SHARP PARK VOTE

I’ve got two things to say about the San Francisco Supervisors’ vote last week to give Sharp Park to the Feds.

1) The game is far from over. The vote, a narrow 6 to 5 win for the anti-golf forces, was irregular on so many levels it was notable even in the often bizarre San Francisco political landscape. The ordinance, which directs the S.F. Recreation & Park Dept. to offer a long time management deal to the National Park Service for Sharp Park, was authored by Supervisor John Avalos, and is generally viewed as payback for substantial environmental assistance in his recent mayoral campaign.

The bill had to be heavily amended to get around the usual requirement for an upfront Environmental Impact Report, and then rushed through passage before sympathetic Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi leaves the Board next month. And also before receipt of a report, a year in the making, detailing San Mateo County’s interest in Sharp Park. This haste may result in some other required rewriting, which could move the vote to a newly configured Board.

But even if this Board does pass the ordinance (a second vote is scheduled for Dec.13) S.F. Mayor Ed Lee has an opportunity to veto it, and the bill’s supporters do not appear to have the 8 votes necessary to override a veto. Although Avalos claims his intent is to save the City money, this ordinance may well have just the opposite effect. The GGNRA - who would actually wind up with the land - won’t even accept it with a golf course in place. Somebody will have to remove all trace of an 80-year-old course, with hundreds of 80-year-old trees, acres of “non-native” grass and God knows what else. (Remember, they didn’t have time for the Environmental Impact Report.) That would be a monstrous expense for San Francisco, and they could not look to the feds for help. As Congresswoman Jackie Speier has informed the Mayor, “I will oppose the use of federal funds for purposes of managing Sharp Park as proposed in this legislation.” This is a bad bill, and Mayor Lee has to know it.

We should remember that, until this treacherous turn of events, the supporters of public golf at Sharp Park had won every encounter with the anti-golf activists, including last month’s denial of an injunction that would have severely damaged the course. We can prevail again.

2) It’s time for Pacifica to wake up. If you want to keep your golf course, it’s time to say so. Our civic leaders, with two notable exceptions, have been relatively silent on Sharp Park over the last few years. There has been little public dialogue on what is easily the biggest land-use decision Pacifica has faced since the Quarry. The exceptions noted above are Mayor Mary Ann Nihart and former Mayor Julie Lancelle. Both have worked tirelessly to save the course, stayed in touch with all the interested parties, attended the meetings, the court hearings, talked the talk and walked the walk.

I’d like to hear from the four other members of the City Council. If you support the golf course, let’s hear it. If you don’t, let’s hear that. Just do something! A letter to Ed Lee, requesting a veto, would be a good start. Sent collectively, if you’re all agreeable, or individually if not. You might mention that you’d rather not have an empty, devastated golf course, a breeding ground for mosquitoes and varmints, at one end of your about-to-be rejuvenated Palmetto Ave downtown center. Letters to the individual S.F. Supervisors might also be helpful: a congratulatory note to the supes that opposed the ordinance, and, for the supporters, an inquiry into what they’ve been smoking. Remember, input from ordinary citizens, and their elected representatives, comes to an abrupt end once the GGNRA gets its hands on a piece of property. They don’t care about Pacifica. Council members, however, were elected to care; it’s their job!

I know some civic groups, the Chamber of Commerce, for example, and the Historical Society, have issued Resolutions in support of the Sharp Park, but now would be a good time for any and all concerned organizations to send a direct letter to Mayor Lee, specifically asking for the veto.

I’d like to hear a lot more noise from the Sharp Park Golf Course. Men’s Club President Dave Diller has done a lot of work on this, but the rest of the Club is much too quiet. Every member - particularly every member that lives in San Francisco - should call or e-mail Mayor Ed Lee and tell him to veto that bill. And tell your friends, and your wives and children, to do it too. Sharp Park golfers have contributed some 800 hand-written letters of support that were presented to the Board of Supervisors, but now it’s time to go directly to the Mayor. Get on the phone, or the keyboard.

Actually, that’s probably the best thing to do for anyone interested in saving Sharp Park. Let Ed Lee know that the GGNRA already rules enough of the coast, and we’d like to keep our golf course, thank you.

Another thing that all Sharp Park supporters should do is google up the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance and get the latest news on Sharp Park. The SFPGA has been the only organized, effective group defending the course, a long and often lonely battle. Without them, we would have long ago been steamrolled by the slick, well-funded, relentless campaign mounted by the eco-activists. Ever at the forefront, the SFPGA is a co-defendant with San Francisco in the suit brought by Wild Equity Institute et al that also seeks to close the course. You can join with the SFPGA, sign up on-line, and send them a few bucks. Lawsuits are expensive.

Paul Slavin

Pacifica

Dec. 10, 2011