Category: Neighborhood Issues

Laguna Honda Lake: PUC promises broken?

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)”

Driving by there, we feared it was already too late, until we saw an item in today’s San Francisco Chronicle.

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.

The opposing neighbors have a website and a Facebook page.

[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.

New Pump Station in reality

Updates: Elections, UCSF Community Center, Crestmont

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 the Crestmont 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.

Email: info@crestmontpreservation.org
Phone: 415-640-3869
Website: http://www.crestmontpreservation.org/

Picture of UCSF's Aldea Center
UCSF's planned Aldea Center

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.

Sutro Forest Update: We’re below the Demo Site

As some of you may know, I’ve been attending the Sutro Forest Community meetings. After the withdrawal of the FEMA application, UCSF has decided to return to a plan originally drawn up in 2001, after conducting its own Environmental Review. This calls for “thinning” the trees and removing the understory on a small area as a demonstration.

They are now talking of potentially three demonstration sites, of which the largest – 2 acres – would be on the South Ridge (above Christopher and Crestmont). They are considering thinning the trees to an average of 30 feet apart, and removing all the shrubs and plants that grow under them. They may use herbicides to prevent regrowth. This is planned for Fall 2011.

We’re concerned about the risk to other trees (because it’s windy on top of South Ridge, and thinning the trees may expose others to the wind); to wildlife that uses the understory as habitat; and to the forest, which is likely to become drier in the exposed areas. We’re also concerned about herbicides coming off the steep hillside into our community.

Further details are at the Sutro Forest website, along with a great deal of information about the forest. I’ll post an update from time to time, since it seems that our community will be most directly impacted by the new plan.

[Edited to Add: The area has been expanded to 3 acres, the largest single “demonstration area.” There’s a follow-up post at Sutro Forest Planned Actions.]

The Crestmont Project

As many neighbors will know, there’s an ongoing proposal to build 34 new units of housing at the end of Crestmont. The City is currently conducting an Environmental Impact Review (EIR), and Dr Sam Sobol (of the Crestmont- Mt Sutro Neighborhood Preservation Coalition) tells us the draft EIR is expected to be completed in September or October 2010.  A large group of neighbors opposes it, and the Coalition’s website (click on the Stop sign to access it) details who to write to. That website also has more detailed information about the project and related issues. And photographs.

WHY THE OBJECTION

The project would extend Crestmont after a hairpin bend where the cul-de-sac ends now, and build along the lower edge of the resulting 20-foot road. This may impinge on land currently owned by a neighborhood association.

What’s the problem with the project?

This Google Map demonstrates some of the issues with the project. This is one of the steepest areas of the mountain. (The map already shows this road, complete with hairpin bend, even though it currently doesn’t exist – it’s a narrow mud trail. )

The hills are not only steep, they are not very stable. There’s a history of rock-slides, including the destruction of a home, fortunately unoccupied at the time.

The houses above where the planned project would go already rest on high stilts of steel or concrete. Residents fear that construction activities could weaken the hillside, putting the whole group of houses above it – and all the people in them – at risk during an earthquake.

(Click here for photographs of the site from the website of the Coalition.)

OTHER CONCERNS

  • Increased traffic and increased accident risk on a narrow and winding road. “…Drastically increased traffic density of Crestmont Drive, a roadway so narrow beyond the uphill bulkhead that two cars are unable to pass when cars are parked, as they always are, on either side of the street..”
  • Risk to children playing on the street (since Crestmont Drive homes lack yards).
  • Limited access for fire and emergency vehicles. The street below the hairpin bend would be a dead end and only smaller vehicles could turn there.
  • Too little parking. The plan allows for 1.5 parking spaces per 3 and 4 bedroom unit. Since this the terrain limits access to public transport,  each household will probably need 2-3 cars, especially if the condos are rented as shared housing.
  • The wind usually blows uphill from the west. It would carry noise,  and fumes from cars, fireplaces, barbeques, up to the homes above. It also heightens the fire risk. If a fire started in a downhill building,  the wind could carry cinders uphill and ignite the all-wooden homes above, while also setting brushfires in surrounding areas.
  • Four large high density buildings and a total of 34 condos would change character of this neighborhood of single family homes and duplexes,  and have a negative impact on home values.
  • The existing trail functions as a neighborhood park and open space, accessible even to those who cannot climb the steep hillside of Mt Sutro to get to the mountain trails. This is one of the few pristine areas that has never been built on.

Sutro Forest Update

A number of neighbors attended the meeting called by UCSF for 24 March 2011, including Walter Caplan, President of Forest Knolls Neighborhood Association. (Walter took the opportunity to explain the Crestmont issue to a cluster of people around the map of the forest.)

A Romantic Entrance to the Forest

UCSF’s meeting was intended to inform the neighbors about the reasons for the withdrawal of the FEMA application; reaffirm their commitment to a safe, healthy, beautiful and usable forest; and lay out next steps.

Barbara French opened the meeting with why they withdrew the FEMA applications:

  • They were more aggressive than the adaptive management principle called for in the 2001 Plan for the forest;
  • FEMA indicated that the environmental review would take about 2 years, much longer than UCSF wanted.
  • Once an environmental review started, UCSF would need to maintain the status quo until completion.

Instead, UCSF itself will do a full environmental review, as required by the California Environmental Quality Act . They hope to use UCSF funds that had been set aside as matching funds for the “FEMA project.” This review (through its Campus Planning office) would cover all intended actions over the full 61-acre area of the forest to avoid “piece-mealing.” It would take about a year, and would be preceded by three community workshops.

With the conclusion of the environmental review, eucalyptus trees would be “thinned” on 2 acres as a demonstration. (The location and nature of the demonstration would be subject to community input.) As soon as that was done, work would proceed on the South Ridge and Edgewood cut zones. The whole plan would take into consideration the rainy season as well as the bird nesting season.

There’s more information about the meeting and the timeline at the SutroForest website.

Muni Thefts, SFPD Maps

We’re getting the Park Station newsletter from the SFPD. One of the articles concerned crime on the Muni. Apparently, there’s been an rash of thefts targeting people using laptops and Ipods  and the like on the Muni trains or stops. The newsletter had some tips:

“Passengers are reminded to be aware of their surroundings while traveling on Muni. Suspects prey on victims using these devices knowing they are distracted while texting or listening to music on PDAs, using laptops, and talking on cellular phones. Passengers should be careful to limit the use of these devices and always be aware of other passengers on the vehicle.

“If a passenger notices anything suspicious, the person should call the Muni complaint line, 923-6164. For emergencies or for crimes in progress, call 9-1-1 (553-8090 for cellular phones), and for non-emergencies, 553-0123.”

Maybe a good idea to enter that number on your cellphones.

Anyone who wants to get on the Park Station newsletter list can do so by emailing Captain Teri Barrett. Her email address is teresa.barrett@sfgov.org

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The SFPD website also has a neat tool – an interactive map which allows you to see crimes reported in a specific area in the previous 90 days.  It needs a fast internet connection – DSL or Cable – and it’s a bit slow. It doesn’t show homicides, and it’s hedged about with warnings about its accuracy. Still it gives an interesting picture of crime in the area. (Forest Knolls had three thefts from cars, all on Warren Drive. It’s a relatively safe area, but don’t leave anything valuable where it can be seen.)

Neighborhood Meeting – Police, Traffic, Sutro Forest, and Crestmont

The Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization meeting earlier this evening featured a number of speakers:

Police Captain Teri Barrett of the Park Station (at Waller x Stanyan) talking about crime.

The main problem in our (aside from speeding) was auto burglaries with broken car windows. (Don’t leave anything valuable visible! Put it in the trunk.) She was also enthusiastic about Comstat, an information technology that provides real-time information about crime; and about a reorganization that put more resources out at the stations. She also said if you want to be on the email list for the police blotter, email her at teresa.barrett@sfgov.org

Jack Fleck

Jack Fleck of the Municipal Transport Agency talking about traffic.

He spoke of the issues with putting in Speed Humps: cost, and pain for people in the disability community who have spinal problems. They do traffic studies. If 85% of cars are going at least 5 miles over the speed limit, they’ll consider it. He also discussed traffic from Clarendon School drop-offs and pick-ups.

Supervisor Sean Elsbernd talking about the traffic mess expected at St Francis Circle this summer, and Laguna Honda Hospital’s planned June 2010 opening.

Sean Elsbernd

He also took questions on various topics, including solar panels on reservoirs. (Yes, we will have them if the pilot project works. No, the power won’t come to our homes, it’ll go to the City.) And some got to see a cell-phone pic of his cute baby…

There was a Sutro Cloud Forest presentation, covering topics discussed at the Save Sutro website.

UCSF had applied for a FEMA grant to cut down 90% of the trees under 3 feet in girth, and remove all the understory, from a quarter of the forest, for the purpose of Fire Hazard Mitigation. In fact, CalFire classifies this area only as Moderate fire hazard, its lowest rating. Moreover, this is a Cloud Forest: the eucalyptus catches moisture from the fog, it falls into the duff which holds it like a sponge, and the understory further insulates it from drying out. So year round, it’s damp in the forest. Our concerns were that the Plan would open out the forest, making it windier and dryer, and also artificially reclassify the area as having a Very High fire risk, with implications for insurance and disclosure on sale of homes. Other concerns: increased landslide risk, toxic herbicides, weakening of the remaining trees, and loss of habitat for birds and animals  in this Historic forest.  UCSF has withdrawn its FEMA application, and has called a meeting for 24 March 2010 to discuss its next steps. [Edited to Add: The meeting report is here.]

Walter Caplan of Forest Knolls Neighborhood Organization, who ran the meeting, read out an email from Craig Dawson of Mt Sutro Stewards , which regretted he couldn’t make it and was concerned there would be no counterbalance to the Save Sutro presentation. Unexpectedly, he made it after all. He described his autobiography, the beauty of the forest, the Historic Trail the Mt Sutro Stewards are working on now connecting Stanyan with the forest, and the work they’re doing building trails all over the city. There did not appear to be any conflict with the prior presentation.

Dr Sam Sobol talking about Crestmont Hills.

The project, which had seemed dead, is being revived. An Enviromental Review is now in progress. Look here for more information, or at the Crestmont Preservation website.

We ran out of time for questions. If you put any questions in the comments here, we’ll forward them to the right person.

Neighborhood Meeting 11 March 2010, 7.30 p.m

There’s to be a neighborhood meeting at the Armenian Church on Thursday, 11 March 2010. The poster is shown below.  (However, Craig Dawson of Mount Sutro Stewards may be unable to attend. A short statement from him may be read out.)

[Edited to Add: Read our report on the meeting.]

Crestmont plan rides again?

Just heard from someone that the Crestmont project may have been revived.

There may be more details available at the neighborhood meeting on March 11th (at the Armenian Church, 275 Olympia Way, 7.30 p.m.) This website will be updated when we know more. (Edited to Add: Read on.)

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Dr Sobol sent out this bulletin (reprinted below).

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BULLETIN from Crestmont-Mt.Sutro-Forest Knolls Neighborhood Preservation Coalition.
Update March 11, 2010
Crestmont Hills Condo Development Raises its Ugly Head… Again!

The massive 34-unit condominium Crestmont Hills project, on the west slope of Mt. Sutro at the end of Crestmont Drive, has been resurrected yet again. First proposed in 2004, this project, so huge and inappropriate for our neighborhood, threatening hillside seismic stability and guaranteeing more Forest Knolls traffic and parking problems, was stalled by a massive show of opposition from our neighborhood. With the help of Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, a formal Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was mandated.

In April 2007, the project seemed defeated when fees were not paid. The Planning Department deemed it inactive and the property was sold at a Trustee Sale. However, the buyer, Magaved Magomedov, one of the original project partners, moved forward with the EIR process – until the economic shock of the fall of 2008, when fees were again in arrears and the project was placed on indefinite hold by the Planning Department.

Crestmont Hills remained stalled during 2009, but in the past two weeks we have been notified that the fees have been paid and the project is moving forward again through the EIR process. Our neighborhood must once more let our voice be heard and raise our objections to this monstrous project.

We urge all Forest Knolls neighbors to do the following:

1.    Contact the Planning Department’s Environmental Review Section
– Express your objections and concerns
– Request that your household be placed on the mailing and e-mail list to be notified of any developments regarding the Crestmont Hills project

Mail your comments, concerns and request for notification to:
Irene Nishimura, Major Environmental Analysis Section, 1660 Mission St., Suite 500, San Francisco, CA 94103; RE: Crestmont Hills Residential Project, Case No. 2004.0093E; e-mail: irene.nishimura@sfgov.org

2.    Express your concern to Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA 94102, Sean.Elsbernd@sfgov.org

3.    Demonstrate your objection to this project by placing a “STOP CRESTMONT HILLS” poster in a window or on your garage or fence (contact us to obtain a poster for indoors or a laminated poster for outdoor display).

4.     Stay updated by checking our web site, www.CrestmontPreservation.org. Please sign up on the web site or provide your e-mail address so that we can ensure that you are notified about any breaking news or developments.

CONTACT:  Dr. Sam Sobol, 415-640-3869,
info@CrestmontPreservation.org

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Eat your heart out, Mr Wordsworth!

A host of golden oxalis...

I wandered lonely as a cloud

[If a cloud wore a windcheater and carried a pocket-camera]

That floats on high o’er vales and hills

[Cole Valley and Twin Peaks, I guess]

When all at once I saw a crowd/ A host of golden daffodils;

[Or Bermuda Buttercups, alias oxalis]

Beside the lake

[Or above the reservoir, anyway]

Beneath the trees,

[Nope, no trees]

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

[Oh, yes. That.]

Forest Knolls seen from Twin Peaks, with flowers

It’s a wonderful feature of our neighborhood, having the iconic lookout point of Twin Peaks so close by. But at this time of the year, Twin Peaks is worth not just looking from, it’s worth looking at. Today, Sunday 28 February 2010, it’s particularly splendid. Twin Peaks is glorious with oxalis now, and scented with sweet alyssum.

I know oxalis is a weed, but it’s an extraordinarily lovely one. My take on it is, you can despise it and try to exterminate it; or you can enjoy it and try to photograph it.

There are a host of other flowers, native and not: Mustard, California poppy, wild iris, calendula, lupine. All set against the bright green of lush growing grass.

Go now, if you want to see it. (Sunny mornings are the best.) From March 2-16, they will start spraying Garlon, a toxic herbicide. You wouldn’t want to be there then, and by the time it’s done, the flowers will be gone.

MUNI Again…meetings in March/April 2010

Someone gave us a heads up on Muni – it’s short of funds, it needs more cuts, and its having public meetings about it.

Here’s the MUNI letter:

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“Dear Community Leaders and Transit Colleagues,
The SFMTA Board of Directors confronts a challenging budget situation for both the current fiscal year and the next two-year budget cycle. After layoffs and other cost-cutting measures that began last November, the SFMTA still faces a current-year $16.9 million shortfall.
The solutions before the Agency and those impacted by its decisions are both painful and unpopular.
Proposed solutions include:
• Reduced frequencies and shorter service hours for Muni
• Muni fare increases and parking fee and fine increases

Your opinion counts. Please attend one of the following meetings to learn more and to provide public comment.

FY 2010 Focus
Town Hall Meetings, One South Van Ness Ave. @ Market St., 2nd Floor Atrium
Saturday, Feb. 6 – 10 a.m. to noon
Tuesday, Feb. 9 – 6 to 8 p.m.

SFMTA Board Meeting, City Hall Room 400
Tuesday, Feb. 16 – 9 a.m. (public hearing and possible Board action)

FY 2011-2012 Focus
Town Hall Meetings, One South Van Ness Ave. @ Market St., 2nd Floor Atrium
Wednesday, March 10 – 6 p.m.
Saturday, March 20 – 10 a.m.

SFMTA Board Meetings, City Hall Room 400
Tuesday, March 30 – 2 p.m.
Tuesday, April 6 – 2 p.m. (public hearing and possible Board action)
Tuesday, April 20 – 2 p.m. (public hearing and possible Board action)

If you cannot attend one of the meetings, visit www.sfmta.com for details or send an e-mail to sfmtabudget@ sfmta.com or call 311.

Sincerely,

Judson True
Communications Manager

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As of now, the proposal for reduced frequencies does not appear to affect the 36 Teresita bus service.  It does affect the K,L,M lines that pass through Forest Hill Station, and several others as well.

What’s Up at Laguna Honda Hospital?

Laguna Honda Hospital (LHH), at the foot of Clarendon Avenue, is in a sense part of our neighborhood. The Woods, a community of townhomes, lies just across from it, as does Galewood Court. Thanks to the addition of some unlovely tower blocks, and the felling of a lot of trees (eucalyptus – of course),  it’s a lot more visible than it used to be. Especially at night, when it bears some resemblance to a large parking garage.

LHH Rear at night from Clarendon

So we’re concerned at what’s happening at LHH. George Wooding, President of the West of Twin Peaks Central Council, wrote an article pointing out problematic changes that the public has not been informed about.

For those interested in more detail, there’s a website called Stop LHH Downsize with a great deal of information (including the full text of Mr Wooding’s article, “Many Problems Face Laguna Honda Hospital“).

Here’s the gist of the story:

In 1999, the San Francisco voters agreed to a bond measure to rebuild Laguna Honda Hospital – a city-owned nursing home, they thought, for indigent elderly and disabled San Franciscans.

What has happened since?

  • The rebuild has cost $600 mn instead of the budgeted $401 mn.
  • Tree felling has chopped large holes in the screen between Clarendon Avenue and the hospital’s rear, giving the neighborhood a fine view of the backside of the new blocks and the parking lot.
  • LHH has cut 35% of the beds (420 of 1200), eliminated another 200 planned assisted living units, and suspended or terminated its adult daycare program for older people with dementia.
  • More problematically, LHH has changed its mission – or is trying to.

The Department of Public Health is planning to admit people with mental health and substance abuse problems. Instead of having a nursing home in our neighborhood – a mission most of us support – we will have effectively, a mental-health hospital.

It’s an experiment that has already been tried, unsuccessfully. In 2003, in order to reduce pressure on San Francisco General Hospital, young patients with substance abuse and mental health issues were sent on to LHH. Staff were attacked, fires set, and there were clashes between the young male patients and the older residents. Eventually, the situation deteriorated sufficiently that the Department of Justice was involved, and the experiment stopped.

Hospital & Rehabilitation Center

It’s about to be restarted. (We think, since there has been no clarity on the issue.)

Says Wooding in his article: “We don’t know what population LHH intends to serve when it opens just four months from now, and whether LHH will be serving geriatric patients with chronic medical illness, or psychosocial patients with mental illness and substance abuse needs.”

The underlying problem is that San Francisco has no place to send mentally ill/ substance abusing patients who cannot be released into the community. (In 2004,  San Francisco’s only long-term care psychiatric facility closed down, with a loss of 145 psychiatric beds.)

That doesn’t mean that LHH should be sacrificed to that function. Especially without buy-in from voters and the surrounding communities.

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[Edited to Add: At the March 11, 2010 community meeting, Supervisor Sean Elsbernd announced that the new facility would open in June (though the patients would not move in until later).  In response to a question, he said that LHH was not changing its admission policy: It would be open only to people whose primary diagnosis was physical, though some of those might have mental challenges as well. “Don’t worry, it’s not becoming a homeless shelter,” he said.]

Mosquitoes, storm drains, paint, and Bt

drainIt all started with a question on the Forest Knolls Yahoo Group about the brightly-colored paint-spots above the drain covers in our neighborhood. What were they?

Donna Chong responded. “Ever since the threat of West Nile Virus, San Francisco has been putting something in the sewers to keep the mosquitos from multiplying. The program has been going on for about 2 years. The paint indicates that these sewers have been treated and a new color spray is applied after each treatment. I am not sure how often they are treated but it is pretty frequent.”

Later, she added: “I personally am very glad they have the program. Our house borders a long drain and several catch basins that were a breeding ground for mosquitos. There were so many that we slept every night with a mosquito net!”

Someone else expressed a concern about dragonflies, wondering if they might be affected as well as the mosquitoes.

There was a sign on the pumphouse, she said, that indicated the treatment they were using, and we promised to check it out. Here it is:

Notice about Mosquito Treatment

They use Bt (a bacillus that kills mosquitoes) and liquid soap, up to once a week. (Another source said once a month, from late spring through fall, but that was in 2005 and they may have changed the regime.)

Bt dunks are what pond-owners are advised to put in their ponds to prevent mozzies from breeding there. As pesticides go, it’s pretty mild because it’s a bacillus and not a chemical. It’s more eco-friendly than the larvicides that some other cities use.

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Can it affect dragonflies? We’re guessing that unlike mosquitoes, dragonflies don’t breed in the catch basins. They’re supposed to like lakes with vegetation, even garden ponds (some kinds prefer streams). One site we checked specifically recommended Bt Mosquito Dunks in garden ponds because it doesn’t harm dragonflies. So they may not be directly affected.

On the other hand, dragonflies eat mozzies, and if there aren’t any, they might not be doing as well. Also, there’s a possibility that some kind of herbicide or pesticide is getting in the places they do breed. Maybe Laguna Honda lake? It’s a possible site near our neighborhood.

Current Issues

This area is to discuss and report on issues the neighborhood is facing.

1. The Crestmont Development. A builder wanted to add an apartment block at the end of Crestmont, a narrow winding road just below Mt Sutro. Most neighbors opposed it on the grounds of safety (landslides, fire access), neighborhood character (no apartment blocks in Forest Knolls); and infrastructure issues. [Edited to Add 1: Apparently stopped for now.] [Feb 2010 Edited to Add 2: Have heard that it may have been restarted.]

2. The 36 Teresita route. In 2009, the City planned to curtail the service of the 36 Teresita, the only bus serving Forest Knolls, on the ground of inadequate ridership. Neighbors pointed out that it was not so much a matter of numbers as a matter of access; there were people without cars who relied on the bus. For the present, the service continues, but no one is sure if the plan may yet be implemented. [Edited to Add: It appears that the feedback has been accepted, and the route changes –  implemented from 5 Dec 09 – will not affect Forest Knolls. However, the frequency falls to 30 minutes (instead of 20 during weekday rush-hours); and the last bus leaves Forest Hill at 11 p.m.]

3. Sutro Cloud Forest. In May 2009, UCSF, which owns the land on Mt Sutro just above Forest Knolls, planned to cut down thousands of trees on a quarter of the forest, including an area just above the neighborhood ostensibly in the name of fire mitigation. Opponents believe this is a ruse for a native plant conversion of the forest, and the fire threat is an excuse to get FEMA funding for a landscaping plan. They consider it dangerous because of increased fire hazard from a more open and dryer forest; greater landslide risk; concern about toxic chemicals (Roundup and Garlon) being used; and worries about the area being artificially reclassified as a High Fire Risk with impacts on disclosure requirements and insurance rates. (At present, Cal Fire notes there are no areas of Very High Fire Hazard in San Francisco.)

[Edited to Add 1: SaveSutro kept a daily Fog Log for September/ October/ November. The longest period the forest was without fog or rain was 7 days. The forest remained green and damp throughout. ]

[Feb 2010, Edited to Add 2: UCSF has withdrawn its applications from FEMA. It is looking for a different way forward. Details on the SaveSutro website.]

4. Extended parking meter hours in San Francisco. Despite Oakland’s unfortunate experience with extended hours on its parking meters (a revenue measure), San Francisco’s MTA still has such a plan under consideration. This does not directly affect the neighborhood, which does not have meters; but it affects the residents who shop or work in surrounding areas like West Portal or Miraloma. [Edited to Add: There’s a good discussion of this in the November ’09 issue of the Westside Observer. The article (on page 2) is by George Wooding, president of the West of Twin Peaks Central Council.]

5. Another issue that affects Forest Knolls indirectly is SF PUC’s plan to build a gravel distribution center on Clarendon Avenue, on the eastern edge of the Laguna Honda Lake. This area was apparently presented as a temporary staging post, but now is being made permanent. Neighbors are protesting.