235
Montgomery St., #400, San Francisco, CA. 94104 * 415-290-5718 *
info@sfpublicgolf.com
PRESS RELEASE
September
6, 2011
SUPERVISOR
AVALOS’ PROPOSAL TO GIVE AWAY SHARP PARK
WOULD
SACRIFICE ETHNICALLY DIVERSE PUBLIC RECREATION,
JOBS,
AND AN HISTORICAL LANDMARK.
San Francisco – A proposed ordinance to turn the historic Sharp Park Golf Course into a nature park for frogs and snakes, introduced today at the Board of Supervisors by John Avalos, is a “slap at working class, ethnically diverse public recreation, working people, and small business,” says the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance.
San Francisco – A proposed ordinance to turn the historic Sharp Park Golf Course into a nature park for frogs and snakes, introduced today at the Board of Supervisors by John Avalos, is a “slap at working class, ethnically diverse public recreation, working people, and small business,” says the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance.
Owned
by San Francisco, but located in Pacifica, Sharp Park hosts 50,000
rounds of golf annually, at some of the most affordable greens fees
in the Bay Area, while providing private and public-sector employment
for full- and part-time restaurant, golf shop, and course maintenance
workers.
“This
would throw small business and dozens of working people and their
families under the bus in the middle of a national economic crisis,”
said Kevin Ramsay, chef at Sharp Park for 28 years. The fulltime
restaurant workers are represented by Hotel and Restaurant Employees
Union Local 2. An additional 8-10 city gardeners, represented by
Laborers Local 261, are on record opposed to closing the golf course,
according to 261 spokesman Zac Salem.
Opened in 1932, Sharp Park is one of only a handful of public courses in the world designed by legendary architect Alister MacKenzie, whose other courses include Cypress Point on the Monterey Peninsula and Augusta National, home of the annual Masters Tournament. In February, 2011, Sharp Park was identified by the San Francisco Planning Department as a protected “historical resource” under the California Environmental Quality Act. The Pacifica Historical Society and the Washington D.C.-based Cultural Landscape Foundation have joined in calling for preservation of the landmark golf course.
Opened in 1932, Sharp Park is one of only a handful of public courses in the world designed by legendary architect Alister MacKenzie, whose other courses include Cypress Point on the Monterey Peninsula and Augusta National, home of the annual Masters Tournament. In February, 2011, Sharp Park was identified by the San Francisco Planning Department as a protected “historical resource” under the California Environmental Quality Act. The Pacifica Historical Society and the Washington D.C.-based Cultural Landscape Foundation have joined in calling for preservation of the landmark golf course.
The
Tucson-based Center for Biological Diversity in 2009 opened a
campaign to turn the course over to the National Park Service for a
nature preserve. In March, 2011, it joined with other groups to sue
San Francisco to stop golf operations, alleging violations of federal
endangered species laws. The lawsuit, Wild
Equity Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, et al. vs. City
and County of San Francisco,
District Court, N.D.
Calif., has been set for trial in the Federal Court in San Francisco
in July, 2012.
“This doesn’t smell right,” said Herb Lee, a retired San Francisco policeman and twice-a-week Sharp Park golfer. “The proposed ordinance is a sop to the same groups that are suing San Francisco. The Supervisor should not be working with the very people who are suing the city.”
In April, 2009, the Board of Supervisors directed the Recreation and Park Department to study the Sharp Park controversy.
Concluding a 6-month study, the Department and its scientific consultants in November, 2009 recommended a compromise plan to keep the golf course open, but eliminate one hole and modify several others, for the purpose of recovering frog and snake habitat. That plan was adopted unanimously after public hearings in December, 2009 by the Recreation and Park Commission. The Department’s citizens’ advisory committee, known as “PROSAC,” endorsed the compromise plan, and by a 13-2 vote specifically rejected the idea of including the National Park Service in plans for the property.
“This doesn’t smell right,” said Herb Lee, a retired San Francisco policeman and twice-a-week Sharp Park golfer. “The proposed ordinance is a sop to the same groups that are suing San Francisco. The Supervisor should not be working with the very people who are suing the city.”
In April, 2009, the Board of Supervisors directed the Recreation and Park Department to study the Sharp Park controversy.
Concluding a 6-month study, the Department and its scientific consultants in November, 2009 recommended a compromise plan to keep the golf course open, but eliminate one hole and modify several others, for the purpose of recovering frog and snake habitat. That plan was adopted unanimously after public hearings in December, 2009 by the Recreation and Park Commission. The Department’s citizens’ advisory committee, known as “PROSAC,” endorsed the compromise plan, and by a 13-2 vote specifically rejected the idea of including the National Park Service in plans for the property.
Following
public hearings in November, 2008 and November, 2010, the San
Francisco Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved an $8.8
Million joint project with Pacifica’s North Coast County Water
District to irrigate Sharp Park Golf Course with Pacifica recycled
wastewater. Construction began on a system of pipelines and storage
tanks in February, 2011, and completion is scheduled for this Fall.
Congresswoman
Jackie Speier, whose 12th
Congressional District includes parts of San Francisco and San Mateo
Counties, is on record in support of keeping Sharp Park Golf Course
open. Both the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and the
Pacifica City Council have passed unanimous resolutions to keep the
course open.
“The proposal to turn-over Sharp Park to the National Park Service appears unrealistic when there is no money for it in the Park Service budget, and no money likely without support from San Mateo County and Congresswoman Speier’s office,” noted Public Golf Alliance spokesman Richard Harris. “The golf course is a landmark safeguarded by California’s historic preservation laws.
Public agencies in San Francisco and San Mateo County have studied and debated Sharp Park over many years, and have all concluded that the golf course should be saved, and this can be done while recovering habitat for the frogs and snakes.”
__________________________
SOURCES:
Testimony
of Zac Salem, Chair, Golf Committee, Laborers’ Local 261, to Board
of Supervisors’ Govt. Audit & Oversight Committee, Dec. 16,
2009, S.F. Govt. TV, at 2:17:30:
http://sanfrancisco.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=11
San
Francisco Planning Department,
Historic
Resource Evaluation Response, dated February 15, 2011,
Draft
Environmental Impact Report,
Significant
Natural Areas Management Plan, Aug. 31, 2011, Ex. “C” (at pp.
2-5):
Pacifica
Historical Society, Resolution, June 14, 2011:
Cultural
Landscape Foundation, Washington, D.C., July, 2009:
http://www.tclf.org/landslides/sharp-park-golf-course-threatened-closure
San
Francisco Recreation and Park Commission Resolution No. 0912-018,
Agenda Item
No. 11, adopted by unanimous 6-0 vote, December 17, 2009:
PROSAC,
Resolutions [Nos. 1 and 2], adopted by votes of 14-1 and 13-2 on Dec.
1, 2009, submitted to Rec & Park Commission on Dec. 3, 2009:
San
Francisco Public Utilities Commission, minutes of public meeting on
October 28, 2008, at which the PUC adopted Resolution 08-0194 (Agenda
Item No. 11), authorizing the joint wastewater distribution agreement
with Pacifica:
http://sfwater.org/detail.cfm/MC_ID/18/MSC_ID/113/MTO_ID/369/C_ID/4228
San
Francisco Public Utilities Commission, minutes of public meeting on
November 9, 2010, at which time the Pacifica Recycled Water Project
was re-approved (Agenda Items Nos. 11 and 12):
http://sfwater.org/detail.cfm/MC_ID/18/MSC_ID/113/MTO_ID/369/C_ID/5403
North Coast
County Water District, Pacifica Waste Water Treatment Project,
Description
and status reports:
Congresswoman
Jackie Speier, 12th
U.S. Congressional District, Press Release, November 9, 2009:
County of
San Mateo, Resolution of Board of Supervisors, December 18, 2007:
http://sharppark.savegolf.net/data/smbos_res.pdf
City of
Pacifica, Resolution of City Council, December 10, 2007:
http://sharppark.savegolf.net/data/cop_res.pdf
CONTACT:
RICHARD HARRIS, 415-290-5718 (cell)
Submitted by Richard Harris
No comments:
Post a Comment