National Golf Advisor considers Sharp Park #1 to save and improve

Article linked from San Francisco Golf Alliance and San Francisco Public Golf Alliance articles, National Golf Press Clippings:  Sharp Park is the top US priority for Muni golf restoration, 6/26/19.

Sharp park Golf Course is worth saving

Golf Advisor, in a May 2019 article, called Sharp Park the highest priority – #1 – on its list of the 10 American municipal golf courses “most worth saving”: "Architects Tom Doak and Jay Blasi, a Bay Area resident, gave recommendations to mow out the 10th and 18th greens to their original shapes created by MacKenzie in 1932.. Sharp Park, which is blessed with some very attractive forested holes and other greens near a walking path along the Pacific Ocean, aches for upgrades..." 

Reference:  Specific Sharp park Golf Course article from the Golf Advisor link: Golf Advisor, Jason Scott Deegan, 5/14/19, "Wish List: 10 Municipal golf course worth saving. These aging munis have great bones or historic pedigrees and could be revived with a proper renovation and more TLC."
# 1.  Sharp Park Golf Course, Pacifica, CA. Revitalizing Sharp Park near San Francisco has been an ongoing drama since 2007, when the San Francisco Public Golf Alliance was formed by Richard Harris and Bo Links, two local attorneys who successfully fought off a lawsuit from an environmental group that wanted to shutter the historic course designed by Dr. Alister MacKenzie. In 2018, Sharp Park was finally able to move forward with slow but steady improvements. Architects Tom Doak and Jay Blasi, a Bay Area resident, gave recommendations to mow out the 10th and 18th greens to their original shapes created by MacKenzie in 1932. Last July, San Francisco Recreation & Parks hiked the green fees by $2 per nine holes to raise money for future improvement projects at both Sharp Park and Lincoln Park, which sports views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Sharp Park, which is blessed with some very attractive forested holes and other greens near a walking path along the Pacific Ocean, aches for upgrades and better management to cure slow play issues.
Golf Advisor user romeogolf didn't pull any punches in this recent review: "On the ocean, Mackenzie designed, muni owned. What else could you ask for? But my goodness, that literally may have been the worst course conditions I’ve ever played in. The grass on the fairways is literally longer than the rough. And, they apparently don’t believe in removing the cuttings from the last mow. Shameful for a city to lay waste to a beautiful property like that. Especially in the Bay Area, where the tax base is the highest in the USA. Pathetic. Staff was super, I feel for them."

Note photographs. Sharp Park Golf Course Clubhouse by Neil Hallare, 9/6/10 found on Yellowbout.
Posted by Kathy Meeh

Tom Lantos Tunnels back-up power system is in place, more to go

CA State Government/District 13, Senator Jerry Hill Press Release, "Utilities, State agencies and law inforcement make strong progress to improve power, internet and communication services for San Mateo County coastside communities", 7/6/19. 

Linda Mar district, night of 3/12/19

Tom Lantos Tunnels at Devil's Slide

....  A series of power and communication service outages beset coastal communities earlier this year. One of the power failures led to a lengthy closure of the Lantos Tunnels at Devil’s Slide, a crucial link for coastal communities and for motorists traveling to and from central San Mateo County. The tunnel closure revealed gaps in interagency communications. Taken together, the problems prompted community concerns about frequent utility outages, the length of time it took to resolve them and public safety.

....  Redundant lines to provide electrical power to the Tom Lantos Tunnels are now in place, according to PG&E’s Darin Cline, who attended the meeting. The improvement, he said, greatly reduces the likelihood of outages due to power failures, which can lead to closure of the tunnels.

....“We recognize that the Coastside is concerned about being cut off in the event of an emergency, and we have made some real progress to be sure that won’t happen,” said Supervisor Horsley. “Residents are also concerned about telephone and internet service, and we are working with the agencies to strengthen the network and connectivity.” 

Related Tom Lantos Tunnels articles.  Closure, and reopening, 3/12/19, 3/13/19: Pacifica Patch/CA News Wire Services, 3/13/19, Highway 1 open at Devils Slide Tunnels: CHP."  Fix Pacifica, 3/26/19: "Tom Lantos Tunnels has design failures."The Daily Journal/Zachary Clark, Staff, "Coastal traffic snafu spurs action , 3/21/19,"Tom Lantos Tunnels has design failures." Pacifica Tribune/Jane Northrop, Staff, "Traffic nightmare ensues after tunnel closure. Generators didn't last long and tree work on Highway 92 made it worse," 3/20/19. Follow-up. Pacifica Tribune, Staff, 7/17/19  (current week only), "The night the tunnel went dark. Redundant power lines now in place. "... Caltrans is exploring ways to secure an onsite power generating station to provide backup power to the tunnels in case PG&E needs to shut off power in the event of a major emergency, said Caltrans Bay Area Director Tony Tavares.  PG&E, AT&T and Comcast are all working on projects to increase the resilience of their systems. Caltrans, California Highway Patrol and Assistant Sheriff Gregory Rothaus and those agencies strengthened their interagency communication and cooperation."  Brief Tom Lantos Tunnels history/conflict,  S2ki.com forum, 3/31/13, ".... The tunnels opened to traffic on March 26, 2013."

Note graphic and photo. Eyes in the dark from Counter Currents/Muzamil, 7/22/16,"Kashmir blackout..." Tom Lantos Tunnels from flickr/bubbletea. 

Posted by Kathy Meeh

City Council meeting, Monday, July 22, 2019 is Cancelled

Summer break for City Council

City of Pacifica/Calendar:  Notice of Cancellation/Sarah Coffey, City Clerk, 7/3/19, pdf pages 1.

...Notice is hereby given that the regularly scheduled meeting of the Pacifica City Council on Monday, July 22, 2019 has been Cancelled.

The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting following the July 8, 2019 meeting will be August 12, 2019. 

Note photograph from Tripster.com

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Democrats meeting, Saturday July 20, 2019 - Our election security

Election integrity: I can see Russia from the cloud.

At the monthly meeting of the Pacifica-Daly City Democrats Club this Saturday, July 20, elections integrity expert Brent Turner will speak to the club, explaining how our current election systems are vulnerable to foreign interference and why implementation of open source technology is necessary to secure the ballot box and provide complete transparency in our elections process. 

These topics are extremely important and timely reminders that the strength and survivability of our democracy depend on the security and trustworthiness of our voting systems. 

The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the rear banquet room at the Sharp Park Golf Course Restaurant.  A full breakfast will be available for $12, continental for $6 or just coffee for $3. However, no purchase is necessary, and the meeting is free and open to the general public.

If you want to join or renew your membership in the Pacifica-Daly City Democrats for 2019, you can do so on Saturday by completing a membership application available at the sign-in table. 

Submitted by Connie Menefee, Vice President, Pacifica-Daly City Democrats Club

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Reference. California Association of Voting Officials (CAVO).  Brent Turner,  Secretary.Mr. Turner is a graduate of Lincoln Law School in San Francisco and has a degree granted by University of San Diego in international legal studies from Oxford, England. Mr. Turner is a community activist whose efforts have included volunteer work for the homeless, children’s health and education, civil rights and environmental issues.  Mr. Turner was instrumental in the creation of the San Francisco County Voting Systems Task Force and has been a director of communications for Open Voting Consortium. Brent has been recognized as a ground breaking activist for sustainability, and dedicates himself to local, state and federal issues.       Note photograph from IBM.com, "Q&A: How open source technology is shaking up the IT landscape.", Camilla Sharpe, 1/31/19.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

Planning Commission meeting, Monday July 15, 2019

Attend in person, 2212 Beach Boulevard, 2nd floor.  Or, view on local Pacific Coast television, PCT/Pacifica Channel 26.  PCT links to meeting videos: calendar, and recent coastside civic meeting videos. City Council and Planning Commission meetings usually begin at 7 p.m., or shortly there following.  City meeting agendas (current and archived) are available on the City meetings calendar.  City websites:  City Council, and Planning Commission.  

Interactive Planning Commission Agenda, 7/15/19     Planning Commission Agenda, pdf pages 130.

Item 2, Salada Avenue. The lot location is a
nice walk to Beach Blvd and the pier area.

Open Session, 7:00 p.m.  Administrative: approval of order of agenda; draft Minutes. a) 6/17/19.  Designation of liaison to City Council meeting:  none. Consent items: none. Consideration items: none.  
Public oral communications. 

New Public hearings

1.   File 2019-010.  PSD-840--19.  Construction of an 855 sf second-story addition to an existing 1,752 sf, one-story single-family residence on a 5,120 sf nonconforming lot:  206 Calaveras Avenue (APN 018-131-050) Vallemar, report.  a) Resolution (draft) and COAs.  b) Land Use/Zoning.  c) Project plans.  d) Materials and colors (proposed).  e) Color rendering. 

2.    File 2017-021.  General Plan land use amendment: from medium density residential to high density residential, and zoning classification amendment from R-2 to R-3, allowing  Construction of a 1,398 SF two-story single-family residence on an existing 2,250 SF non conforming lot, and exception from the two-car garage off-street parking (for single-family residences) by providing one uncovered off-street parking space on a vacant lot located on the south side of Salada Avenue, 325 feet of west of Palmetto Avenue and south side of Salada Avenue intersection (APN 016-050-4000) West Sharp Park, report. a) Resolution (draft) and COAs. b) Land Use/Zoning. c) Revised Salada Beach Subdivision map/block 1, sheet 2.  d) Revised Salada Beach Subdivision map, sheet of 3.  e)  Project plans.

Communications:  Planning Commission, Staff.  Adjourn.

 -------------------- 
Reference, development/planning acronyms.  ADU, Accessory dwelling unit construction, APN, Assessor's parcel number.  CDP, Coastal Development permit.  COAs, conditions of approval.  CZ, (Coastal Zone Combining) zoning districts. DA, development agreement. DP, development permit. HDR, High density residential. GPA, General Plan Amendment.  LCP, Local Coastal Program.  LDR, low density residential.  MDR, medium density residential. MUP, Marijuana Use permit. PD, Planned Development.  PE, Parking Exception.  PSD, Site Development permit. PV, Permit Variance.  RIA, Rent Increase Application.  S, Sign permit. SE, Sign Exception. SF, square foot. SP, Specific Plan.  SUB, Subdivision. TA, text amendment (ordinance). UP, Use permit.    Zoning: California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).   CA CEQA: Guidelines, Article 19, Categorical Exemptions: Class 1 categorical exemptions: existing facilities, section 15301; no significant effect section 15061(b)(3); Freestanding single-family residences set-back and parking, C-1, neighborhood commercial.  C-2, Commercial/Office (within 100  ft. of a residential zone).  C-3, Service Commercial. Class 3 categorical exemption, section 15303(a).  Class 32, Infill Development projects, section 15332.  MND, Mitigated negative declaration. MMRP, Mitigation monitoring and reporting program.    MO-RB, Marijuana Operation-Rockaway Beach Overlay District.  MRO, Marijuana Retail Operation.  PMC, Pacifica Municipal Code.   R1, single-family residential, Reference.com.  R-2, Two family residential; R-3, Multi-family residential; R-3G, Multiple-family residential garden district. RIA, rent increase application.  S, City of Pacifica Sign ordinance.  CA code, accessory (second residential) dwelling units, 65852.2.  Zoning/Planning Handouts, City of Pacifica.  RZ, rezoning. TBD, to be determined. TDR, transfer of development rights (urban planning).  City: Capital Improvement program (CIP), Title/Ordinances/Municipal Code. General Plan. (GP) update documents, background history.  Pacifica Municipal Code (PMC). Local Coastal Land Use Plan, (LCLUP), update documents.     Item 1 information and photograph of 206 Calaveras Avenue, found on Zillow.  Item 2 Salada Avenue west of Palmetto found on Google, also see Google map.    Note Photograph of Pacifica Pier is by Gurmeet Manku from Gurmeet.net,"Sharp Park Beach to Pacifica State Beach, 6/18/11. 
Posted by Kathy Meeh