lies from the people at the PUC...”
From neighbor Beverly Myer: “…when I was awakened by the beep beep, at first I thought it was a dream. Then I thought, it can’t be, even that PUC would not be that BLATANT, but when it continued I realized it was them, and they don’t care about anything that affects a residential area.”
PUC RESPONSE
One of them emailed the PUC, and got this response:
“I apologize for the inconvenience and noise that resulted when the Laguna Honda site was accessed late last evening. There had been a water main break and crews went to that site to get material needed to fill the hole so that the street was safe for traffic after the water main was fixed. Our Dive Team and Operations crews have been advised to stay out of that site until further notice, and I have been assured that for the forseeable future, crews participating in emergency repair work will gather fill materials at a more remote location. We will be setting up another community meeting about this site during the week of July 19, and will confirm the date, time and location early next week.”
Beverly’s reaction: “I like the way they refer to the timing of the gravel trucks as ‘late last evening’ – somehow 11:15 pm and midnight do not constitute ‘evening’ in my book. Evening connotes people still being awake, having dinner, watching TV, reading etc.”
So here you have it: The PUC, after officially deciding to put the project on hold (which itself took more time than it should) has somehow not conveyed that to the operating end of the organization. Delayed response, even more delayed implementation. And even more anger among the neighbors.
2 July 2010
If you’re interested, look out for the meeting the week of July 19th. We’ll send out the details.
[Edited to Add: At the Sutro Forest meeting recently, FKNO President Walter Caplan noted that he was working to have the ugly chain-link fence around the reservoir removed. Stay tuned. We’ll update this with whatever Walter is ready to make public.]
Following a heads-up from the neighbors working to preserve the Laguna Honda Reservoir, I attended a meeting of the West of Twin Peaks Central Council (WTPCC). The WTPCC is a council of councils; its members are the neighborhood organizations from all over San Francisco’s west side. We met in the quaint Maybeck clubhouse in Forest Hill. Nestled under tall redwoods, the place has a charming, almost medieval atmosphere.
After thanking two members of the Council who were retiring (to the tune of “Jolly Good Fellow”!), the chairman George Wooding rapidly got through several agenda items. Some that are relevant to our neighborhood:
Regarding the gravel yard at Laguna Honda Reservoir, he had attended the June 6th meeting with the PUC. He said the PUC had a moratorium in place until July 15th at least. The Home Owners’ Association of The Woods, a residential community adjacent to the reservoir, is joining the WTPCC.
About Sutro Forest, he mentioned that UCSF was having a community meeting on June 30th.
The current owners of Park Merced discussed what was happening there. They are under financial pressure with loans coming due, but hope to negotiate with their lenders for a better payment terms. Meanwhile, they are planning to build new housing and slowly phase out the older buildings. They assured us that existing tenants under rent control would be given comparable-but-new homes at the rent-controlled rate.
The evening’s main issue was the misuse of the Gift Fund of Laguna Honda Hospital (LHH). Apparently, a gift fund described as being specifically for the welfare and happiness of the residents/ patients/ inmates of the hospital, has been utilized for the benefit of the hospital staff. The fund, which had reached around $2 million, has been run down to about $700 thousand. Its oversight structures have been disbanded, so now money can be taken out more easily. Several sub-accounts have been set up under the Gift Fund to utilize the monies for the nurses, doctors, and administrators of the hospital while cutting back on excursions for the residents.
George described WTPCC’s futile efforts to get inputs or explanations from LHH representatives, from various oversight institutions, and from the district supervisor. WTPCC passed a resolution to recommend an independent audit of the funds, restoring any misspent monies, and reinstating oversight structures.
Edited to Add: Regarding Laguna Honda Hospital, the Dec 2010/ January edition of the Westside Observer (links to a PDF file of the paper) notes that the City Controller has returned $350, ooo to the Patient Gift Fund.
I was coming back from a short trip the other day. The plane started to come in to land… and I looked out the window and found I could see Forest Knolls, nestled among its trees on the side of the mountain. A few clouds floated above like puffs of smoke. Of course I took a picture…
So we’d reported that on hearing the area was zoned as Open Space, PUC had decided to stop all work there. Specifically, they said on their blog: “At the meeting, neighbors asked the SFPUC to verify the zoning for this property. While we do that, Kevin Barry, City Distribution Manager, promised that the SFPUC dive and operations staff will not pursue any further activities at the site.” (Click here for their blog, scroll down to the entry for June 9th 2010.)
They later clarified in an email to one of the opponents that they would still be going ahead to provide power “PG&E will go ahead and make its connection to the transformer as planned tomorrow, June 10. There is no installation necessary but once they make this connection, SFPUC can remove the generator that is located inside the inner fence from the property.”
Okay. So why were members of the Dive Team checking out the area yesterday (June 15th), and why had they heard nothing about the moratorium? Is it PUC’s internal communications at fault, or its external communications?
Doesn’t PUC recognize that “neighbors” means that people are right there on the spot, and they’re keeping track of what goes on?
Edited to Add: There’s been no significant activity since the Dive Team visit. The neighbors keeping tabs on the area, and posting on Facebook.
Edited to Add (July 1, 2010): Trucks have been loading and unloading around midnight last night, with loud beeping that woke the neighbors. The guard said something about a water-main break. When neighbors emailed PUC, PUC said they would get gravel from a different location in future.
Some of you may know I wasn’t born here, that I moved here as an adult. Of course I recognized America is a democracy, and I thought I knew what it meant. Elections. Party politics. Politicians’ promises. “The worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time…” (Winston Churchill).
Somehow or the other, over the last year, I’ve been drawn into community issues. We have a few of them around our neighborhood: among others, UCSF’s plans for Sutro Cloud Forest; PUC’s plans for a gravel yard beside the Laguna Honda reservoir; and a builder’s plan for an apartment block at the end of a long narrow cul-de-sac on Crestmont. What I saw was that community action actually worked.
It was then that I realized what democracy truly meant: You don’t have to be Somebody to have a voice. And the corollary: Just because you’re a big and powerful institution, you don’t get to make unilateral decisions.
If you were born here, you probably think this article is just silly. You already know that your voice counts, that if something really ticks you off, you get to try to change things. It’s the American way. But I’m hoping this makes you feel a bit prouder about what goes on here. Community activism isn’t a universal truth.
The PUC’s gravel yard project we described yesterday is apparently on hold for now, and may be cancelled. Here’s an extract from an update we received from the PUC after the June 8 meeting at Clarendon School. (We subscribed to their blog.)
“At the meeting, neighbors asked the SFPUC to verify the zoning for this property. While we do that, Kevin Barry, City Distribution Manager, promised that the SFPUC dive and operations staff will not pursue any further activities at the site.”
We understand the neighbors have checked and found the Laguna Honda Reservoir is zoned as open space. Presumably, the PUC will have to change their plans. This is excellent news, particularly if the PUC now makes good on their initial commitment to restore the greenery that was removed when they created the staging area.
(We’re a little surprised that the Chronicle’s journalists did not investigate this for their article before stating that since it was PUC land, it was their plans that would count.)
The comment below (on May 13, 2010) was the first we knew of what was happening by Laguna Honda Lake, just off the bottom of Clarendon Avenue.
“Do any members here have photos of the Laguna Honda Reservoir from a few years ago? Specifically, photos that capture the area along Clarendon Ave, to the East of the reservoir?
“The PUC just installed a large (8′high x 6′ wide) circuit breaker at sidewalk level, just inside the gate on Clarendon. They will build a 20 x 20 office on the site, unless we act NOW! In addition, they just informed us that the site will be used as a permanent distribution center for gravel and dirt for City repairs! (See the piles of gravel there today – the PUC wants to keep them).
“Four large, healthy trees were removed to install the circuit breaker and a large patch of flowers and bushes was paved over to make room for the gravel piles. With all of the other existing buildings and paved areas in The City today, it makes no sense for the PUC to destroy green and open space in a residential area.
“Please post any photos of the area you may have to help us illustrate the beauty the PUC has just destroyed.
“Join us in apposing this move by contacting your Supervisor and the PUC (Maureen Barry mbarry@sfwater.org, Suzanne Gautier sgautier@sfwater.org, Ed Harrington eharrington@sfwater.org)”
They noted that the PUC had taken 2500 square yards for use as a staging area for work on nearby pump stations. At the time, the PUC promised to return the area to its original green state.
That was then. Meanwhile, the PUC’s diver team, based at Treasure Island, lost their lease. Now the PUC, without much reference to the community, has decided to base the dive team at the reservoir site, while also still using it as a place to store gravel, sand and stuff. They plan to add a utility shed, a 20X40 trailer, and power lines. The Chronicle article concluded with, “The bottom line, though, is that it’s PUC property and that their plans are the ones that count.”
PUC held a meeting in April, attended by about 30 unhappy neighbors. Another meeting was this evening at the Clarendon School. We couldn’t go, since we were at the UCSF Sutro Forest Agenda Planning Meeting, but we hope to hear from people who attended, including the President of the Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization.
[ETA1: One of the neighbors, Anthony Roy, wrote an article for the Westside Observer, summing up the issues.]
[ETA 2: It appears that the neighbors discovered that Laguna Honda Reservoir is zoned as Open Space… this may preclude the gravel yard.]
THE PUMP STATION AT FOREST KNOLLS
The PUC does indeed appear to have a rather cavalier attitude to greenery.
When they rebuilt the pump station at Forest Knolls, they selected a new site where they would have to fell trees, rather than rebuilding on the site of the old pump station. Still, it didn’t look too bad in the pictures in their circular or the billboard outside the project site. It would be a low building nestled under the existing mature trees…
Pump Station on poster
Is that what we got? Not so much.
Here’s the new pump station soon after completion. All the tall trees and dense greenery that screened Forest Knolls from the Aldea Student Housing are gone, and there’s no space to plant more. The huge gap in the trees looks to be permanent, though the brown areas in front of the Pump Station are greening out.
In the past few days, several items arrived in my in-box that probably should be shared:
1. The elections are on June 8th. For people who were accustomed to the polling station in the garage on Oak Park – it’s changed. Precinct 2708, most of Forest Knolls and Galewood Circle will vote at the Clarendon Elementary School on Clarendon. But it’s a good idea to check before June 8th!
ETA (Thanks, LC): Precinct 2707 (on the Devonshire Way side of Forest Knolls) will still vote at the Lobby of Avalon Towers Inc, on 6 Locksley Avenue. There’s a 0.1% slope, accessible to people with disabilities.
2. Dr. Sobol sent a message that the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for theCrestmont project should be done by October or November.
“The time for action is obviously approaching: as soon as the EIR is published, our community will have the opportunity to formally respond and we will, as in 2006, mobilize a write-in campaign to challenge any deficiencies in the report and express the entire neighborhood’s opposition to this misguided and inappropriate project. A subsequent public hearing will almost certainly follow and we must plan to attend in large numbers to give voice to our opposition directly to the Planning Commissioners.
“In the meantime, new “STOP CRESTMONT HILLS” posters are going up throughout Forest Knolls and it is important to make our opposition visible to the politicians by placing them in our windows and on our fences. If you don’t have a poster or need to replace one that’s become frayed and faded (after all, this battle has been going on for six years!)
please notify us at the number below and we’ll be happy to provide one – or several.
3. UCSF is building a new community center on Johnstone Drive within the Aldea Student Housing area, scheduled for completion in Spring 2011. (It’s near the entrance to Medical Center Way.) They had to cut down nine trees, none of which was a eucalyptus or a redwood… ” a total of nine trees will need to be removed from the project area. These will include two acacias, one hawthorne and six victorian box trees.” This picture (taken from UCSF’s message) and the diagram accompanying it does not indicate the orientation of the building.
It’s not clear to what extent the Community Center will be available for rental to surrounding communities, but if it is, and it’s not too expensive, it may be a good addition to the amenities of this neighborhood.
FOREST KNOLLS NEIGHBORHOOD 