Pacifica,
CA (April 30, 2011) —
An overflow crowd of Bay Area public golfers, golf dignitaries,
local residents, and political and public officials from San
Francisco and San Mateo County rallied here last Thursday (April 28)
at the Sharp Park Golf Course, to defend the 80-year-old landmark
against the long-running effort by the Tucson-based Center for
Biological Diversity to close the course.
“We
take our environmental responsibilities very seriously,” San
Francisco Recreation and Park Department General Manager
Phil Ginsburg said in a prepared statement read by San Francisco
Public Golf Alliance co-founder Bo Links. “But we are committed to
maintaining golf at Sharp Park as a valued recreational pastime at
this historic and beautiful golfing venue.”
Ginsburg’s
commitment was cheered by a diverse crowd of 200-plus men and women
golfers ranging from grade schoolers and high school team players to
grey-bearded seniors. Included in the mix were San Mateo County
Supervisor Don Horsley, Pacifica City Councilman Len Stone and former
Mayor Julie Lancelle, San Mateo County Community College Board
President Richard Holober, Pacifica Concerned Citizens Coalition
Chairwoman Barbara Arietta, the Pacifica Chamber of Commerce, and
Laborers’ Union Local 261.
Mayor
Lancelle called the course “a tremendously valuable recreational
asset for the city of Pacifica as well as the region.” Supervisor
Horsely, whose district includes Pacifica, added: “Sharp Park is an
important part of Pacifica’s history, kind of the heart and soul of
Pacifica. And golf is not an elite sport — it’s a great
recreational resource for seniors as well as kids.” Both the
Pacifica City Council and the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
have passed unanimous resolutions to keep the golf course open.
Ken
Venturi, who learned golf in the 1940’s at Sharp Park and San
Francisco’s other public courses, urged the crowd in a written
statement to defend the course “with your time, your money, and
your passion. Do not let anybody destroy Sharp Park.” Venturi is
the Honorary Chairman of the Public Golf Alliance, and the 1964
United States Open champion. Other golf notables included former
U.S. Golf Association President Sandy Tatum and California Alliance
for Golf representative Emmy Moore Minister.
Opened
in 1932 and designed by preeminent architect Alister MacKenzie, Sharp
Park was targeted in a federal court lawsuit filed March 2, 2011
under the Endangered Species Act by a handful of activist
organizations led by the Center for Biological Diversity. Since
2007, CBD has been campaigning, along with its co-plaintiff the
National Parks Conservation Association, to close the golf course and
have the property annexed to the adjoining Golden Gate National
Recreation Area.
In
December, 2009, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission
unanimously voted to reject the close-the-course option, following a
six-month study and public hearings in which San Francisco’s
environmental consultants recommended that the best and most
cost-effective solution for environmental problems at the course
would be to keep the 18-hole course open, but redesign some holes to
enhance habitat for the protected San Francisco garter snake and
California red-legged frog.
Center
for Biological Diversity has continued to fight the Recreation and
Park Department’s Sharp Park Plan, and at a CBD-sponsored rally at
San Francisco City Hall on April 29, 2011, San Francisco Supervisor
and candidate for mayor John Avalos announced to a CBD-sponsored
rally that Avalos would introduce proposed legislation to the Board
of Supervisors to transfer Sharp Park to the Golden Gate National
Recreation Area.
Lauren
Barr, an officer of the Sharp Park Women’s Club and spokeswoman for
the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance, was heartened by the turnout
at the Save Sharp Park Rally. “Obviously, this is a long fight and
it will continue. But we are ready for a long fight, and we love to
see the community rallying in support of this wonderful landmark golf
course,” said Barr. “This is a people’s golf course, serving
young and old, men and women, all cultures and ethnic groups, and all
of the schools, churches, clubs, and community services that use
reasonably-priced golf events to raise money for their causes. It is
gratifying to see the community coming to the rescue of this great
landmark.”
###
About
the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance:
A
5,000-member, volunteer, non-profit public-interest organization of
San Francisco Bay Area supporters of public golf, dedicated to the
preserving affordable, eco-friendly golf.
FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION AND FULL DOCUMENTATION, CONTACT:
RICHARD
HARRIS
SAN
FRANCISCO PUBLIC GOLF ALLIANCE
235
Montgomery St., #400,
San
Francisco, CA. 94104
415-392-5431,
ext. 2054
Submitted by Richard Harris
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