Sharp Park Golf Course neighborhoods, extremists lost but they continue

Pacifica Tribune/My Turn/4/22/16.  "Coastal plan's aim for Sharp Park sea wall" by Paul Slavin

Those are houses in the background where people
live.  Extreme NIMBIES are still promoting efforts
to turn West Sharp Park area into a floodplain.

"City Manager Lorie Tinfow’s comments on the various regional efforts now underway to help reduce our vulnerability to future weather events (Pacifica Tribune, Local Views, April 6, 2016) included, among others, the Coastal Sediment Management Workgroup (CSMW), a multi-agency task force co-chaired by the California Natural Resources Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers. The CSMW has produced the “San Francisco Littoral Cell Coastal Regional Sediment Plan, Draft, 2016.” It is intended to “frame policy and guidance strategies” for Pacifica, and offers maintenance and management options for every segment of our coastline, based on the present value of the land.

... Ms. Tinfow noted 'some concerns about data gaps in the model. ' One such “data gap” is the complete under-valuation of the Sharp Park Golf Course, its land and infrastructure, its historical, social and civic significance, its federally protected species and their habitat, and the adjacent residential neighborhoods to the north and south.

All this is protected by the Sharp Park seawall which, in the CSMW’s favored options, would be denied maintenance and simply allowed to erode away. That would naturally result in the ocean’s inundation of Laguna Salada and surrounding wetlands, the decimation of the salt-intolerant red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake, and the flooding of great stretches of the golf course and the West Fairway Park and Clarendon Road neighborhoods.

If this plan sounds familiar, you may recall the “Conceptual Ecosystem Restoration Plan,” issued in 2011 by the Wild Equity Institute and the Center for Biological Diversity. It too called for the destruction of the seawall and the golf course.

 ....  San Francisco is legally mandated to maintain and repair the berm and the roadway by the Army Corps of Engineers and the 2012 US Fish & Wildlife Service Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Statement. And in 2015, the California Coastal Commission expressly rejected a demand from Sharp Park opponents to impose a 'managed retreat' condition on the seawall.

Both Bob Battalio, vice president of ESA, and Peter Baye must have been aware of San Francisco’s legal obligation to maintain the seawall, but they gave it no credence in the CSMW plan."  Read article.

Note:  Paul Slavin is President of the Pacifica Historical Society and a long-time supporter of the Sharp Park Golf Course.

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People with a clue know:
Sea wall maintenance and sea wall
development keeps out the ocean.

Clueless extreme NIMBIES:
West Sharp Park should all look like this.
"Managed retreat" (social/community nihilism).  

Reference. Coastal Sediment Management Workgroup (CSMW).  State of CA/Open Coast Littoral Cell.  "The Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan (CRSMP or Plan) for the San Francisco Littoral Cell (SFLC) has been prepared to coastal beach erosion and other sediment-related issues within the Plan boundary. The coastal extent covered by the CRSMP extends from the Golden Gate to Point San Pedro and includes the communities of San Francisco, Daly City, and Pacifica. The SFLC Plan's objective is to assist coastal government entities, municipalities, stakeholders, and communities develop feasible strategies for beneficial reuse of sediments to address coastal erosion and storm damage. The Plan provides information for local and regional coastal decision makers to develop policies and execute management sub-plans for the future vitality of beaches and shoreline areas throughout the littoral cell."  Estuary Partnership/Coastal Regional Draft Plan 2015-16.
"The Coastal Regional Sediment Management Plan (CRSMP or Plan) for the San Francisco Littoral Cell (SFLC) is being developed to assist government entities, municipalities, stakeholders, and communities in developing strategies for the beneficial use of sediments to address coastal erosion and storm damage. The Plan will provide information for local and regional coastal decision makers to develop policies and execute management sub-plans for the future vitality of beaches and shoreline areas throughout the Plan area, which stretches from the Golden Gate to Point San Pedro through the adjacent watersheds and includes the communities of San Francisco, Daly City, and Pacifica (see map). " Midcoast Community Council, coastal meeting announcements, 2016.   A Fix Pacifica meetings posting.
  
Related, ESA (private estuary management company) article reference.  "The plan was prepared by ESA PWA and Peter Baye, PhD, and was cited as the scientific basis for Brent Plater’s repeated attempts to close the Sharp Park Golf Course."  ESA Bay Area Region. ..."We partner with our clients to deliver solutions that are unique to the San Francisco Bay Area." Businessweek/Bloomberg, Company overview of ESA PWA. ..."The company ... offers coastal and estuarine restoration, river and floodplain restoration, flood management, runoff management, and coastal management services.  It serves its customer."  

Definitions: "Managed retreat, or managed realignment". ClimateTechWiki,  Beachapedia,  Wikipedia. and Springer/Esteves, L., 2014/Chapter 2, pdf pages 11, note: Fig 2.2 photograph by Jacques Oudin (Communaute de Communes de ile de Noirmoutier)., computer page 8, (page 26). Nihilism (related to our society and community), Dictionary.com.  Urban Dictionary.  Reddit.  Nihilism and Meaning.  Philosophy Talk

Photographs. Golfer by Adam Lau ,slide 5 of 5 from San Francico Chronicle/C.W. Nevius, 7/10/15, "Losing a lawsuit can mean financial gain".  From Wild Equity Institute News/Permalink. Sea wall maintenance from "SFRPD's Illegal operations continue unpunished at Sharp Park Golf Course, 2/4/16. "The California Coastal Commission is and has been allowing San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department to lawlessly develop and maintain a seawall on the beach at Sharp Park Golf Course. Our allies at Surfrider Foundation, San Francisco and San Mateo County chapters, have written a letter to California Coastal Commission to bring attention to this issue." Flooding from "Bay Area still not serious about preparing for sea level rise, 3/10/16." "The science seems to fall on deaf ears, however, as Pacifica, San Mateo County, and San Francisco continue to authorize shortsighted seaside development projects. ... and "2015: Another year of losses at Sharp Park Golf Course, 1/6/16." "San Francisco’s money-losing, endangered species killing Sharp Park Golf Course once again left City taxpayers with a whopping bill at the close of this fiscal year, bringing the grand total of taxpayer subsidy to 1.8 million dollars over the past decade- losing $160,467.16 per year, on average.

Posted by Kathy Meeh