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In
This Issue Updates The
Housing Element - City Passes Element, Next Step Lucas Powerline - PG&E/Lucas EMF Feeder Study Undergrounding Utility Wires on Greenwich and cross streets - Options for Neighbors
Traffic Calming Program - Reduce Disruption, Improve Safety 2004 Annual Meeting - Minutes from Meeting Tell a Friend - Become a Member Next Cow Hollow Board Meeting - October 5, 2004
Neighbors Prevail...Verizon Files Lawsuit
On May 11th, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously (10-0, Ammiano absent) to revoke the permit granted by the Planning Commission for Verizon Wireless to erect a 3-G cellular site on top of the Pacific Motor Inn (corner of Lombard and Broderick). After 9 months of hearings, meetings and negotiations, the cohesive efforts of many neighbors along Greenwich and surrounding streets, lead by Mary Irene Zemanek and Lori Brooke, resulted in a victory that many thought wasn't possible. Supervisor Alioto-Pier was instrumental in our success by clearly supporting the neighborhood's position. The victory was not long lasting. In mid-July, we learned from a Deputy City Attorney that Verizon has filed a lawsuit against the City for its recent decision in the antenna appeal for the Pacific Motor Inn. According to the attorney, it is likely Verizon will not pursue the lawsuit until the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issues a decision in the MetroPCS v. City & County of SF case, which concerns a 2002 Board of Supervisors decision to deny MetroPCS antennas at 17th Ave. & Geary. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled oral argument to take place in the MetroPCS v. City & County of San Francisco case on Monday, October 4, likely sometime after 10:00 a.m. at 95 Seventh St. in San Francisco. This is the first antenna-siting case to be determined by the
Ninth Circuit. It has far-reaching implications, not only locally
(if the City loses, then disputed antenna sites now in litigation
in the Sunset and Cow Hollow will be allowed to be installed),
but throughout California and beyond. After the hearing is held,
a decision will likely be issued at the end of this year or in
the early part of 2005. The hearing is open to the public. Most recently at the July 20, 2004 Board of Supervisors meeting, Supervisor Ma, along with Supervisors Ammiano and Dufty, called for a hearing on issues related to the revision of the City's antenna-siting guidelines. It was referred to the Land Use Committee, which has heard this issue in the past, and whose current members are Supervisors McGoldrick, Peskin and Maxwell. As soon as we learn of a firm date for the hearing, we will pass it along. The Land Use Committee generally meets Mondays at 1:00 p.m. in City Hall. This situation is further proof that we, as concerned neighbors, need to pressure members of the Board of Supervisors to take action that would eliminate the need for these appeals by strengthening the City's antenna-siting guidelines. The CHA will remain involved in this effort and keep you informed of any developments. The Housing Element City Passes Element, Next Step Despite opposition from several San Francisco neighborhood organizations, the San Francisco Housing Element has sailed through the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors. The Housing Element is a major part of San Francisco's General Plan that seeks to ensure adequate housing for current and future San Franciscans. Its chief proponent, Gerald Green, Director of the Planning Department at that time, first presented the substance of the Housing Element to Cow Hollow at our 2003 annual meeting. At that meeting, he forewarned the members in attendance that the document would be controversial and it certainly is. The philosophical premise of the Housing Element is based on two ideas: (1) that the way to make housing in San Francisco more affordable is to build more of it (up to 20,000 units). The single family residence is an inefficient use of land and should be replaced with multi-family buildings allowing for greater density at affordable prices, and (2) a "public-transit first" policy takes precedence over the current requirement of 1:1 off-street automobile parking considerations. The plan has proven controversial because it threatens to increase housing densities in residential neighborhoods like Cow Hollow without an increase in parking, thus disturbing the neighborhood character. Beyond that, this extensive plan to build 20,000 plus units was done without an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which is required by State law. Despite the fact the Planning Department had EIRs done in 1983 and 1990 for the previous Housing Elements, the Planning Department simply issued what's called a Negative Declaration claiming that any impacts on the environment would be speculative. The Housing Element was also prepared without any input from the neighborhoods that may be affected by the new policies. Although the Coalition of San Francisco Neighborhoods (CSFN) did negotiate amendments to the Housing Element with the Planning Department, the appellants did not agree to those amendments and the effectiveness of the amendments is doubtful. For these reasons, and many others, neighborhood organizations came together to appeal the Negative Declaration and to demand an EIR. On May 13, 2004, the appellants, who included approximately 25 neighborhood organizations, testified at the Planning Commission hearing in hopes that the Planning Commission would insist that an EIR be prepared for the latest Housing Element. However, the Planning Commission unanimously denied our appeal and approved the Planning Department's decision to issue the Negative Declaration in lieu of preparing an EIR. The Planning Commission then heard arguments on the Housing Element itself. As expected, the Commission approved the project without any consideration of the appellants' arguments. The appellants then appealed to the Board of Supervisors, requesting an appeal of the Negative Declaration and the preparation of an EIR. The hearing took place on June 29, 2004. Despite extensive lobbying efforts, the appellants lost again with a 6-4 vote with Supervisor Sandoval absent. Our votes came from Supervisors Hall, Peskin, Ma and Alioto-Pier. As it stands now, the appellants have written a letter to the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) detailing why the Housing Element is not in compliance with state law. HCD reviews the Housing Element for compliance. The appellants are raising funds to commence a lawsuit to require an EIR before the City can finalize or implement these new housing policies. The alliance of neighborhoods has retained a noted environmental law specialist to prepare the record and represent the appellants in the suit. The lawyer will handle the lawsuit for a flat fee, which must be raised quickly. For further information and a more detailed analysis, visit the
Save Our Neighborhoods website at www.saveourneighborhoods.org.
If you would like to contribute to the lawsuit, you can complete
the form below and return it with your tax-deductible check payable
to Appeal Legal Fund, PHRA, 2443 Fillmore Street #192, San Francisco,
CA 94115. (Pacific Heights Residents Association is acting as depository).
In the event a lawsuit is not brought, your donation will be returned.
Address___________________________________________Zip Code____________ E-Mail___________________________________________FAX________________ Neighborhood Organization__________________________Amount_______________ James Andrews, Electrical Engineer, and Kristen Sparrow, MD, both of Mentor Associates, have initiated a comprehensive study to demonstrate and record any increase in Electric and Magnetic Fields (EMFs) along the Lucas Powerline - Lyon to Filbert to Pierce. This study has been generously paid for by a number of Cow Hollow residents and we thank you for your support. A complete list of supporters will be distributed with the next Newsletter. Information on contributing to this Study follows the Phase 1 information. The Study will cover approximately one year's worth of readings and analyses taken along the street and at critical points such as taps and junction points. Any readings from the interiors of homes along the route could be done on a case by case after the "baseline" data is established. This can be arranged by contact Mr. Andrews directly at 415.265.9334. Phase 1
Update (7/12/04) by James Andrews, Mentor Associates and Cow Hollow
Resident Attached are a few photos of that "riser" mentioned above at Lyon/Greenwich the first one shows the specifications including the "25KV" rating. To Support the PG&E/Lucas EMF Feeder Study We are well on our way to our final fundraising goal of $10,000
to implement our projects for reducing the impacts of the Lucas
Powerline (Bay-Fillmore-Filbert-Lyon Streets) on our residential
neighborhood. If you have not participated in our campaign, please mail your TAX-DEDUCTIBLE contribution as soon as possible to: Cow Hollow Association, Inc.* Any contribution will be greatly appreciated. Please write FOCH-EMF
on your check. Undergrounding Utility Wires Options for Neighbors Supervisor Alioto-Pier's office held a meeting on May 12, 2004
for neighborhoods who are interested in underground wiring. Representatives
from Greenwich Street and Jordan Park attended. Also present were
Lester Rose (PG&E) and Barbara Moy (DPW).
Another option to pass legislation for undergrounding (that is neighborhood funded) is to get a two-thirds majority vote by registered voters in the proposed undergrounding area - called a Melarouse. This option, according to Supervisor Alioto-Pier's office, is not typically used. As you can tell, this is going to be a difficult process and the
neighbors need to determine what efforts and costs they are willing
to take to make the undergrounding happen in this area. The CHA
will keep you informed of any efforts to begin this process.
To help you make an informed decision, the Cow Hollow Association, Golden Gate Valley and Neighbors in Action (NIA) will co-host a forum for District 2 Supervisor candidates. Here is your chance to hear first hand from the candidates who are competing to represent our interests.
See you there. Reduce Disruption, Improve Safety Cow Hollow Association board will soon be submitting an application to the San Francisco Department of Parking and Traffic's Traffic Calming Program. This program is designed to help neighborhoods, through community planning processes, develop solutions to various traffic hazards. Neighborhood-wide traffic calming improvements are underway in Bernal Heights and are planned for Jordan Park and Japantown. Specific projects, such as speed humps and traffic circles, can be seen on West Clay Park, West Pacific, Cervantes, and Page Street. As relevant to Cow Hollow, the program recognizes the need to reduce the hazards to residential neighborhoods from "cut-through" traffic trying to save time by avoiding major arteries. The blocks between the Presidio and Divisadero have experienced change in the past year -- good for some blocks, bad for others. The closing off of Lyon Street reduced much of the cut-through" traffic using Lyon and Green Streets as a way to avoid some of the congestion on Lombard and Divisadero. Baker Street soon saw increases, and neighborhood efforts resulted in the installation of "calming" poles designed to discourage the use of Baker as a substitute for Lyon. Speeding taxis and other commercial drivers have been observed in recent months roaring at inappropriate and unsafe speeds up Broderick and along Filbert and Greenwich. When the Lucasfilm Ltd. facility in the Presidio opens for business, we expect further changes in neighborhood traffic -- and not reductions, unfortunately. We hope that by taking the pro-active step of working together to develop solutions to Cow Hollow's traffic problems, we can make Cow Hollow a safer place for walking, cycling and driving. We will keep you informed of any neighborhood meetings to discuss these issues with DPW. For more information about the Traffic Calming Program, please
visit: http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/site/dpt_index.asp?id=13568.
2004
Annual Meeting
Minutes from Meeting Cow Hollow Association The minutes of the May 6,2003 meeting were approved as written. Nominating Committee Report: Carol Livingston Treasurer's Report: Lori Brooke Presenter: Heather Fong, San Francisco Police
Chief Chief Fong detailed some of the innovations
in the Department:
Presenter: Michela Alioto-Pier, San Francisco
Supervisor, District #2 Lori Brooke, President-elect, was introduced and thanked Tony Imhof for his two year presidency. Carol Livingston presented Tony with a hard to find book on the history of Cow Hollow. The meeting was adjourned at 7:15pm. Respectfully submitted, Become a Member
Tuesday, October 5, 2004 at 5:30pm The CHA board and advisory members’ meet the first Tuesday of each month at 5:30pm . The location rotates among board member’s homes. We are always looking for new board members who want share their talents and passion for the preservation and improvement of our neighborhood. You are welcome to attend a meeting to listen to the issues or bring up a topic of concern to you. To attend a meeting, please contact the CHA President, Lori Brooke at 415-749-1841 for the location. If you wish to be removed from our mailing list, please click here to respond. We will unsubscribe you immediately. Privacy Guarantee: Your information will never be given, rented or sold to a third party. Your privacy will be respected with utmost regard. © Copyright 2004 Cow Hollow Association. All Rights Reserved. |