235
Montgomery St., #400, San Francisco, CA. 94104 * 415-392-5431, ext.
2054 * info@sfpublicgolf.com
January
10, 2012
PRESS
RELEASE:
SAN
FRANCISCO SUPERVISORS UPHOLD MAYOR’S VETO
OF
CLOSE-SHARP-PARK ORDINANCE
SAN
FRANCISCO – Anti-golf activists failed again Tuesday to close the
historic, city-owned Sharp Park Golf Course.
The
Board of Supervisors needed 8 votes to override San Francisco Mayor
Ed Lee’s December 19, 2011 Veto of an Ordinance to transfer
management Sharp Park to the National Park Service—which has a
no-golf policy. That Ordinance had passed the Board December 13 on a
narrow 6-5 vote.
On
Tuesday, the Ordinance’s Author, Supervisor John Avalos, moved to
override the Veto, but he could muster only 6 votes -– falling two
shy of the 8 votes needed for the override. So Mayor Lee’s Veto
stands.
Voting
Tuesday to save the golf course (and against the override) were
Supervisors Sean Elsbernd, Carmen Chu, Malia Cohen, Scott Wiener, and
Scott Farrell. Voting to override the veto (and close the golf
course) were Supervisors Avalos, Eric Campos, Eric Mar, Jane Kim,
Board President David Chiu, and newly-appointed Supervisor Christina
Olague.
The
80-year-old golf landmark, built by the legendary golf architect
Alister MacKenzie, and opened in 1932 in the San Francisco beach-side
suburb of Pacifica, continues to be in jeopardy. A trial is
scheduled for July, 2012 in Federal District Court in San Francisco,
on a close-the-golf-course lawsuit brought by environmental
activists. Federal Judge Susan Illston in November, 2011 already
rejected the environmentalists’ motion to enjoin golf operations on
10 holes, for allegedly killing endangered frogs and snakes. In
denying the motion, Judge Illston found, among other things, that
there were more frogs at the property in 2011 than at any time in the
past 20 years.
“The
anti-golf activists just keep losing,” commented San Francisco
Public Golf Alliance co-founder Richard Harris, whose pro-bono
grassroots group has galvanized public support for the historic golf
course. “And they should keep losing. This is historic property,
designed by the world’s greatest golf architect, for the benefit of
the public. And 80 years later, it is still affordable, and being
enjoyed by people of all colors, genders, ages, persuasions, and
social classes. This is the kind of historic property and public
legacy that San Franciscans have always fought to preserve.”
CONTACT:
Richard
Harris
San
Francisco
415-290-5718
(cell)
info@sfpublicgolf.com
Submitted by Richard Harris
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