First-hand account of 11-19-09 SF Rec and Park meeting re Sharp Park

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Barbara Arietta
Correspondent - Pacifica Tribune
415-246-0775

In yet another long day's journey into night, many members of the Pacifica Community Coalition to Save Sharp Park Golf Course (PCC), the Sharp Park Golf Club, the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, and the "Restore Sharp Park" movement "took up the gauntlet" and traveled to the meeting chambers of San Francisco's City Hall on Thursday, November 19th, for a public hearing held by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Dept. Board of Commissioners. And, as has been done at previous public meetings, the various representatives from the groups voiced their pleas and concerns, in regards to the fate of both the Sharp Park Golf Course and the habitats of the endangered species that exist at the golf course.

A quick scan of the audience revealed that it wasn't just Pacificans who crowded the hearing room and the adjoining hallways throughout the afternoon and early evening. The somewhat never ending Sharp Park Golf Course debate drew dozens of people to SF City Hall. The hearing room had 78 seats. The crowd spilled into an overflow room down the hall and then into the hallway itself. It appeared that a fair share of San Franciscans were also in attendance, in addition to visitors from other areas.

Environmentalists and golf course supporters, alike, patiently sat through two and a half hours of a full Rec and Parks Dept. Agenda before getting a chance to speak to the issue of the frog and the snake and the golf course. Both sides delivered their points in earnest. "These species are not going to persist if we keep the golf course at this site," said Jeff Miller, spokesperson for Center for Biological Diversity."It's because of the golf course that the habitat is there and that's all the more reason to save Sharp Park Golf Course," said Bo Links, SF golfer and author. "Contrary to current allegations, according to a report just released by the SF RPD on November 4th, Sharp Park Golf course made money last year. Instead of a predicted loss of more than $110,000, it made a profit of $99,142," said a member of the Pacifica Community Coalition To Save Sharp Park Golf Course (PCC).

In one camp there were the environmental activists that wanted the city to close down the course and restore the property to wetlands, thusly shutting off a popular recreational destination for golfers that hosted 54,073 rounds last year. In the other camp there were the golfers, the golf course supporters and its nearby residents who wanted to keep the historic, Alister MacKenzie designed course open.

On November 6, 2009 San Francisco Rec and Parks General Manager, Phil Ginsberg, recommended a plan that called for redesigning some holes and moving the holes closest to the snake habitat. In his letter to the Board of SF Rec and Park Commissioners, Ginsberg stated that the city-owned Sharp Park Golf Course in Pacifica should be retained as an 18-hole golf course, but that the course be modified to protect the habitat of the federally protected San Francisco Garter Snake and the threatened California Red Legged Frog. He also stated that the  frog and snake could not only co-exist with the golfers, but, at the same time, also flourish in doing so. He reported that he did this in the hope of balancing competing interests, given scarce open space and scarce resources. He revealed that he envisioned a coming together of the environmental community and the golf community, but his recommendations have since been been met with heavy criticism from environmental activists.

The current choices for the Sharp Park land are: 1. restoring the habitat and keeping the 18-hole course; 2. restoring the habitat and reducing the golf course to 9 holes; 3. restoring the habitat and eliminating the golf course entirely.

After hours of hearing impassioned speeches, it appeared that the decision on how to proceed will not come easy for the SF Board of Rec and Park Commissioners. In the end, they opted to delay consideration, pending further community input and scientific review. There will be possibly three more meetings before the Commission votes on their recommendation to the SF Board of Supervisors. The meetings are planned  between now and mid-December. Talk of a desire for a public hearing to be held in Pacifica was mentioned by Rec and Parks Board President Jim Lazarus at the end of the meeting. The date for that potential meeting has yet to be confirmed. Stay tuned.