76 years!

the
Meeting Information for August 27
Potrero Hill Neightborhood House 953 De Haro St. (at Southern Heights) * * *Note New Location!* * *
6:45 - 7:00 PM Refreshments and Social 7:00 PM to 7:45 PM Booster Business Meeting 7:45 PM to 8:30 PM Proposition D Public Power Measure Pro and Con 8:30 PM to 9:00 PM Dialog with Amit Ghosh, PhD - Director of Long Range Planning

Serving the Community since 1926

Potrero Community Voice

Published Monthly by the Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association

August 2002

Sups Take Emergency Planning Action

Supervisor Peskin proposes emergency legislation to allow Board to act as the Planning Commission. This will be at the Transportation and Commerce Committee on August 22 at 9:30 AM and the full board on August 26. City Charter Sec. 2.107 allows the Supervisors to adopt emergency ordinances "for the uninterrupted operation of any City or County department or office required to comply with time limitations as established by law." Passage requires the vote of two-thirds of the Supervisors. The Mayor still has not nominated persons to the Planning Commission and Board of Appeals. The terms of the former Planning Commissioners expired on June 30. It is over 10 weeks past the time (June 1) when the Mayor should have sent nominees for hearing if there was to be no gap in Commission meetings. Even though at least one of his Planning Commission nominees would have been confirmed on June 15--giving the Planning Commission a quorum and the ability to meet--the Mayor withdrew ALL of his nominations on that day. He similarly withdrew ALL of his nominees for the Board of Appeals on July 22 leaving the Board of Appeals without a quorum. The Board has confirmed all three of Supervisor Ammiano's nominees for the Planning Commission and both of the 2 nominees for the Board of Appeals. They were sworn in on August 15.

Presidents Message
Congratulations to our Supervisor Sophie Maxwell. No one filed to oppose her in the fall election. This shows that she has been effective in representing the diverse interests of District 10. She will be campaigning over the next several months, holding workshops to discuss the issues of planning, environment, energy and health. Be on the lookout for her announcements. Also speaking of the Supervisors office, Legislative Aide Greg Asay is tying the knot with Holly Friel on August 17. Best of luck to the newly weds! By time you read this it will be almost two months since we had a Planning Commission. The Mayor is stonewalling the Board of Supervisors. When the Board did not like two of his nominees he withdrew all four nominees. Thereby bringing the Planning approval process to its knees. This Sacramento style of power politics has no place at City Hall. The Board was concerned about the track record of two of the Mayors nominees. If you have been reading the Chronicle lately it sure looks like the Board had a right to be concerned. The Mayor appears to be refusing to name his four picks until the Board agrees to his way or the highway. I encourage you to call or write the Mayor and suggest he nominate neighborhood-oriented people like Dennis Antenore who looked out for neighborhood interests in a balanced fashion. A bit of history: the Mayor appointed Dennis Antenore in 1996. The Mayor fired Dennis in 1999 because of a disagreement over Proposition L. Dennis supported Proposition L while the Mayor wanted the Planning Commissioners to toe the line and support the muchwatered down Proposition K. This disagreement led in part to the new Board of Supervisors and the passage by the voters of Proposition D last year to take three of the planning commission appointment away from the Mayor. Proposition D also gives the Planning Commissioners some autonomy since they now will serve for a fixed number of years. Now the Mayor is playing a game of chicken with the permit approval process in San Francisco. Speaking of planning. Does anyone remember the Better Neighborhoods 2002 effort in Central Waterfront that was an outgrowth of the Neighborhood developed Central Waterfront Plan of 1999? It has been ELEVEN months since the last workshop. I have asked Planning staff what became of this effort. I have not gotten a satisfactory answer and their web site is out of date. On the other hand the Showplace Square / Potrero Hill planning process is a rocket compared to Better Neighborhoods 2002. There are three meetings on Showplace plan scheduled right now for August 21, September 25 and October 30. Plan on being there. On the other hand, it looks like Better Neighborhoods 2002 may be another year or more in the works. Enjoy the rest of your summer John deCastro

Those #&@!! Helicopters!

The Boosters have been hearing from a number of folks about news helicopters hovering over our hill so they can take pretty sunrise and sunset pictures of downtown and the traffic. Below is a guide of the various helicopters and who to call. Booster officers have talked to the stations and suggested that the area south of Cesar Chavez to the east of the 101 freeway would give them the same shot without sitting over people's homes. Helicopters are allowed to fly above urban areas as long as they remain above 1500 feet. All we can do is encourage the stations to be good citizens by not hovering for long periods of time over our homes while they set up a shot. Only the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has jurisdiction over the helicopters and as long as they don't violate federal flight laws the FAA doesn't do anything. The Boosters have found if you are polite when you call and ask the station to move they will generally cooperate. Last year the Board of Supervisors wrote a letter to helicopter operators asking them to not over fly residential neighborhoods early in the day. It worked for a while. Any news directors out there listening? White Blue and Gold with NBC 3 on side (800-441-6223 or 408-297-8780 - Direct line, News Director) White and Blue (no station markings) KPIX Ch.5 (415362-5550 - News Director) Black with KGO 7 KGO-TV (415-954-7926 - News Director) Red with KGO on side KGO Radio (415-954-8142 - News Director) FAA (510-273-7155 - Must have number of the helicopter & it is below 1500 feet or unsafe flying behavior. This is the district office open business days only.) Other helicopters you may see are Bright Orange U.S. Coast Guard and White with CHP (California Highway Patrol) on bottom. The Coast Guard is patrolling the bay and shipping on a regular basis now and they generally don't fly over the Hill.

Potrero Community Voice

August 2002

Neighborhood Meetings & Events

The 4th Annual Dogpatch Block Party - Sunday, Sept. 22 1 - 5 pm Tennessee Street between 20th and 22nd Streets. Blues, Burgers, Beverages, and more... Pick up the famous tee shirt and baseball hat with the Dogpatch logo, in high demand all throughout the world. Come on down the hill to the City's finest little historic neighborhood. The Dogpatch Neighborhood Association thanks local businesses and neighbors for their generous donations.

Community Resources
MAYOR Willie Brown ph: 554-6141 fax 554-6160 damayor@ci.sf.ca.us City Hall 1 Goodlett Place Rm 200 SF Ca 94102 Web site: http://www.ci.sf.ca.us SUPERVISOR FOR DISTRICT 10 (which includes Potrero Hill): Sophie Maxwell (e-mail: Sophie_Maxwell@ci.sf.ca.us) Phone: 554-7670, Fax: 554-7674 DEPT of CITY PLANNING Gerald Green, Director 1660 Mission Street, 5th fir, SF, CA 94103 ph: 558-6411 fax 558-64O9 email: gerald_green@ci.sf.ca.us

Showplace Square / Potrero Hill Planning Meetings On August 21 the most recent workshop occurred. You should BAYVIEW POLICE STATION 201 Williams St, SF 94124 have received a post card in the mail if you have been attending ph: 671-2300 fax 671-2345 the workshops. The next workshop is tentatively scheduled for Capt. Michael Puccinelli ph: 671-2300 fax: 671-2345 September 25th at the Neighborhood House at 5:30 PM. This will SFPD Web site: http://www.ci.sf.ca.us/police be a very important one as the discussion will be around height and bulk issues of buildings with a focus on the Showplace Square and north Potrero Hill. For information or to get on Potrero Boosters Executive Board mailing list contact Scott Edmondson at 415-558-6384 or email President John deCastro 865-0669 scott.edmondson@sfgov.org First Vice President Joe Boss 647-1727 Second Vice President Tony Kelly 341-1310 Annual Potrero Hill Fair - October 12 Recording Secretary Dick Millet 861-0345 The Neighborhood House and SF Art Commission are holding the Corresponding Sec. Kepa Askenasy 431-2304 annual Potrero Hill fair on Saturday October 12 from 9 AM to 5 Treasurer Paul Minton 648-6700 PM. Pancake Breakfast in morning, Fish Fry in the afternoon. Sergeant-at-Arms Ellen Kernaghan 824-5065 Booths, Entertainment, Crafts at the NABE and on Southern Auditors Jean Neblett 550-2613 Heights between Carolina and Rhode Island. George Guenther 282-6822 Annual Potrero Hill History Night - November 9 Mark your calendar for Saturday November 9 for the Annual Potrero Hill History night. This is always a popular event and a fun time. It will be at Daniel Webster School (20th and Missouri) from 6 to 9 PM. Newsletter Editor: Ralph Wilson 824-8749 (newseditor@potreroboosters.org) Our Web Site: potreroboosters.org Cort Dugan, Webmaster (webmaster@potreroboosters.org) Next months Potrero Boosters Meeting: September 24 - District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, plus Hetch

The regular City Planning listing is on vacation--back next month!

Hechy ballot proposition and other propositions.

The Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association is devoted to issues of particular importance to the Potrero Hill neighborhood. Our goals are to act as a forum for concerned Potrero residents and to participate actively in policy and development decisions that affect the quality of life here on the Hill. Meetings are the last Tuesday of the month (7:00 p.m. at the Potrero Hill Neighborhood House) and are open to non-members. Dues: Individual $25, Household (couple) $30, Senior $20, Business $30. Mail check to Potrero Boosters, 1459 18th St., #133, San Francisco, CA 94107. (Make checks payable to: Potrero Boosters.) Enclosed is $________ for __membership(s). Contributions $________ New __ Renewal __ Name(s)________________________________________ (Business)______________________________________ Address _________________________________________________ e-mail _________________________________________ Home phone ____________________ Business phone ____________________Prefer e-mail newsletter (Y/N)? ____ Interests/Concerns/Comments____________________________________________________________________________

The Potrero Community Voice Potrero Boosters Neighborhood Association 1459 18th St. PMB 133 San Francisco, CA 94107

Please check the expiration date on your mailing label Your dues are due by that date!

First Class