Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Supervisor Eric Mar: August Newsletter
Supervisor Eric Mar: August Newsletter
August Newsletter
Special ribbon cutting ceremony revealing two new murals on the front of Green Apple Books with, left to right, coowner Pete Mulvihill, Supervisor Mar, artist Bryana Fleming, and co-owner Kevin Ryan.
Contents
In this newsletter:
Community Updates Outside Lands Returns "Reimagining Geary Street" Town Hall Community Voices - The Importance of Public Transportation Coyotes in Golden Gate Park Richmond District Jog in the Fog 5k Free Jazz Concert City Hall Updates Budget Wrap-Up 5 Fulton Limited Pilot Moves Forward Establishing a New Policy to Combat Bike Theft Healthy Food Retailer Legislation Moves Forward Storm Preparedness Parklet Hearing Contact My Office
Community Updates
Outside Lands Returns
The three-day Outside Lands Music Festival returns to Golden Gate Park Friday-Sunday, August 9-11. This year's lineuppromises to be a great one, highlighted by the appearance of Sir Paul McCartney. Through the advocacy of PAR, numerous community residents, and myself, the management of Outside Lands, by Another Planet Entertainment (APE), has improved every year the Festival has been held. Impact mitigations include much improved monitoring of the sound impacts in the community, deploying Parking Control Officers and tow trucks near the Festival to quickly respond to blocked driveways and other parking violations; a robust annual outreach plan including a mailer to all homes and businesses within four blocks of the Park; deploying crews to clean up litter in the surrounding neighborhoods and a strengthened transportation plan that encourages Festival attendees to arrive by Muni, private shuttles, bicycles or walking. For those who must drive, several schools are holding parking fundraisers during the festival.
These fundraisers are even more beneficial to schools after I passed an ordinance reliving the tax burden on such fundraisers. Schools hosting fundraisers this year include Argonne (PTO website) and Lafayette (PTO website) Elementary Schools and Presidio Middle School (PTSA website).
In addition, the Festival must hire at least 25% of its beverage and security workers from within the Richmond and Sunset Districts, and it provides a $10,000 fee per year to the Richmond District to help with the maintenance and beautification of our parks, contributing a considerable amount to the Recreation and Parks Department, and in conjunction with SFMTA, APE will create a stronger transportation plan for Festival goers. A 2011 SF State Economic Impact Report estimated the economic benefit of the Festival at over $60,000,000, with the lodging and restaurant industries receiving the largest benefits. Due to its location in the western end of the Park, the benefits of the concert extend to numerous locally operated small businesses in the Richmond District. The Festival hires over 4,000 employees for the event and, according to the Economic Impact Report, is responsible for creating the equivalent of 683 full-time positions in San Francisco. Under the terms of its new 8-year lease there are several clauses that will benefit San Francisco, Golden Gate Park, and the Richmond District: An increased rent that will result in an average increase in rent per year of 1.3 million dollars; Requiring APE to host an annual Recreation and Parks Department Fundraiser; Requiring APE to contribute funds annually, in addition to the rent payments due under the lease, to endow a gardener to assist in maintaining the Festival premises throughout the year; Requiring APE to contribute $15,000 annually, in addition to rent payments due under the lease, to provide for materials and supplies to assist with regenerating the Polo Fields after the Festival each year; Requiring APE to employ sound monitoring professionals to measure sound levels in the neighborhoods surrounding Golden Gate Park throughout the Festival each year and to utilize one set of delay speakers in the Polo Fields when attendance exceeds 40,000 and two sets of delay speakers when attendance exceeds 55,000. The Recreation and Parks Department has printed signs alerting attendees to not block driveways, which may be obtained at the front desk of McLaren Lodge at 501 Stanyan St. For towing of cars parked in driveways please directly call MTA at (415) 553-1237. APE provides a Community Hotline to respond to any issues that may affect you during the Festival. The Festival Hotline will be available from 10:00AM - 11:00PM on the Festival days. The Hotline number is (415) 750-3842. For sound monitoring please call (415) 242-6390.
There will also be various closures throughout the Festival days. Polo Field, Hellman Hollow, Marx Meadow, Lindley Meadow, Lloyd Lake, Metson Lake, Spreckles Lake, and the Dog Run will be fenced off for the Festival and closed to non-Festival attendees. Certain roads will also be closed. On the north side of the Park, Transverse Dr at Crossover Dr, JFK Dr at Transverse Dr, 30th Ave, 36th Ave, 43rd Ave, 47th Ave, and JFK Dr at the Great Highway will be closed. On the south side of the Park Martin Luther King Jr Dr at Crossover Dr, 25th Ave, 41st Ave, Martin Luther King Jr Dr at Lincoln Ave, Sunset Blvd at Irving St, and La Playa will also be closed. These roads will be closed from Thursday August 8 at 8:00PM through Sunday August 11 at 11:00PM. Feel free to also contact my office. My Legislative Aide, Nick Pagoulatos, will be monitoring calls and emails throughout the event. He can be reached at (415) 554-7412 or via email at nickolas.pagoulatos@sfgov.org.
Discuss what a better Geary Street could look like, including: Improve safety and walkability for pedestrians. 33% faster travel times on the 38 Geary with Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). Beautify the streetscape to attract & support merchants. Call or email Peter Lauterborn at (415) 554-410 and peter.lauterborn@sfgov.org, or visit www.sfcta.org/geary for more information or to share comments and questions. Wednesday, July 31 6:00-8:00PM Richmond YMCA 360 18th Avenue (Light refreshments offered)
Feed or attempt to tame a coyote. Leave pet food out at night if coyotes may
be nearby. Allow pets to interact with coyotes. Allow pets out at night in coyote habitats. Allow children and pets to roam unsupervised in known coyote habitats. Do: Latch or secure trash can lids if you live in or near a known coyote habitat. Report coyote sightings to the San Francisco Department of Animal Care and Control at acc@sfgov.org or (415) 554-6364. Vaccinate, spay and neuter your pets. Keep your dogs on a leash at all times when outside.
Mayor Ed Lee officially signs off on the budget as supported by members of the Board of Supervisors and other City Hall employees. As Vice-Chair of the Budget Committee, I faced the task of delivering a balanced budget that supported Citywide needs along with protecting the services the Richmond District depends on. In short, this budget is a major victory for the Richmond District. Funding for all afterschool programs, seniors' services, and other resources currently serving the Richmond was restored. This included funding for programs provided by the Richmond District Neighborhood Center including youth employment programming and programs at Alamo, Argonne, Peabody, and LafayetteElementary Schools. Visiting the Northern California Music & Arts Cultural Center, whose Moreover, new funding for funding was restored in the City budget. youth employment programs at the Richmond YMCA and the Institute on Aging's Senior Connect and referral project were approved. These wins are on top of the Citywide wins our District championed for children and families, seniors, and immigrants. All of this was possible because of the hard work of Richmond residents who stood up and advocated for these services. For more information, please contact my aide Nick Pagoulatos at nickolas.pagoulatos@sfgov.org or (415) 554-7412.
If you have any questions or comments, please attend the community meeting (details below) or contact Peter Lauterborn in my office at peter.lauterborn@sfgov.org or (415) 554-7411. Wednesday, August 7 6:00-8:00 PM Richmond Police Station 461 6th Avenue
Getting ready to bike to work with Richmond residents in front of Velo Rouge on Arguello. Working with non-profits like SF SAFE and the Bicycle Coalition, I authored a policy that will do three things: 1. Direct the Police Department to standardize best practices to prevent and report bicycle thefts across the Department, and improve enforcement. 2. Establish a new, voluntary bicycle registration program to help owners recover their bikes when they are found. 3. Greatly increase the number of secure bicycle parking to prevent thefts. If you have any questions about bike theft or the bicycle registry, please contact my aide Peter Lauterborn at peter.lauterborn@sfgov.org or (415) 554-7411. You can also view this coverage on our policy by KTVU.
Storm Preparedness
It is a priority of our City departments to ensure that our residents are prepared for storms with all resources available. Therefore, the Storm Response and Preparedness Hearing focused on adequately preparing our residents for the upcoming storm season. A plan for storm response protocol should include identifying the lead agency in which residents can rely on for assistance during and after a storm, strengthening a consistent storm response system through coordinating with other emergency response plans, and continuing to collect data on storm preparation and response. If you have any questions about storm preparation and response, please contact my aide Victor Lim at or victor.lim@sfgov.org or (415) 554-7413.
Parklet Hearing
In the Richmond District, we are on the verge of opening our first parklet this summer. The first parklet in the Richmond, located in front of Cumaica Caf at the corner of Clement and 3rd Ave., is scheduled to open Saturday, August 3. You can also see if for the first time at the Clement Street Farmer's market from 9am to 2pm. San Francisco's Parklet Program allows community organizations, business owners, and residents to develop and beautify our neighborhood commercial corridors at relatively low costs. However, there are notable impacts on parking and some residents and merchants in areas where there are currently few or no parklets. A parklet may also affect pedestrian traffic and street upkeep.
An early model of the parklet proposed for 3rd Ave. & Clement. I convened a hearing to examine all of these issues and allow community members to express concerns and share what they believe the best practices could be. We heard about the history and innovative nature of San Francisco's parklets, how the process for getting a parklet approved works, and a discussion regarding the responsibility of owners to maintain a parklet that has been permitted and the appeal process for challenging a parklet before it is permitted. Additionally, the issue of finding ways of bringing parklets to Construction begins! Photo courtesy of Amber Bouman lower-income communities was via Twitter. put on the table and provides us with an opportunity to think about how we, as a City can support the equitable dissemination of this concept.
Contact my office
I really want to hear from you about what we can do to make the Richmond District more liveable for everyone. Please contact me at any time, and we will get back to you very shortly. City Hall Office: 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 284 San Francisco, Ca 94102-4689 E-mail: eric.l.mar@sfgov.org Phone: (415) 554-7410 Fax: (415) 554-7415 Website: http://sfbos.org/index.aspx?page=2083