With the giants game going on, it was no wonder that only 16 people showed up for the meeting! Huge thanks for the folks who helped distribute the fliers!: Ted Teipel, Kevin Dunn, Barbara Presta, John Koelsch, Nathan Hall, Kazumi Matsuyama, Janice Low, Philip Byland and Kathy Flanders.
Jeff Adachi, Public Defender of SF since 2002, is the author of Proposition B. The goal of Prop B is to reign in pension and health care costs to the city. After Jeff described the proposition in great detail, I asked him 5 questions. Then he took questions from the group. This is by far the most contentious SF ballot measure this year. Public employees are upset that their benefits will be cut, labor unions are fighting to keep these benefits for the employees, and the city is looking for ways to eliminate or reduce some of its skyrocketing expenses. The biggest burden would be on those who earn less, who have more than 2 children and who are hoping to keep their current health plan. Whether it's Prop B or some other drastic measure, some method of cutting costs will need to be implemented.
Mike Lowman, a member of the Civil Sidewalks field staff came to discuss Proposition L & M. Prop L would enable police to address the problem of people camping out on sidewalks and in many cases disrupting residents, merchants and shoppers. It would be in affect only from 7AM - 11PM, and only pertain to sidewalks. It would not change people's ability to camp out in plazas or in doorways. The SF version of this proposition originated in the Haight where the problem has become extreme. It's designed to close a loophole in the police's ability to request that a person or people move along or risk getting arrested. Something similar has been enacted in 60 other US cities. He also discussed Proposition M, which is the "poison pill" for Prop L. If Prop M gets one vote more than Prop L - even if Prop L passes, Prop M's passage would void Prop L. (Very confusing - sorry!)
Traffic Calming: Back in August or September, several of us went down to City Hall for the MTA hearing on our traffic calming plan for 17th St. The plan is to build an island median on the downhill side of the street, just above the top of the Corbin Steps. And a speed radar sign a bit farther down the hill. Almost all of us got up to speak - all in favor. No one spoke out against it. And it passed!
Here's the schedule I received from the person who handles traffic calming at MTA:
End of November - Finalize the locations of the island and speed radar sign.
End of December - Finalize costs and designs.
January - March, 2011 - Construction. The large window of time is to cover
DPW's construction crews' schedules and weather conditions.
75 Mars: The owner of this home has applied for permits to do a major enhancement to the property. He would like to add a unit below on the Corbett side, and an additional level above. There is a hearing scheduled for November 17th. In addition, he would like to clean out the northernmost part of the little pocket park on Mars/Corbett, and build a public stairway from near the base of his property up to Mars, near where the little bench is. This second proposal would involve separate permitting, and is far from being addressed with the Planning Dept. If you would like more information, or to see a copy of the plans, just let me know.
Corbett Slope: For years, after our success in preventing the largest open space in our neighborhood from becoming housing, I have been talking and meeting with people about possible uses for it that would keep it green and building-free. Currently no one is allowed inside. All likely winners in the District 8 Supervisor's race are pro green space. Last week I met with Karly Nagy and Jay Rosenberg at the site. They are with the SF Permaculture Guild and Kitchen Garden SF. We discussed possibilities that they could envision for the space. The Permaculture Guild educates young people about land use, soil improvement and garden design - among many other things. The hope is that some of these students would opt to work on the Corbett Slope, come up with some plans, discuss with our neighborhood, and hopefully get some assistance from us to make improvements. I'll keep you posted.
STOP signs on Mars: There is a desire by many to reduce the speed of traffic on 17th and Corbett. Our island median will hopefully alleviate this problem on 17th St. Exiting Mars in either direction can be life-risking if you've ever done it. The problem we have is that both Corbett and 17th are "major arterials" and it is very difficult, if not impossible to have STOP signs installed on such streets. In these cases it would be completely unacceptable to MTA and DPW. A neighbor had hoped to at least get STOP signs that would cause Mars traffic to stop. But since there is no possibility of exiting Mars without stopping, the idea has been tabled.
AT&T's proposed utility boxes: As AT&T's product has been losing some of its edge of late, and they are losing market share for some of its products, they are wanting to become more competitive with companies like Comcast and Verizon. Whereas those 2 companies have managed to provide internet service relatively unobtrusively, AT&T wants to erect 726 enormous boxes on our sidewalks - adjacent to their existing boxes. The new ones would be 48" tall, 51.7" wide and 26" deep. They would also be beige - graffiti magnets - AND they would hum all day - a sound similar to an electric toothbrush, according to an ATT rep. Many groups I am involved with have met to discuss this issue. Everyone would want ATT customers to have access to the UVerse product, but we are pushing them to do this without creating such visual and audible blight.
Cannabis Clubs: There were 2 applications for Cannabis outlets in the Castro - one to go into the FinDecor store on Noe St near La Mediterranee, the other into the Earthtones space on Market near Gold's Gym. Both have been tabled due to their proximity to schools. They would need to be at least 1000 feet from any school, and these 2 locations did not satisfy that requirement.
Gold's Gym: Gold's is just one of several new projects proposed along the Upper Market corridor. The original plans called for an additional floor of gym and 2 floors of rental housing above that. This plan would put them over the maximum height limit, so they are working with the Planning Dept to come up with a way around that. Almost all of the neighborhood associations and merchants approve of the plan. Word got around last week that Richard Rowling, founder and CEO of TRT Holdings, which owns the Gold's Gym brand as well as Omni Hotels, contributed over $2 million to American Crossroads, a major player behind several anti-gay candidates in this year's midterm and local elections. American Crossroads was founded by Karl Rove. The local Gold's is looking to remove itself from the Gold's
umbrella, but their contract doesn't expire until September 2012.
Trader Joe's: It is becoming more and more likely that we will not see a Trader Joe's in the old Tower Records building. There are so many roadblocks that it would be difficult for them to overcome most of them. There's the parking issue, traffic, Radio Shack's not agreeing to leave, among many other problems.
Whole Foods: The proposed store on Market at Dolores, in the old S&C Ford dealership is inching closer to acceptance. They've gotten support from almost every organization in the area as well as the neighbors, but the city still has some issues with parking. If you'd like to check out the plans, you can view them at: 2001marketsf.com.
If any of you is website-smart, and would be interested in helping out with our erstwhile website, please let me know. It would be greatly appreciated. Also, membership dues are $15/year, and they cover July thru June. If you'd care to join or renew, please send a check (made out to CHN or Corbett Heights
Neighbors) or cash to 123 Corbett or to 78 Mars - or drop it in either mailbox.
Thanks for your interest in our neighborhood!
- Gary
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
CORBETT HEIGHTS NEIGHBORS - Meeting Notes - July 22, 2010
Hello Neighbors,
We had a pretty full room for last night's meeting - 36 people attended.
I'd like to thank the people who distributed the fliers that announced the meeting: Ted Teipel, Sarah Linker-Sobel, Janice Low, Kevin Dunn, Rich Johnson, Nathan Hall, Philip Bylund, Michaeline Kiss, Kathleen and Hank Flanders and John Koelsch.
Your help is greatly appreciated!
Jim Chien from CleanPowerSF spoke first. This program is being run by the SFPUC. As of this coming winter our electricity will be provided by CleanPowerSF. Meter boxes will remain the same and the bills will continue to come from PG&E. Currently the electricity that PG&E provides comes from only 15% renewable sources. The California requirement is 20%. CleanPowerSF will start at 20% and go up to 30% in a few years. Some of the energy they will be providing will be from their own sources and the rest will come from other companies that they will partner with to provide renewable electricity.
After 60 days, I believe, we will have the opportunity to opt out of this service and return to PG&E. The rates will be comparable to what you're currently paying. Also, the rate will be established every January and will not change thru December. Clean energy is still a bit more expensive, but this shouldn't be reflected in your bill - PG&E spends hundreds of millions on marketing, advertising and for political reasons.
Owen Kennerly of Kennerly Architecture designed the proposed building expansion at 75 Mars. The design is very modern. The height of the roofline will increase by 8 - 9'. It is currently a small single residence - the original garage has been used as a living room for years. The plan is to add one level, and for a 2nd unit to be built on the laundry level. It will have a bay that goes out beyond the current rear of the house. The entrance to the lower unit will be on an easement created on the side of the building.
Corbett currently dead-ends behind this house with no access to anything without turning back. There is a 2nd, totally separate plan to create a stairway that would connect the continued sidewalk on Corbett to Mars. There would be landscaping (no larger trees will be eliminated), lighting and irrigation installed.
Many years ago an owner of this house appropriated a large section of the park and built a fence around it. This area would be opened up to the public.
Bill Hemenger, who is a candidate for Supervisor in District 8 attended and spoke about himself and his beliefs and intentions, if elected. His stance is very pro-business. He supports "sit/lie", "Fix Muni" and more parking. I asked him which politicians he admires and/or he would try and emulate. He chose Sean Elsbernd as his favorite, but also admires Bevan Dufty. Both are moderates or to the right.
Supervisorial Debate: There will be a debate sponsored by DTNA (Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Ass'n) and EVNA (Eureka Valley Neighborhood Ass'n) on Monday, October 18 at Davies Hospital. More info to follow.
17th St Traffic Calming: Antonio Piccagli, who spoke to our group a year or so ago has been transferred to the bicycle division. He had been our contact at SFMTA. Prior to his transfer he initiated the legislative approval process required to install the median island on 17th St. at the Corbin Steps. There will be a public hearing on Friday, August 13 to approve the red zones. All are welcome to attend. Letters or emails of support are welcomed. Notices will go up on telephone poles on or around August 2.) If the red zones are approved, the proposal will then be heard by the SFMTA board on the 3rd Tuesday of either September or October. After something passes the public hearing, it is highly unlikely for it not to be approved by the SFMTA board. While the legislative process is following its course, MTA will be working with DPW on the detailed design of the island and on scheduling the anticipated construction this fall.
Speed Radar Sign - approved. Installation anticipated for fall 2010. Location: either between 4341 and 4343, or between 4353 and 4367. I'm not certain which site was selected.
1395/1397 Clayton: After initially taking out permits in 2002, the project sponsor discussed the plans with neighbors and the Dept. of Building Inspection for several years, eventually reaching consensus. Then, when the economy turned sour, the original owner sold the property. The new owner retained the same architect and the same plans. DBI gave the final go-ahead just 3 months ago.
Bill Bonacker, the architect, is a preservationist and has served on several preservation boards. The design is not an imitation of a historic building, but it promises to be a more superior design because of Mr. Bonacker's sensitivities to surrounding older properties.
The plan is for one home per lot. Apparently each of the 2 lots is zoned for 3 units. There will be 3 living levels over garage. They will be set back, with the upper floors set back farther. The remaining open space will be the right of way adjacent to Pemberton Steps. We received a copy of the plans yesterday and the design is good - a giant step up from most things that have been built in the neighborhood for some time.
136 Ord: After about 2 years of battling the new owner - John Moroney - we lost in that the Planning Commission voted to not discuss and possibly alter the plans during a Discretionary Review hearing on July 8. Earlier in the year, the Commission requested that he move the house back. So, in the end, the house is about 7' shorter and about 10' farther back on the lot, allowing for more green, open space in front.
CHN Parks: There recently was a cleanup - organized by Leslie Koelsch - at the Ord Triangle Park on Ord/17th St/Corbett. A great improvement! Many thanks to Leslie and John Koelsch, Rob Rynski, Rick Johnson, Kevin Dunn, Ben Frombgen and Jessie Eicher. Many of our other parks have seen better days. PLEASE volunteer for cleanups. If you are interested in helping during future cleanups, please let me know.
Trader Joe's: There are still several hurdles that Trader Joe's needs to get beyond before getting the go-ahead. First is a traffic study. It is probably more likely that this study will pass if no parking at all is provided. If the small lot on the roof is used for customers there will be a continuous line of cars around the block all day. Second is Radio Shack, which has still not committed to moving out. The most likely location would be the Plant It Earth store directly across the street. If they agreed to this move they would still need to apply for an "conditional use" permit, since a "formula retail" (chain store) would be occupying a locally owned store. The third hurdle is that the estate of the owner of the Kard Zone has not been settled yet. Until it is, nothing can happen on the ground floor.
2299 Market (The Church Pit): The project sponsors resisted making some desired changes to their plan until 2 neighborhood organizations requested a discretionary review. At the eleventh hour they agreed to make a few changes that will improve the plan sufficiently, and promises to satisfy just about everyone. Groundbreaking can happen as soon as financing is arranged - possibly as early as this fall.
Gold's Gym: The intent of the owners of the gym is to construct a 3rd floor of gym and 2 floors of rental housing above. The latest has the owners giving a substantial amount back to the neighborhood, and thru some interesting manipulations their will likely be approved.
Medical Cannabis Clubs: 2 sets of partners have applied to open up cannabis dispensories in the Castro; one would be at the existing FineDecor store just down from La Mediterranee on Noe St. Their lease would not be renewed. The ground floor would sell cannabis as well as herbs and potions. The 2nd floor would be used for offices and storage.
The other would be at the soon-to-depart Earthtones store on Market St.
Jane Warner: In case you hadn't heard, Jane Warner, formerly of the SF Patrol Special Police passed away a couple of months ago after a long battle with cancer. She had attended CHN meetings in the past, and even patroled our neighborhood for a short time a couple of years ago. She was a wonderful woman who seemed to know every person in the Castro - from merchants to homeless. She is greatly missed.
- Gary Weiss, President CHN
We had a pretty full room for last night's meeting - 36 people attended.
I'd like to thank the people who distributed the fliers that announced the meeting: Ted Teipel, Sarah Linker-Sobel, Janice Low, Kevin Dunn, Rich Johnson, Nathan Hall, Philip Bylund, Michaeline Kiss, Kathleen and Hank Flanders and John Koelsch.
Your help is greatly appreciated!
Jim Chien from CleanPowerSF spoke first. This program is being run by the SFPUC. As of this coming winter our electricity will be provided by CleanPowerSF. Meter boxes will remain the same and the bills will continue to come from PG&E. Currently the electricity that PG&E provides comes from only 15% renewable sources. The California requirement is 20%. CleanPowerSF will start at 20% and go up to 30% in a few years. Some of the energy they will be providing will be from their own sources and the rest will come from other companies that they will partner with to provide renewable electricity.
After 60 days, I believe, we will have the opportunity to opt out of this service and return to PG&E. The rates will be comparable to what you're currently paying. Also, the rate will be established every January and will not change thru December. Clean energy is still a bit more expensive, but this shouldn't be reflected in your bill - PG&E spends hundreds of millions on marketing, advertising and for political reasons.
Owen Kennerly of Kennerly Architecture designed the proposed building expansion at 75 Mars. The design is very modern. The height of the roofline will increase by 8 - 9'. It is currently a small single residence - the original garage has been used as a living room for years. The plan is to add one level, and for a 2nd unit to be built on the laundry level. It will have a bay that goes out beyond the current rear of the house. The entrance to the lower unit will be on an easement created on the side of the building.
Corbett currently dead-ends behind this house with no access to anything without turning back. There is a 2nd, totally separate plan to create a stairway that would connect the continued sidewalk on Corbett to Mars. There would be landscaping (no larger trees will be eliminated), lighting and irrigation installed.
Many years ago an owner of this house appropriated a large section of the park and built a fence around it. This area would be opened up to the public.
Bill Hemenger, who is a candidate for Supervisor in District 8 attended and spoke about himself and his beliefs and intentions, if elected. His stance is very pro-business. He supports "sit/lie", "Fix Muni" and more parking. I asked him which politicians he admires and/or he would try and emulate. He chose Sean Elsbernd as his favorite, but also admires Bevan Dufty. Both are moderates or to the right.
Supervisorial Debate: There will be a debate sponsored by DTNA (Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Ass'n) and EVNA (Eureka Valley Neighborhood Ass'n) on Monday, October 18 at Davies Hospital. More info to follow.
17th St Traffic Calming: Antonio Piccagli, who spoke to our group a year or so ago has been transferred to the bicycle division. He had been our contact at SFMTA. Prior to his transfer he initiated the legislative approval process required to install the median island on 17th St. at the Corbin Steps. There will be a public hearing on Friday, August 13 to approve the red zones. All are welcome to attend. Letters or emails of support are welcomed. Notices will go up on telephone poles on or around August 2.) If the red zones are approved, the proposal will then be heard by the SFMTA board on the 3rd Tuesday of either September or October. After something passes the public hearing, it is highly unlikely for it not to be approved by the SFMTA board. While the legislative process is following its course, MTA will be working with DPW on the detailed design of the island and on scheduling the anticipated construction this fall.
Speed Radar Sign - approved. Installation anticipated for fall 2010. Location: either between 4341 and 4343, or between 4353 and 4367. I'm not certain which site was selected.
1395/1397 Clayton: After initially taking out permits in 2002, the project sponsor discussed the plans with neighbors and the Dept. of Building Inspection for several years, eventually reaching consensus. Then, when the economy turned sour, the original owner sold the property. The new owner retained the same architect and the same plans. DBI gave the final go-ahead just 3 months ago.
Bill Bonacker, the architect, is a preservationist and has served on several preservation boards. The design is not an imitation of a historic building, but it promises to be a more superior design because of Mr. Bonacker's sensitivities to surrounding older properties.
The plan is for one home per lot. Apparently each of the 2 lots is zoned for 3 units. There will be 3 living levels over garage. They will be set back, with the upper floors set back farther. The remaining open space will be the right of way adjacent to Pemberton Steps. We received a copy of the plans yesterday and the design is good - a giant step up from most things that have been built in the neighborhood for some time.
136 Ord: After about 2 years of battling the new owner - John Moroney - we lost in that the Planning Commission voted to not discuss and possibly alter the plans during a Discretionary Review hearing on July 8. Earlier in the year, the Commission requested that he move the house back. So, in the end, the house is about 7' shorter and about 10' farther back on the lot, allowing for more green, open space in front.
CHN Parks: There recently was a cleanup - organized by Leslie Koelsch - at the Ord Triangle Park on Ord/17th St/Corbett. A great improvement! Many thanks to Leslie and John Koelsch, Rob Rynski, Rick Johnson, Kevin Dunn, Ben Frombgen and Jessie Eicher. Many of our other parks have seen better days. PLEASE volunteer for cleanups. If you are interested in helping during future cleanups, please let me know.
Trader Joe's: There are still several hurdles that Trader Joe's needs to get beyond before getting the go-ahead. First is a traffic study. It is probably more likely that this study will pass if no parking at all is provided. If the small lot on the roof is used for customers there will be a continuous line of cars around the block all day. Second is Radio Shack, which has still not committed to moving out. The most likely location would be the Plant It Earth store directly across the street. If they agreed to this move they would still need to apply for an "conditional use" permit, since a "formula retail" (chain store) would be occupying a locally owned store. The third hurdle is that the estate of the owner of the Kard Zone has not been settled yet. Until it is, nothing can happen on the ground floor.
2299 Market (The Church Pit): The project sponsors resisted making some desired changes to their plan until 2 neighborhood organizations requested a discretionary review. At the eleventh hour they agreed to make a few changes that will improve the plan sufficiently, and promises to satisfy just about everyone. Groundbreaking can happen as soon as financing is arranged - possibly as early as this fall.
Gold's Gym: The intent of the owners of the gym is to construct a 3rd floor of gym and 2 floors of rental housing above. The latest has the owners giving a substantial amount back to the neighborhood, and thru some interesting manipulations their will likely be approved.
Medical Cannabis Clubs: 2 sets of partners have applied to open up cannabis dispensories in the Castro; one would be at the existing FineDecor store just down from La Mediterranee on Noe St. Their lease would not be renewed. The ground floor would sell cannabis as well as herbs and potions. The 2nd floor would be used for offices and storage.
The other would be at the soon-to-depart Earthtones store on Market St.
Jane Warner: In case you hadn't heard, Jane Warner, formerly of the SF Patrol Special Police passed away a couple of months ago after a long battle with cancer. She had attended CHN meetings in the past, and even patroled our neighborhood for a short time a couple of years ago. She was a wonderful woman who seemed to know every person in the Castro - from merchants to homeless. She is greatly missed.
- Gary Weiss, President CHN
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Corbett Heights Neighbors - October 22, 2009 - Meeting Notes
Greetings Neighbors -
Big crowd last night for our quarterly meeting - 33 people showed up.
I'd like to thank the folks who distributed the fliers: Nancy Peoples, Ted Teipel, Pat Hufford, Marianne Mitten, Kathy Flanders, Kevin Dunn, Rick Johnson, Kazumi Matsuyama, Janice Low and John and Leslie Koelsch. Your help was greatly appreciated!!
Recently, long-time resident Don Cassidy passed away, and will be greatly missed. Some time ago, his wife Catherine told me an amusing story about Don's family. His parents and grandparents lived together at 364 Corbett. Sometime in the 60's, the neighbors at 366 Corbett build an addition onto the top of their house. This blocked the Cassidys' view of Twin Peaks, so they decided to raise their own house by 5 feet in order to regain their lost view. Sometime later, the neighbor to the east at 362 Corbett decided to sell. Fearing they would possibly lose their downtown view at some point in the future, Violet and Rod Cassidy decided to purchase 362 Corbett, thereby ensuring that their view would remain. Violet died a year or so ago at age 105.
Traffic Calming: Antonio Piccagli of MTA has been updating me regularly on the status of our traffic calming solutions for 17th Street. Because of its proximity, the Buena Vista and Roosevelt project has been merged with ours, so MTA is, more or less, treating them as one. The following is from an email I received from Antonio on October 12:
Our Five-Year Prioritization Plan (5YPP) is up for approval by the County Transportation Authority (TA) at the end of this month. If the TA approves the plan, we should get funding for many of the items in the BV/Roosevelt/17th St areawide project in a few months. We submitted the 5YPP for comment over two (over three?) months ago and still don't have approval. The process is long and frustrating and has had significant comment and changes from individual supervisors, which has extended the process well beyond our wildest imagination.
As regards the speed radar sign... The Signal Shop should be installing the speed radar signs on Market St (inbound before Romain and before Hattie) soon. If sufficient money is left from that job order, I will submit the work order to have the crews install the 17th St speed radar sign. However, before I can authorize the expense, I have to make sure that the money is there to spend. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may have to wait until the rest of the area wide funding comes in (see comments above). All of the funding issues have reduced our ability to
implement in the short term, but it seems as though we may get funding for the rest of the project faster than initially projected. In summary, the wheels are turning, albeit slowly. I would love to get everything installed faster than this but too much is out of my hands, and some is even out of our agency's hands.
And following are the speed radar signs that will be installed sometime soon (the last one will actually be moved a block west and is not new.)
SPEED RADAR SIGNS - INSTALL
3600-3700 block of Market Street (one sign on the odd side, roughly between Argent and Romain Streets)
4300 block of 17th Street (one sign on the odd side, between Temple and Ord Streets)
3000 block of Market Street (one sign on the odd side, between Hattie and Danvers Streets. Note: the existing sign on Market between Douglass and Eureka is to be moved to this new location)
Next, a neighbor on Ord Street spoke about Propositions C, D and E.
Prop C: A yes vote means that SF can enter into a naming rights contract for Candlestick Park. 50% of the revenue from the sale would be used to fund directors of recreation centers in the city.
The city is short on funds, but 4 years ago the majority of SF voters chose to keep Candlestick Park as the name. The question is whether, during the next budget crunch, the Golden Gate bridge naming rights will be sold as well.
Prop D is an ordinance that would create a special sign district on and near Market Street, between 5th and 7th Streets to allow new general advertising signs in that district. This district would not be subject to the citywide ban on new general advertising signs or the ban on all general advertising signs in the Market Street Special Sign District. The signs would include roof signs, video signs, rotating signs, wall signs, signs with moving parts and signs with illumination. This proposition, if approved, is only reversible by another ballot measure.
Please check out: http://nonewbillboards.org/
Prop E: "Shall the City prohibit an increase in the number of general advertising signs on street furniture and specifically prohibit new general advertising signs on city-owned buildings?" This is a good one! In 2007, 62% of voters had approved a non-binding resolution that called for no new advertising in the public right-of-way. Prop E would allow this to become law.
136 Ord: There are many reasons that we love our neighborhood. The 100 block of Ord Street, west side between Market and Corbett, is one of them. The 4 "inner" lots are recessed between 30 and 90 feet back from the sidewalk. This creates a most unusual, and extremely beautiful, park like atmosphere. The fact that the 4 homes are almost hidden behind walls of green, adds some mystery to the block as well. During our last meeting, in July, the project sponsor, who purchased the property about a year ago, spoke to us about his plan to build a new 3-story home in the front of the lot - 15' back from the sidewalk. Clearly, the construction of this home, in one of the center 2 lots would eliminate the contiguous green stretch that has been enjoyed by the entire neighborhood for almost 100 years. About a dozen neighbors, in partnership with Corbett Heights Neighbors, have decided to apply for a Discretionary Review. A D.R. is a special review process by the Planning Commission that is used when there are exceptional and extraordinary circumstances associated with a proposed project. In this case, the project sponsor's plans have complied with sufficient planning code requirements. The D.R. will allow CHN and the neighbors to show the Planning Commissioners what it is about this wonderful site that we feel is important enough to be preserved. There was a presentation about and a description of the project, followed by questions from the group of attendees. Afterwards I called for a vote by the CHN members present, on whether to support or not support the decision to use the discretionary review process to protest this project. (All of Corbett Heights was informed prior to the meeting that this vote would take place.) The vote: 19 in favor of supporting our efforts to seek a discretionary review; 0 against.
150 Corbett: There is a 2-flat older building at 4347 17th Street that is on a lot that goes through to Corbett. On the Corbett end is a 2-car garage. The owner of the lot would like to merge the 2 flats in the building on 17th Street, and construct a new 4-story building on the site of the garage.
This scenario is repeating itself throughout our neighborhood and beyond. There are many things wrong with this project, but the 2 most outstanding problems are the reduction of rear-yard open space, and the scale - an imposing, 4-story building on such a small lot. I will be sending out another email that details the variance hearing that will be taking place next week. I hope you can attend, or at least write a letter stating your opinion.
Lots of Grocery Store Options: With the almost certain approval of the Whole Foods store (they hope to break ground next summer) on Market at Dolores (former S&C Ford dealership), the existing Safeway, and the possible addition of a Trader Joe's on the site of the old Tower Records store, there will be 3 giant grocery outlets within a 3 block stretch of Market Street. Trader Joe's has entered into an agreement with the owner of the Market & Noe Center (Tower building) to lease the entire building. The entire ground floor would be the retail store, and the 2nd level would be TJs offices and storage. The Radio Shack would very likely move into the vacant Plant It Earth store across the street. The other 3 businesses would need to leave also. There is a very long process of approval or denial ahead, and the residents and businesses in the general vicinity have greatly varied opinions on whether or not this is a good idea. The presence of such a large, mostly empty building has had a very negative impact on neighboring merchants and the neighborhood as a whole. And the presence of such a high-profile store would certainly revitalize the block. But many are very concerned about issues such as pedestrian safety, loss of street parking, illegal parking, backed-up traffic and the impact on other retailers - especially food retailers.
Corbett Heights Neighbors has grown to include 3 new streets - Douglass and Ord, north of 17th Street, and Ord Court. 3 people showed up from our newly expanded area.
Vacant Building Inquiry: I received an email from our local police station - Park Station - requesting information on any vacant buildings that we're aware of. We know of one at 4388 - 90 17th Street, but if you know of others, either let me know, or send an email to: sfpdparkstation@sfgov.org.
Garden Cleanups: We've recently had some cleanup days in several of our pocket parks, and the results are remarkable. The planting beds on either side of the Corbin Stairs got a great facelift with major weeding and a slew of new plants - in addition to a whole truckload of mulch that was supplied by DPW. "Sweetgum Corner" on Mars at 17th Streets had chest-high weeds prior to our workday there. After weeding we spread another truckload of mulch from DPW, and planted a bunch of new plants. Fred Breiten and Nancy Peoples have been generously keeping it watered.
On Halloween we're hoping to organize another group of dedicated neighbors to finish the cleanup of "Merritt Park" (Merritt, Danvers, Market) that was started by the city.
Please come and join us!
- Gary
Big crowd last night for our quarterly meeting - 33 people showed up.
I'd like to thank the folks who distributed the fliers: Nancy Peoples, Ted Teipel, Pat Hufford, Marianne Mitten, Kathy Flanders, Kevin Dunn, Rick Johnson, Kazumi Matsuyama, Janice Low and John and Leslie Koelsch. Your help was greatly appreciated!!
Recently, long-time resident Don Cassidy passed away, and will be greatly missed. Some time ago, his wife Catherine told me an amusing story about Don's family. His parents and grandparents lived together at 364 Corbett. Sometime in the 60's, the neighbors at 366 Corbett build an addition onto the top of their house. This blocked the Cassidys' view of Twin Peaks, so they decided to raise their own house by 5 feet in order to regain their lost view. Sometime later, the neighbor to the east at 362 Corbett decided to sell. Fearing they would possibly lose their downtown view at some point in the future, Violet and Rod Cassidy decided to purchase 362 Corbett, thereby ensuring that their view would remain. Violet died a year or so ago at age 105.
Traffic Calming: Antonio Piccagli of MTA has been updating me regularly on the status of our traffic calming solutions for 17th Street. Because of its proximity, the Buena Vista and Roosevelt project has been merged with ours, so MTA is, more or less, treating them as one. The following is from an email I received from Antonio on October 12:
Our Five-Year Prioritization Plan (5YPP) is up for approval by the County Transportation Authority (TA) at the end of this month. If the TA approves the plan, we should get funding for many of the items in the BV/Roosevelt/17th St areawide project in a few months. We submitted the 5YPP for comment over two (over three?) months ago and still don't have approval. The process is long and frustrating and has had significant comment and changes from individual supervisors, which has extended the process well beyond our wildest imagination.
As regards the speed radar sign... The Signal Shop should be installing the speed radar signs on Market St (inbound before Romain and before Hattie) soon. If sufficient money is left from that job order, I will submit the work order to have the crews install the 17th St speed radar sign. However, before I can authorize the expense, I have to make sure that the money is there to spend. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may have to wait until the rest of the area wide funding comes in (see comments above). All of the funding issues have reduced our ability to
implement in the short term, but it seems as though we may get funding for the rest of the project faster than initially projected. In summary, the wheels are turning, albeit slowly. I would love to get everything installed faster than this but too much is out of my hands, and some is even out of our agency's hands.
And following are the speed radar signs that will be installed sometime soon (the last one will actually be moved a block west and is not new.)
SPEED RADAR SIGNS - INSTALL
3600-3700 block of Market Street (one sign on the odd side, roughly between Argent and Romain Streets)
4300 block of 17th Street (one sign on the odd side, between Temple and Ord Streets)
3000 block of Market Street (one sign on the odd side, between Hattie and Danvers Streets. Note: the existing sign on Market between Douglass and Eureka is to be moved to this new location)
Next, a neighbor on Ord Street spoke about Propositions C, D and E.
Prop C: A yes vote means that SF can enter into a naming rights contract for Candlestick Park. 50% of the revenue from the sale would be used to fund directors of recreation centers in the city.
The city is short on funds, but 4 years ago the majority of SF voters chose to keep Candlestick Park as the name. The question is whether, during the next budget crunch, the Golden Gate bridge naming rights will be sold as well.
Prop D is an ordinance that would create a special sign district on and near Market Street, between 5th and 7th Streets to allow new general advertising signs in that district. This district would not be subject to the citywide ban on new general advertising signs or the ban on all general advertising signs in the Market Street Special Sign District. The signs would include roof signs, video signs, rotating signs, wall signs, signs with moving parts and signs with illumination. This proposition, if approved, is only reversible by another ballot measure.
Please check out: http://nonewbillboards.org/
Prop E: "Shall the City prohibit an increase in the number of general advertising signs on street furniture and specifically prohibit new general advertising signs on city-owned buildings?" This is a good one! In 2007, 62% of voters had approved a non-binding resolution that called for no new advertising in the public right-of-way. Prop E would allow this to become law.
136 Ord: There are many reasons that we love our neighborhood. The 100 block of Ord Street, west side between Market and Corbett, is one of them. The 4 "inner" lots are recessed between 30 and 90 feet back from the sidewalk. This creates a most unusual, and extremely beautiful, park like atmosphere. The fact that the 4 homes are almost hidden behind walls of green, adds some mystery to the block as well. During our last meeting, in July, the project sponsor, who purchased the property about a year ago, spoke to us about his plan to build a new 3-story home in the front of the lot - 15' back from the sidewalk. Clearly, the construction of this home, in one of the center 2 lots would eliminate the contiguous green stretch that has been enjoyed by the entire neighborhood for almost 100 years. About a dozen neighbors, in partnership with Corbett Heights Neighbors, have decided to apply for a Discretionary Review. A D.R. is a special review process by the Planning Commission that is used when there are exceptional and extraordinary circumstances associated with a proposed project. In this case, the project sponsor's plans have complied with sufficient planning code requirements. The D.R. will allow CHN and the neighbors to show the Planning Commissioners what it is about this wonderful site that we feel is important enough to be preserved. There was a presentation about and a description of the project, followed by questions from the group of attendees. Afterwards I called for a vote by the CHN members present, on whether to support or not support the decision to use the discretionary review process to protest this project. (All of Corbett Heights was informed prior to the meeting that this vote would take place.) The vote: 19 in favor of supporting our efforts to seek a discretionary review; 0 against.
150 Corbett: There is a 2-flat older building at 4347 17th Street that is on a lot that goes through to Corbett. On the Corbett end is a 2-car garage. The owner of the lot would like to merge the 2 flats in the building on 17th Street, and construct a new 4-story building on the site of the garage.
This scenario is repeating itself throughout our neighborhood and beyond. There are many things wrong with this project, but the 2 most outstanding problems are the reduction of rear-yard open space, and the scale - an imposing, 4-story building on such a small lot. I will be sending out another email that details the variance hearing that will be taking place next week. I hope you can attend, or at least write a letter stating your opinion.
Lots of Grocery Store Options: With the almost certain approval of the Whole Foods store (they hope to break ground next summer) on Market at Dolores (former S&C Ford dealership), the existing Safeway, and the possible addition of a Trader Joe's on the site of the old Tower Records store, there will be 3 giant grocery outlets within a 3 block stretch of Market Street. Trader Joe's has entered into an agreement with the owner of the Market & Noe Center (Tower building) to lease the entire building. The entire ground floor would be the retail store, and the 2nd level would be TJs offices and storage. The Radio Shack would very likely move into the vacant Plant It Earth store across the street. The other 3 businesses would need to leave also. There is a very long process of approval or denial ahead, and the residents and businesses in the general vicinity have greatly varied opinions on whether or not this is a good idea. The presence of such a large, mostly empty building has had a very negative impact on neighboring merchants and the neighborhood as a whole. And the presence of such a high-profile store would certainly revitalize the block. But many are very concerned about issues such as pedestrian safety, loss of street parking, illegal parking, backed-up traffic and the impact on other retailers - especially food retailers.
Corbett Heights Neighbors has grown to include 3 new streets - Douglass and Ord, north of 17th Street, and Ord Court. 3 people showed up from our newly expanded area.
Vacant Building Inquiry: I received an email from our local police station - Park Station - requesting information on any vacant buildings that we're aware of. We know of one at 4388 - 90 17th Street, but if you know of others, either let me know, or send an email to: sfpdparkstation@sfgov.org.
Garden Cleanups: We've recently had some cleanup days in several of our pocket parks, and the results are remarkable. The planting beds on either side of the Corbin Stairs got a great facelift with major weeding and a slew of new plants - in addition to a whole truckload of mulch that was supplied by DPW. "Sweetgum Corner" on Mars at 17th Streets had chest-high weeds prior to our workday there. After weeding we spread another truckload of mulch from DPW, and planted a bunch of new plants. Fred Breiten and Nancy Peoples have been generously keeping it watered.
On Halloween we're hoping to organize another group of dedicated neighbors to finish the cleanup of "Merritt Park" (Merritt, Danvers, Market) that was started by the city.
Please come and join us!
- Gary
Corbett Heights Neighbors - July 23, 2009 - Meeting Notes
Hi All -
We had a full house for our meeting Thursday - almost 30 people showed up.
First I'd like to thank Pat Hufford, Leslie and John Koelsch, Michaeline Kiss, Kazumi Matsuyama, Janice Low, Cindy Valdes and Kathy Flanders for helping distribute the fliers. There are about 800 households in Corbett Heights, and we try to flier every one of them. If you'd like to add your name to the list of distributors, PLEASE let me know!
I tried to answer most questions about the status of Traffic Calming on 17th St. Here is an abbreviated version:
- The median island, which will be located above the Corbin Stairs, will be installed a bit later than we had hoped - November at the earliest, and next summer at the latest. Budgeting, planning, designing, a public hearing and final approvals are all in play. But it WILL happen.
- It will be 10 - 15 feet long and about 6" high. The shape and configuration will accommodate access to the 2 garages on the north side of the street.
- Most likely, only 2 parking spaces will be lost.
- When the time comes for the hearing to be scheduled, it will help tremendously for us to either attend, or to write letters of support. Letters can also be sent electronically.
- The Speed Radar Sign will most likely be located around 4355 17th St. This area has the least visual interference from street trees. Installation should be around October.
Brad Burton from 1 Block off the Grid spoke at lengh about our options for installing solar panels. The time is great right now as there are considerable incentives. 1BOG negotiates to get group discounts from quality installers, so that solar can be more affordable. Visit their site at: http://1bog.org/ For more information you can also contact Brad directly at: brad@1bog.org
Alex Randolph, who is the Mayor's liason to District 8 and to the LGBT community answered some questions that I had presented to him earlier, and others from the group. He will make sure that someone takes a look at the mess of ivy on Clayton and also the almost-dead pine tree. Both will hopefully be removed. Many of our pocket parks have water pipes running thru them from long-forgotten times when the city used to maintain them. Most have been shut off making maintenance of these spaces very challenging. One such site is the corner of Mars and 17th. The other is the Corbett Slope on the south side of the 300 block of Corbett - going all the way down to Market. Alex invited Laura Spanjian, with the SFPUC (San Francisco Public Utilities Commission) to help with those issues. She attended the meeting and spoke of her plans to talk directly with the city departments that have jurisdiction over those parcels. Hopefully we'll have water there soon! We have also been hoping to be able to gain access to the Corbett Slope. The weeds and the trash have gotten out of control. It is the largest green space in Corbett Heights, and it would be nice for it to be cleaned up regularly.
I am working with some other members of EVPA (Eureka Valley Promotion Ass'n) on a set of Residential Design Guidelines that will eventually go up on our website. Each neighborhood in San Francisco has unique characteristics; some contain more older homes, or more one-story, or 3 unit or apartment buildings, etc. Often the guidelines used by the Planning Dept. are not sufficient to address these multiple characteristics. Several neighborhood organizations have developed their own guidelines.
When developers come into a neighborhood with the hopes of maximizing their investments, they often try to construct something that is way out of character. With guidelines in place, we will have a stronger voice at the Planning Dept.
The planned construction at 1344 Clayton/372 Corbett has been pulled indefinitely. It met with fierce objections from almost everyone.
Their are still no updates on the proposed new construction at 136 Ord. The main objection to this project has been that the new house would eliminate the extremely unique, multiple-front garden that currently exists across 4 lots. It is a beautiful setting that exists nowhere else in the city.
Since our last meeting, we've had a major garden cleanup/planting at the corner of Mars and 17th St. Years of weeds and trash were removed, old plants were pruned and new ones planted. Leslie Koelsch has been helping organize the pocket park cleanups. The plan is to have one per month on the last Saturday. If you'd like to join the list of volunteers, please let me know.
The new 17th Street Plaza on 17th St. next to the gas station and the F-line turnaround near Market and Castro has been a huge success. There were 2 reviews planned before permanent approval can take place. The first was a couple of weeks ago, after 2 months, and the 2nd will be 4 months later. The feedback at the first review was almost unanimously positive. If given final approval it will officially become a plaza and more permanent fixtures and plantings will be discussed.
Whole Foods has hopes to occupy the entire ground floor of the new building that is being planned to replace the old S&C Ford store. The market will have 29,715 square feet of floor space. The building will have 6 floors of housing - 80 residential units. 15% of the units will be "affordable". There will be 2 subsurface parking levels. .75 spaces per unit. 60 spaces for residential, and 65 for retail.
They still have a number of hoops to jump thru before final approval, but most neighborhood groups have approved of the plan so far. The architects and the folks from Whole Foods have made a great and wise effort to appeal to all of the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.
1960 - 1998 Market has received initial approval for an 85' tall glass structure on the site of the existing 76 Station. It will have 115 condos above ground-floor retail.
1800 block of Market - formerly the Sue Mills building, and adjacent to the LGBT Center. Construction has begun. It will be 113 units, and have a rooftop pool and spa.
2200 Market, the site of the Thai House Restaurant, and owned by Leticia Luna of Leticia's Mexican Restaurant, has received funding and should be set to go any time now.
Chase Bank, on the site of the old Sinclair paint store at Sanchez, 15th and Market, is planning an August opening. It will have a community room that will be available to neighborhood groups.
Tower Records - Lots of gossip about Trader Joe's going in there, but at this point that's all it is.
2299 Market (The Church Pit) - Formerly Trinity Episcopal Church and home of the Eureka Theatre, it was burned down by an arsonist in November, 1981. It has most recently been used as a Christmas tree lot. The plan is for a 5 story, 50 foot tall building with 18 residential units, 1 or 2 ground floor businesses, and 19 underground parking spaces. The design is very far from getting neighborhood approval.
CORBETT HEIGHTS NEIGHBORS just had its 5th Anniversary!
If you've already paid your 2009 dues ($15/year, payable in July), thank you! If not, please send a check payable to CHN or Corbett Heights Neighbors to 123 Corbett, 94114.
You can remain a member without paying if this would be a hardship. Just let me know.
Everyone is welcome to attend meetings. Membership provides you with frequent neighborhood updates via email, and with the knowledge that you are contributing to the well-being of Corbett Heights.
- Gary
We had a full house for our meeting Thursday - almost 30 people showed up.
First I'd like to thank Pat Hufford, Leslie and John Koelsch, Michaeline Kiss, Kazumi Matsuyama, Janice Low, Cindy Valdes and Kathy Flanders for helping distribute the fliers. There are about 800 households in Corbett Heights, and we try to flier every one of them. If you'd like to add your name to the list of distributors, PLEASE let me know!
I tried to answer most questions about the status of Traffic Calming on 17th St. Here is an abbreviated version:
- The median island, which will be located above the Corbin Stairs, will be installed a bit later than we had hoped - November at the earliest, and next summer at the latest. Budgeting, planning, designing, a public hearing and final approvals are all in play. But it WILL happen.
- It will be 10 - 15 feet long and about 6" high. The shape and configuration will accommodate access to the 2 garages on the north side of the street.
- Most likely, only 2 parking spaces will be lost.
- When the time comes for the hearing to be scheduled, it will help tremendously for us to either attend, or to write letters of support. Letters can also be sent electronically.
- The Speed Radar Sign will most likely be located around 4355 17th St. This area has the least visual interference from street trees. Installation should be around October.
Brad Burton from 1 Block off the Grid spoke at lengh about our options for installing solar panels. The time is great right now as there are considerable incentives. 1BOG negotiates to get group discounts from quality installers, so that solar can be more affordable. Visit their site at: http://1bog.org/ For more information you can also contact Brad directly at: brad@1bog.org
Alex Randolph, who is the Mayor's liason to District 8 and to the LGBT community answered some questions that I had presented to him earlier, and others from the group. He will make sure that someone takes a look at the mess of ivy on Clayton and also the almost-dead pine tree. Both will hopefully be removed. Many of our pocket parks have water pipes running thru them from long-forgotten times when the city used to maintain them. Most have been shut off making maintenance of these spaces very challenging. One such site is the corner of Mars and 17th. The other is the Corbett Slope on the south side of the 300 block of Corbett - going all the way down to Market. Alex invited Laura Spanjian, with the SFPUC (San Francisco Public Utilities Commission) to help with those issues. She attended the meeting and spoke of her plans to talk directly with the city departments that have jurisdiction over those parcels. Hopefully we'll have water there soon! We have also been hoping to be able to gain access to the Corbett Slope. The weeds and the trash have gotten out of control. It is the largest green space in Corbett Heights, and it would be nice for it to be cleaned up regularly.
I am working with some other members of EVPA (Eureka Valley Promotion Ass'n) on a set of Residential Design Guidelines that will eventually go up on our website. Each neighborhood in San Francisco has unique characteristics; some contain more older homes, or more one-story, or 3 unit or apartment buildings, etc. Often the guidelines used by the Planning Dept. are not sufficient to address these multiple characteristics. Several neighborhood organizations have developed their own guidelines.
When developers come into a neighborhood with the hopes of maximizing their investments, they often try to construct something that is way out of character. With guidelines in place, we will have a stronger voice at the Planning Dept.
The planned construction at 1344 Clayton/372 Corbett has been pulled indefinitely. It met with fierce objections from almost everyone.
Their are still no updates on the proposed new construction at 136 Ord. The main objection to this project has been that the new house would eliminate the extremely unique, multiple-front garden that currently exists across 4 lots. It is a beautiful setting that exists nowhere else in the city.
Since our last meeting, we've had a major garden cleanup/planting at the corner of Mars and 17th St. Years of weeds and trash were removed, old plants were pruned and new ones planted. Leslie Koelsch has been helping organize the pocket park cleanups. The plan is to have one per month on the last Saturday. If you'd like to join the list of volunteers, please let me know.
The new 17th Street Plaza on 17th St. next to the gas station and the F-line turnaround near Market and Castro has been a huge success. There were 2 reviews planned before permanent approval can take place. The first was a couple of weeks ago, after 2 months, and the 2nd will be 4 months later. The feedback at the first review was almost unanimously positive. If given final approval it will officially become a plaza and more permanent fixtures and plantings will be discussed.
Whole Foods has hopes to occupy the entire ground floor of the new building that is being planned to replace the old S&C Ford store. The market will have 29,715 square feet of floor space. The building will have 6 floors of housing - 80 residential units. 15% of the units will be "affordable". There will be 2 subsurface parking levels. .75 spaces per unit. 60 spaces for residential, and 65 for retail.
They still have a number of hoops to jump thru before final approval, but most neighborhood groups have approved of the plan so far. The architects and the folks from Whole Foods have made a great and wise effort to appeal to all of the residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.
1960 - 1998 Market has received initial approval for an 85' tall glass structure on the site of the existing 76 Station. It will have 115 condos above ground-floor retail.
1800 block of Market - formerly the Sue Mills building, and adjacent to the LGBT Center. Construction has begun. It will be 113 units, and have a rooftop pool and spa.
2200 Market, the site of the Thai House Restaurant, and owned by Leticia Luna of Leticia's Mexican Restaurant, has received funding and should be set to go any time now.
Chase Bank, on the site of the old Sinclair paint store at Sanchez, 15th and Market, is planning an August opening. It will have a community room that will be available to neighborhood groups.
Tower Records - Lots of gossip about Trader Joe's going in there, but at this point that's all it is.
2299 Market (The Church Pit) - Formerly Trinity Episcopal Church and home of the Eureka Theatre, it was burned down by an arsonist in November, 1981. It has most recently been used as a Christmas tree lot. The plan is for a 5 story, 50 foot tall building with 18 residential units, 1 or 2 ground floor businesses, and 19 underground parking spaces. The design is very far from getting neighborhood approval.
CORBETT HEIGHTS NEIGHBORS just had its 5th Anniversary!
If you've already paid your 2009 dues ($15/year, payable in July), thank you! If not, please send a check payable to CHN or Corbett Heights Neighbors to 123 Corbett, 94114.
You can remain a member without paying if this would be a hardship. Just let me know.
Everyone is welcome to attend meetings. Membership provides you with frequent neighborhood updates via email, and with the knowledge that you are contributing to the well-being of Corbett Heights.
- Gary
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Minutes from the Meeting of Corbett Heights Neighbors - Jan. 22, 2009
First of all, many thanks to all the folks who helped distribute the meeting fliers: Ted, Kazumi, Leslie and John, Cindy, Janice and Michaeline. Your help was much appreciated!
Capt. Teresa Barrett of Park Station attended to speak with the group about crimes and crime prevention in our area. Several people described some of the crimes that have taken place recently. According to Capt. Barrett, and others who have spoken with us, it is crucial to report any crime that has occurred to the local police station. Crime has increased tremendously due to the current economic situation.
To report a crime taking place, or in any emergency, call 911.
For any non-emergency, call 553-0123.
To contact Park Station directly, call 242-3000.
For online crime reporting, go to http://www.sfgov.org/site/police_index.asp?id=28854.
There are instructions at the bottom. You just need to select the type of crime and go from there.
I hate to report this, but I have discontinued payment to the SF Patrol Special Police. Our primary contact - Jane Warner - had been out for a couple of months, and now is on leave for medical reasons. Up until recently there were other officers filling in, but I haven't seen anyone lately.
They have, in my opinion, provided a valuable service.
Traffic Calming on 17th St.:
Last month, 8 of us met with Antonio Piccagli of MTA to discuss our options for slowing down traffic on 17th St. Antonio gave us a form that asked us which of the various traffic calming options we prefered.
The overwhelming choice was a median opposite the Corbin Steps, just down from the Temple intersection.
The double yellow line would remain in place, but traffic in the downhill direction would be diverted to the right by a median. The median would be between 15' - 20' long and 4' - 6' wide, and would be installed south and adjacent to the existing yellow lines. There will be a reflector post as well as another yellow line that skirts the island diverting traffic to the right as it heads downhill.
The only potential problem is that the median would prevent residents of 2 homes (one which has been vacant for some time) from accessing their garages while traveling downhill. A possible solution would be for the median to be only 2" high instead of the standard 6". Those residents would then be able to drive across the median. If, however, we are able to have the 6" high curb, planting on it would be a possibility.
If we are able to get the approval of the neighbors, DPW and the Fire Department before budgets are set by the end of June, we may expect the job to be completed sometime in 2010.
Speed Radar Sign:
The initial plan was to install a sign similar to the one on Market, between Douglass and Eureka, but that type of sign requires electricity. The only electricity available on 17th St. would have to have come from an existing telephone pole , but PGE does not allow anything to be attached to the poles.
The alternative is to install a solar sign that would be located between 4353 and 4367 17th St. If the cost of the sign is below a certain threshhold, we may be able to get it installed within the next 6 months. If the cost is greater, it may have to go out to bid. This could delay the project for another year.
Now that UNDERGROUNDING IS DEAD AND BURIED, we were talking about having a "Reclaim the Sky" block party. We're planning on getting permits to close off one street to traffic for the event. A pot luck and/or a barbecue would be planned. We're considering a Saturday in May. The 2 choices for a street location are Ord - opposite the park - or Mars. Kevin Dunn and Leslie Koelsch will be working out the details. We'll keep you posted.
Repaving of Corbett has been completed! I may have started the ball rolling on this project, but without Dan McKenna's help it probably wouldn't have happened. If you feel so inclined, please send him a note thanking him. dan.mckenna@sfdpw.org
Pocket Parks: Several of us on the "Garden Committee" met a couple of weeks ago and discussed plans for maintenance of the parks, as well as ways to determine the best way to allocate the money we have on hand. Volunteers will be needed for any of several weeding/trimming days we'll schedule.
If you haven't already given me your name, and you'd be interested in volunteering, let me know. We'll let you know of the upcoming dates being planned.
A Tree Planting with Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) that had been planned exclusively for Eureka Valley, has been expanded to include Corbett Heights. The only problem was that we didn't know about it until a few days prior to the deadline to sign up. A few of us were able to act fast, so expect to see at least a few more trees getting planted on Valentine's Day.
Walgreen's has decided to continue its attempt to absorb storefronts in the Castro by resubmitting its application to expand into the old laundromat adjacent to the existing Walgreens satellite on 18th St. Last year the Planning Department diapproved the plan. But they're back with the same plan. The Planning Department has again disapproved it, but with some tricky stuff.....you never know, they could succeed. The hearing is next Thursday, 2/5 at 1:30. If you're interested in attending, or want more information, please let me know.
AT&T Equipment Boxes: AT&T has been trying to win approval of the Planning Department to install 850 "video-ready access devices throughout the city that will serve as junctions between the company's fiber optic system and homes subscribing to U-verse TV, a new service being billed as a high-power alternative to cable television." The "equipment cabinets" would be spread around San Francisco, and would stand over 4' tall by over 4' wide by about 2+' deep. There would be several in the Corbett Heights area. If you've seen the one on the corner of the park at Corbett/17th/Douglass, imagine that these new ones would be about 1 1/2 times as large. Wherever they are installed they are graffiti magnets.
People around the country are furious about this as they seem to have no say. There will be hearings in San Francisco, and AT&T still has some work to do before getting these approved. More information on this to come.
Harvey Milk Branch Public Library: As most of you know, the Harvey Milk Library branch on 16th St. near Sanchez, is being rebuilt. What you probably didn't know, was that, although there was sufficient funding allocated for the structure, nothing was allocated for shelves, desks, computers..... Amazing, but true. Friends of SF Public Libraries has begun a fundraising drive. You may purchase an engraved brick with your, or someone else's name on it for a tax-deductable $250. For more information on this, call Mary Abler at 626-7512 ext 107. Or visit their website at: www.friendssfpl.org.
Farmer's Market: From the last Wednesday in April thru the last Wednesday in October, we will have a farmer's market on Noe St. between Market and Beaver. It will go from 4PM - 8PM. This has been approved by the great majority of residents, local businesses and the city.
Some Corbett History (courtesy of Mae Silver, a local historian and former resident of Corbett Ave.):
One of the ranchos granted by the Mexican-California government between 1821-1867 was called Rancho San Miguel, and was owned by Jose de Jesus Noe from 1846 - 1852. The size of his rancho was a Spanish league, or 4444.34 acres - 1/6 of SF, and was in its geographical center. The northern boundary cut diagonally across Mt Sutro, behind UC, up to Parnassus and Cole, then across Corona Hts to San Jose Ave, the Eastern boundary. It crossed over the county line into what is now Daly City. Junipero Serra Blvd was the western boundary.
After the gold rush, with extremely limited housing, the ranchos were increasingly hard to control.
One of the 1st subdivisions in the city, in 1867, the Market Street Homestead Assn covered land around Corbett Rd, from its beginning at 17th & Douglass to what is now Portola Dr. The street pattern used in this subdivision was the first curvilinear one in the city. Master road-builder, Lester L. Robinson, likely, constructed Corbett Rd, now called Corbett Ave. He left its meandering course undisturbed to accommodate usage by horsedrawn wagons. The developers of this curvilinear subdivision were far ahead of their time. By working with hilly, winding terrain, they preserved an element of the natural history of the area. Looking at that landscape now, it is recognizable as old farm land and retains an authentic country quaintness. As appealing as that land is today, it was equally so to Adolph Sutro in his day. According to The Argonaut, Adolph Sutro bought Rancho San Miguel from the French Bank whose owner had committed suicide. He paid $520,000 for it.
That's all for now. If you haven't already done so, please remember to send in your dues. they are $15 per year. Make checks payable to CHN and send to 123 Corbett, 94114.
Gary
Capt. Teresa Barrett of Park Station attended to speak with the group about crimes and crime prevention in our area. Several people described some of the crimes that have taken place recently. According to Capt. Barrett, and others who have spoken with us, it is crucial to report any crime that has occurred to the local police station. Crime has increased tremendously due to the current economic situation.
To report a crime taking place, or in any emergency, call 911.
For any non-emergency, call 553-0123.
To contact Park Station directly, call 242-3000.
For online crime reporting, go to http://www.sfgov.org/site/police_index.asp?id=28854.
There are instructions at the bottom. You just need to select the type of crime and go from there.
I hate to report this, but I have discontinued payment to the SF Patrol Special Police. Our primary contact - Jane Warner - had been out for a couple of months, and now is on leave for medical reasons. Up until recently there were other officers filling in, but I haven't seen anyone lately.
They have, in my opinion, provided a valuable service.
Traffic Calming on 17th St.:
Last month, 8 of us met with Antonio Piccagli of MTA to discuss our options for slowing down traffic on 17th St. Antonio gave us a form that asked us which of the various traffic calming options we prefered.
The overwhelming choice was a median opposite the Corbin Steps, just down from the Temple intersection.
The double yellow line would remain in place, but traffic in the downhill direction would be diverted to the right by a median. The median would be between 15' - 20' long and 4' - 6' wide, and would be installed south and adjacent to the existing yellow lines. There will be a reflector post as well as another yellow line that skirts the island diverting traffic to the right as it heads downhill.
The only potential problem is that the median would prevent residents of 2 homes (one which has been vacant for some time) from accessing their garages while traveling downhill. A possible solution would be for the median to be only 2" high instead of the standard 6". Those residents would then be able to drive across the median. If, however, we are able to have the 6" high curb, planting on it would be a possibility.
If we are able to get the approval of the neighbors, DPW and the Fire Department before budgets are set by the end of June, we may expect the job to be completed sometime in 2010.
Speed Radar Sign:
The initial plan was to install a sign similar to the one on Market, between Douglass and Eureka, but that type of sign requires electricity. The only electricity available on 17th St. would have to have come from an existing telephone pole , but PGE does not allow anything to be attached to the poles.
The alternative is to install a solar sign that would be located between 4353 and 4367 17th St. If the cost of the sign is below a certain threshhold, we may be able to get it installed within the next 6 months. If the cost is greater, it may have to go out to bid. This could delay the project for another year.
Now that UNDERGROUNDING IS DEAD AND BURIED, we were talking about having a "Reclaim the Sky" block party. We're planning on getting permits to close off one street to traffic for the event. A pot luck and/or a barbecue would be planned. We're considering a Saturday in May. The 2 choices for a street location are Ord - opposite the park - or Mars. Kevin Dunn and Leslie Koelsch will be working out the details. We'll keep you posted.
Repaving of Corbett has been completed! I may have started the ball rolling on this project, but without Dan McKenna's help it probably wouldn't have happened. If you feel so inclined, please send him a note thanking him. dan.mckenna@sfdpw.org
Pocket Parks: Several of us on the "Garden Committee" met a couple of weeks ago and discussed plans for maintenance of the parks, as well as ways to determine the best way to allocate the money we have on hand. Volunteers will be needed for any of several weeding/trimming days we'll schedule.
If you haven't already given me your name, and you'd be interested in volunteering, let me know. We'll let you know of the upcoming dates being planned.
A Tree Planting with Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF) that had been planned exclusively for Eureka Valley, has been expanded to include Corbett Heights. The only problem was that we didn't know about it until a few days prior to the deadline to sign up. A few of us were able to act fast, so expect to see at least a few more trees getting planted on Valentine's Day.
Walgreen's has decided to continue its attempt to absorb storefronts in the Castro by resubmitting its application to expand into the old laundromat adjacent to the existing Walgreens satellite on 18th St. Last year the Planning Department diapproved the plan. But they're back with the same plan. The Planning Department has again disapproved it, but with some tricky stuff.....you never know, they could succeed. The hearing is next Thursday, 2/5 at 1:30. If you're interested in attending, or want more information, please let me know.
AT&T Equipment Boxes: AT&T has been trying to win approval of the Planning Department to install 850 "video-ready access devices throughout the city that will serve as junctions between the company's fiber optic system and homes subscribing to U-verse TV, a new service being billed as a high-power alternative to cable television." The "equipment cabinets" would be spread around San Francisco, and would stand over 4' tall by over 4' wide by about 2+' deep. There would be several in the Corbett Heights area. If you've seen the one on the corner of the park at Corbett/17th/Douglass, imagine that these new ones would be about 1 1/2 times as large. Wherever they are installed they are graffiti magnets.
People around the country are furious about this as they seem to have no say. There will be hearings in San Francisco, and AT&T still has some work to do before getting these approved. More information on this to come.
Harvey Milk Branch Public Library: As most of you know, the Harvey Milk Library branch on 16th St. near Sanchez, is being rebuilt. What you probably didn't know, was that, although there was sufficient funding allocated for the structure, nothing was allocated for shelves, desks, computers..... Amazing, but true. Friends of SF Public Libraries has begun a fundraising drive. You may purchase an engraved brick with your, or someone else's name on it for a tax-deductable $250. For more information on this, call Mary Abler at 626-7512 ext 107. Or visit their website at: www.friendssfpl.org.
Farmer's Market: From the last Wednesday in April thru the last Wednesday in October, we will have a farmer's market on Noe St. between Market and Beaver. It will go from 4PM - 8PM. This has been approved by the great majority of residents, local businesses and the city.
Some Corbett History (courtesy of Mae Silver, a local historian and former resident of Corbett Ave.):
One of the ranchos granted by the Mexican-California government between 1821-1867 was called Rancho San Miguel, and was owned by Jose de Jesus Noe from 1846 - 1852. The size of his rancho was a Spanish league, or 4444.34 acres - 1/6 of SF, and was in its geographical center. The northern boundary cut diagonally across Mt Sutro, behind UC, up to Parnassus and Cole, then across Corona Hts to San Jose Ave, the Eastern boundary. It crossed over the county line into what is now Daly City. Junipero Serra Blvd was the western boundary.
After the gold rush, with extremely limited housing, the ranchos were increasingly hard to control.
One of the 1st subdivisions in the city, in 1867, the Market Street Homestead Assn covered land around Corbett Rd, from its beginning at 17th & Douglass to what is now Portola Dr. The street pattern used in this subdivision was the first curvilinear one in the city. Master road-builder, Lester L. Robinson, likely, constructed Corbett Rd, now called Corbett Ave. He left its meandering course undisturbed to accommodate usage by horsedrawn wagons. The developers of this curvilinear subdivision were far ahead of their time. By working with hilly, winding terrain, they preserved an element of the natural history of the area. Looking at that landscape now, it is recognizable as old farm land and retains an authentic country quaintness. As appealing as that land is today, it was equally so to Adolph Sutro in his day. According to The Argonaut, Adolph Sutro bought Rancho San Miguel from the French Bank whose owner had committed suicide. He paid $520,000 for it.
That's all for now. If you haven't already done so, please remember to send in your dues. they are $15 per year. Make checks payable to CHN and send to 123 Corbett, 94114.
Gary
Friday, November 7, 2008
Corbett Heights Neighbors Minutes - Meeting October 23, 2008
We had a great meeting last Thursday. About 25 people showed up for a very full agenda.
I neglected to thank the folks who distributed the fliers, so I'd like to do that here. Having the meeting notices hand-delivered to over 750 households lets all residents in Corbett Heights know that this forum exists. I don't know of any other neighborhood association that does this. So much thanks to:
Kazumi, Ted, Leslie and John, Nathan, Janice and Ken.
Officer Robert Imbellino of Park Station's plain-clothes detail was the first to speak. He spends time in our neighborhood when most of us are asleep. He patrols with a partner. His partner usually drives while he walks. Most of the crime that has affected our area has been related to car break-ins. And according to Rob, 95% of all auto break-ins occur when something visible is left in the auto. A laptop, a briefcase, a GPS or some covered-up object. Another thing that attracts the burglars is an adapter left connected to the cigarette lighter in the vehicle. This hints at some possible electronic device stored in the trunk or glovebox. There is a street value to each of these items that enables the thief to acquire one night's worth of his drug of choice. What the officers look for is someone walking very close to the curb, right alongside parked cars. If an item is visible, the thief will use the tip of a sparkplug wrapped in a piece of cloth to shatter a window. After continuing to walk, he turns to see if he is being followed. If not, he returns, and in 30 seconds, he's broken in and taken what he was after.
You must remove everything from inside your car before locking up.
Supervisor Bevan Dufty spoke next. He arrived with his 2-year-old daughter, Sydney. Sydney's "God-daddy" and SF Treasurer Jose Cisneros arrived just in time to collect her and baby sit. Bevan mostly answered questions from people about the crimes of late, and other issues like the dimness of the new streetlights. I asked him to have someone check out the bus stop area of Clayton between Market and Corbett. Besides the rat problem, the dying pine tree and the overgrown ivy, the sidewalk at the bus stop has no ramp, and is way too narrow for either a wheelchair or a baby carriage. I also brought up the Corbett Slope. Many of you will remember our fight to save the huge green space between Market and Corbett - just east of 341 Corbett. It was slated to be put up for sale by the city when Chris Daly's "surplus property" hearings were going on. Nothing has happened on that front, and we can hope that it was just a huge waste of time and money.
Earlier this year we reintroduced the discussion on "traffic calming" on 17th Street. It's been discussed for many years, but this time we can be certain that some form of traffic calming will be in place by next summer. The first thing that we will likely see in the next month or so, is an electronic mileage reader. Many of you have probably noticed the one installed last year on Market near (I believe) Douglass. It does not transmit information but alerts drivers to the speed at which they are traveling. These units have been found to be very effective. Ours will probably be installed near the "hump" of 17th just before the descent before Ord. MTA needs a relatively tree-free area for optimum visibility, and an source of electricity. Antonio Piccagli of MTA's traffic calming division attended the meeting and spoke next. He offered a few of the options that his department has come up with. They consist mainly of varying configurations of traffic islands or medians that will be installed at the top of the Corbin stairs, or possibly at Temple. 7 people have expressed interest in being on a committee to discuss the options and select the one that we and MTA - and the Fire Dept. - feel is the most viable option. Let me know if you also would like to join in.
To say that AT&T is "dragging its feet" on completing the pole removal process would be putting it mildly. They have remained a stubborn obstacle as the utility undergrounding project has been nearing completion. Part of the fault has been with the company that they have subcontracted with - Smartech - or, as my tenant refers to them - IdioTech. A couple of weeks ago when they were cutting the old cables to the homes that supposedly had been connected to the new cables, my entire house was cut off, despite the fact that we were "completed" almost a year ago. AT&T/Smartech finally came out and connected us again - but to some extinct phone line. We were able to call out, but not receive calls on our land-line. 4 "technicians" were out today and spent over an hour trying to determine what they did wrong the first 2 times. At this point, we were promised that the poles will be gone by mid to late November. No further comment.
Because of the fines collected by the city from the company that PG&E subcontracted with to do the bulk of the digging and repaving, we have been granted a gift. Usually such fines just go into the city's general fund, but after much pressuring, they decided to do something that will benefit our neighborhood directly. They will repave Corbett from Hattie to Danvers - most likely in December.
The "Ord Triangle Park" at Ord, Corbett and 17th has always been one of the gems of Corbett Heights. Of late it had become overgrown and not as manicured as it had been previously. Rob Rynski of Douglass Street arranged a park cleanup and had DPW drop off a truckload of mulch. It is an incredible improvement.
If only we can clone those neighbors and go over the other 8 areas! I've collected a few names of volunteers, but PLEASE, if you would be willing to volunteer one weekend, please let me know.
Jane Warner of the SF Patrol Special Police spoke next about her services. I originally contacted Jane a couple of years ago when we were in the midst of another crime spree. Since then, she, or another officer from the Patrol, spends about 15 minutes at different times of every night driving thru every street in Corbett Heights. They drive an ominous-looking black Crown Victoria and shine their light on anything suspicious. The idea behind this is that the more police presence in our area, the less likely crimes will occur.
Many of us pay monthly for this service - whatever you can afford. Currently they are doing it at a loss in the hopes that their service will catch on. Please let me know if you are interested in participating in this valuable program.
Scott Wiener, the former president of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, came to talk about the Community Safety Forum that he will be moderating on Thursday, November 6th, from 7-9PM. Here's the info:
Community Safety Forum
For the Castro, Eureka Valley, Duboce Triangle, Corona Heights, and Corbett Heights
Thursday November 6, 2008, 7-9 p.m.
Eureka Valley Rec Center, 100 Collingwood Street
Panelists
Captain Stephen Tacchini, Mission Station
A Lieutenant from Park Station (TBD)
Greg Carey, Chair, Castro Community on Patrol
Tina D’Elia, Community United Against Violence (CUAV)
Steve Adams, President, Merchants of Upper Market and Castro
Oona Weil, SF SAFE
Ken Craig, Triangle Martial Arts Association
Jane Warner, San Francisco Patrol Specials
Moderator
Scott Wiener
This community safety forum will focus on various safety issues confronting our neighborhood, ranging from crime generally to hate crimes to homelessness to community policing to disaster preparedness. We will have terrific panelists, each of whom will give his or her perspective on community safety in the neighborhood. We encourage people with a stake in the neighborhood to come out, listen, and participate in the discussion. It will be an interesting and productive evening, and we look forward to seeing you there.
The forum is co-sponsored by Castro Community on Patrol, Eureka Valley Promotion Association, Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association, Merchants of Upper Market and Castro, and Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District. For more information, please email info@castropatrol.org.
We have a bank balance, as of the end of September, of $1751.75. This money is slated to be used to improve our parks, so, once again, please volunteer to help out.
There were 2 changes we thought were necessary in our bylaws. First, due to the difficulty in finding people willing to fill a position on our board, the proposed revision would allow there to be only 3 officers, with a maximum of 5. The other change extends our boundaries to include the 400 block of Corbett.
The revised bylaws should be up on our website shortly. Any comments are welcome. If no objections by members are heard 30 days from posting, the revisions will be adopted.
Please check out our new website: www.corbettheights.org. Thanks Michael Sterling for putting this together!!!!
And also our blog which you can use to make comments or to contact us:
www.corbettheights.blogspot.com. Thanks Kevin Dunn for putting this together!!!
And last, dues are $15 per year. Email updates will be sent to members. The funds go to improving the beauty of Corbett Heights.
All for now,
Gary
I neglected to thank the folks who distributed the fliers, so I'd like to do that here. Having the meeting notices hand-delivered to over 750 households lets all residents in Corbett Heights know that this forum exists. I don't know of any other neighborhood association that does this. So much thanks to:
Kazumi, Ted, Leslie and John, Nathan, Janice and Ken.
Officer Robert Imbellino of Park Station's plain-clothes detail was the first to speak. He spends time in our neighborhood when most of us are asleep. He patrols with a partner. His partner usually drives while he walks. Most of the crime that has affected our area has been related to car break-ins. And according to Rob, 95% of all auto break-ins occur when something visible is left in the auto. A laptop, a briefcase, a GPS or some covered-up object. Another thing that attracts the burglars is an adapter left connected to the cigarette lighter in the vehicle. This hints at some possible electronic device stored in the trunk or glovebox. There is a street value to each of these items that enables the thief to acquire one night's worth of his drug of choice. What the officers look for is someone walking very close to the curb, right alongside parked cars. If an item is visible, the thief will use the tip of a sparkplug wrapped in a piece of cloth to shatter a window. After continuing to walk, he turns to see if he is being followed. If not, he returns, and in 30 seconds, he's broken in and taken what he was after.
You must remove everything from inside your car before locking up.
Supervisor Bevan Dufty spoke next. He arrived with his 2-year-old daughter, Sydney. Sydney's "God-daddy" and SF Treasurer Jose Cisneros arrived just in time to collect her and baby sit. Bevan mostly answered questions from people about the crimes of late, and other issues like the dimness of the new streetlights. I asked him to have someone check out the bus stop area of Clayton between Market and Corbett. Besides the rat problem, the dying pine tree and the overgrown ivy, the sidewalk at the bus stop has no ramp, and is way too narrow for either a wheelchair or a baby carriage. I also brought up the Corbett Slope. Many of you will remember our fight to save the huge green space between Market and Corbett - just east of 341 Corbett. It was slated to be put up for sale by the city when Chris Daly's "surplus property" hearings were going on. Nothing has happened on that front, and we can hope that it was just a huge waste of time and money.
Earlier this year we reintroduced the discussion on "traffic calming" on 17th Street. It's been discussed for many years, but this time we can be certain that some form of traffic calming will be in place by next summer. The first thing that we will likely see in the next month or so, is an electronic mileage reader. Many of you have probably noticed the one installed last year on Market near (I believe) Douglass. It does not transmit information but alerts drivers to the speed at which they are traveling. These units have been found to be very effective. Ours will probably be installed near the "hump" of 17th just before the descent before Ord. MTA needs a relatively tree-free area for optimum visibility, and an source of electricity. Antonio Piccagli of MTA's traffic calming division attended the meeting and spoke next. He offered a few of the options that his department has come up with. They consist mainly of varying configurations of traffic islands or medians that will be installed at the top of the Corbin stairs, or possibly at Temple. 7 people have expressed interest in being on a committee to discuss the options and select the one that we and MTA - and the Fire Dept. - feel is the most viable option. Let me know if you also would like to join in.
To say that AT&T is "dragging its feet" on completing the pole removal process would be putting it mildly. They have remained a stubborn obstacle as the utility undergrounding project has been nearing completion. Part of the fault has been with the company that they have subcontracted with - Smartech - or, as my tenant refers to them - IdioTech. A couple of weeks ago when they were cutting the old cables to the homes that supposedly had been connected to the new cables, my entire house was cut off, despite the fact that we were "completed" almost a year ago. AT&T/Smartech finally came out and connected us again - but to some extinct phone line. We were able to call out, but not receive calls on our land-line. 4 "technicians" were out today and spent over an hour trying to determine what they did wrong the first 2 times. At this point, we were promised that the poles will be gone by mid to late November. No further comment.
Because of the fines collected by the city from the company that PG&E subcontracted with to do the bulk of the digging and repaving, we have been granted a gift. Usually such fines just go into the city's general fund, but after much pressuring, they decided to do something that will benefit our neighborhood directly. They will repave Corbett from Hattie to Danvers - most likely in December.
The "Ord Triangle Park" at Ord, Corbett and 17th has always been one of the gems of Corbett Heights. Of late it had become overgrown and not as manicured as it had been previously. Rob Rynski of Douglass Street arranged a park cleanup and had DPW drop off a truckload of mulch. It is an incredible improvement.
If only we can clone those neighbors and go over the other 8 areas! I've collected a few names of volunteers, but PLEASE, if you would be willing to volunteer one weekend, please let me know.
Jane Warner of the SF Patrol Special Police spoke next about her services. I originally contacted Jane a couple of years ago when we were in the midst of another crime spree. Since then, she, or another officer from the Patrol, spends about 15 minutes at different times of every night driving thru every street in Corbett Heights. They drive an ominous-looking black Crown Victoria and shine their light on anything suspicious. The idea behind this is that the more police presence in our area, the less likely crimes will occur.
Many of us pay monthly for this service - whatever you can afford. Currently they are doing it at a loss in the hopes that their service will catch on. Please let me know if you are interested in participating in this valuable program.
Scott Wiener, the former president of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, came to talk about the Community Safety Forum that he will be moderating on Thursday, November 6th, from 7-9PM. Here's the info:
Community Safety Forum
For the Castro, Eureka Valley, Duboce Triangle, Corona Heights, and Corbett Heights
Thursday November 6, 2008, 7-9 p.m.
Eureka Valley Rec Center, 100 Collingwood Street
Panelists
Captain Stephen Tacchini, Mission Station
A Lieutenant from Park Station (TBD)
Greg Carey, Chair, Castro Community on Patrol
Tina D’Elia, Community United Against Violence (CUAV)
Steve Adams, President, Merchants of Upper Market and Castro
Oona Weil, SF SAFE
Ken Craig, Triangle Martial Arts Association
Jane Warner, San Francisco Patrol Specials
Moderator
Scott Wiener
This community safety forum will focus on various safety issues confronting our neighborhood, ranging from crime generally to hate crimes to homelessness to community policing to disaster preparedness. We will have terrific panelists, each of whom will give his or her perspective on community safety in the neighborhood. We encourage people with a stake in the neighborhood to come out, listen, and participate in the discussion. It will be an interesting and productive evening, and we look forward to seeing you there.
The forum is co-sponsored by Castro Community on Patrol, Eureka Valley Promotion Association, Duboce Triangle Neighborhood Association, Merchants of Upper Market and Castro, and Castro/Upper Market Community Benefit District. For more information, please email info@castropatrol.org.
We have a bank balance, as of the end of September, of $1751.75. This money is slated to be used to improve our parks, so, once again, please volunteer to help out.
There were 2 changes we thought were necessary in our bylaws. First, due to the difficulty in finding people willing to fill a position on our board, the proposed revision would allow there to be only 3 officers, with a maximum of 5. The other change extends our boundaries to include the 400 block of Corbett.
The revised bylaws should be up on our website shortly. Any comments are welcome. If no objections by members are heard 30 days from posting, the revisions will be adopted.
Please check out our new website: www.corbettheights.org. Thanks Michael Sterling for putting this together!!!!
And also our blog which you can use to make comments or to contact us:
www.corbettheights.blogspot.com. Thanks Kevin Dunn for putting this together!!!
And last, dues are $15 per year. Email updates will be sent to members. The funds go to improving the beauty of Corbett Heights.
All for now,
Gary
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Corbett Heights Neighbors - Minutes - JULY 24, 2008:
Traffic calming along 17th Street was the focal topic of the meeting. Adam Gubser, of MTA, attended the last meeting in April and discussed the process of slowing the traffic along the 17th Street corridor. MTA has been aware of the problem for some time, but would prefer to hear from the residents before designing any type of plan. We needed to get a minimum of 10 signatures to begin the application process. We submitted 40. Because we've demonstrated a concern and are willing to work with MTA to come up with a plan, it now appears that we'll be one of the next neighborhoods to be addressed.
First off, we will almost definitely receive a "speed radar sign" similar to the one on Market near Eureka. These signs flash the speed you're traveling as you pass them. The process that leads to a traffic calming solution is a bit lengthy and convoluted; First the homeowners fronting the area where the few parking spaces will be lost are notified. Then a rough draft of some potential solutions is produced and shown to the Fire Dept. and Traffic & Engineering. If they approve the plan, the neighbors (half block in either direction) are given a ballot. If 20% of those residents respond with a 51% positive vote, then the plan can go on to the next step - a public hearing.
Chicanes, which are bulbouts or traffic diverters, are one possible solution. A central median is another. In any case, we would lose a few parking spaces, and gain a few trees. The length of the chicane or median, and the number of parking spaces that need to be sacrificed, will be determined by MTA, and will be based on the amount of time it takes to slow vehicles down to the existing 25 mph speed limit.
There are several other steps before implementation. We will have a committee of neighbors that will meet to go over the plan. We will have a say in what is ultimately constructed. And I'll let you know the progress as it occurs.
A few concerns that were brought up were:
- Why don't we just put up a STOP sign? The purpose of a STOP sign is to yield the right of way - not to slow traffic. MTA's experts also feel that a STOP sign on such a steep grade would cause more accidents than it would prevent.
- Can we do something at Ord where there is no STOP sign, and at Roosevelt where cars regularly speed thru also? Not at this time. MTA's funds are limited, and the bigger problem is in the center of the grade. One problem at a time.
- If cars are diverted to the right while going downhill, what about the danger to pedestrians, cars, homes and street trees as they turn towards the curb? This is apparently a common concern. Adam told me that there are several options in dealing with this issue. We haven't gone over them yet.
- Could 17th Street be made 1-way going up, and divert the downhill traffic somewhere else? 17th Street is a main east/west artery, and there is no other street that could replace it.
Undergrounding: The news is better than I was led to believe prior to the meeting. PG&E is about finished. They have deliberately left 3 light poles up - mostly for the purpose of continuing to provide electricity to Comcast until Comcast is finished. According to my last report, they should now be finished also.
AT&T is another story; between both of the undergrounding phases in our area - upper and lower Corbett - there are still about 100 homes that have not been converted. I was originally told that finishing the final conversions, and removing the light poles and doing the finished concrete work would take us into January and beyond. This is apparently not the case. The person who gave the faulty report is new! We are still on track for September-ish. Corbett Heights Neighbors will be helping out to expedite the process.
About 2 years ago, the company that PG&E subcontracted with to do its work on Corbett, missed several deadlines, and had some considerable screwups. They were fined a substantial amount. After lots of negotiating, emailing and calling, for over a year, we are now on track to receive a "gift" for having to live thru the agony of their construction delays. Corbett, from Danvers to Douglass will be repaved this November. That stretch of road was severely damaged during the undergrounding.
Several of our neighborhood parks are in terrible condition. We formed a "garden committee" earlier this year, but so far we've only had one garden cleanup day, and it was not well attended. At the meeting several people signed up to be on a list to be notified when we have the next one. If you would like to be added to that list, PLEASE let me know. The next park that will be addressed is Ord Triangle Park at 17th, Corbett and Douglass. After that - or at the same time, we'll be doing the Corbin Steps. And Merritt Park after that. It makes for a fun and rewarding few hours.
Recently there was a hoard of skateboarders that descended on Corbin Steps. It was apparently a planned, advertised event. We're hoping that this will not recur. The police eventually came to stop them.
Jane Warner, and the SF Patrol Special Police still do nightly drive-bys in our neighborhood. Several of us still send money for this service. I am still convinced that their presence has helped keep crime at a minimum. If you are able and willing to help support them, please let me know. They are privately financed, and they are patrolling our streets for free - almost! Jane let me know that they would be happy to come out and deal with issues such as the skateboarding if we give them a call during the hours that they are on duty: Sunday thru Wednesday, 3PM - 11PM. Thursday thru Saturday, 6PM - 2AM. The phone number to call is: 415-559-9955. Please consider a small monthly contribution.
I will be speaking with Capt. Teresa Barrett of Park Station very soon. She was unable to attend this meeting but asked for you to let me know if there are any issues, or questions of the police department. When I spoke with her in January, I told her that the presence of patrol cars prior to her becoming Captain was non-existent. She promised to have cars patrolling frequently. Several of us have noticed the increase, and it's greatly appreciated.
Over the last several months, 2 very generous neighbors have spent hours and hours working on a neighborhood blog and a website for Corbett Heights Neighbors. Kevin Dunn has gotten the blog together. It will allow you to see up-to-date information and to contact us.
And Michael Sterling has spent months working on our new website. Both the blog and the website are up and running - although a bit of refining will be next. Here are the links:
Blog: http://corbettheights.blogspot.com/
Website: http://corbettheights.org/
If you are interested in having a bigger part in working with and improving your neighborhood, PLEASE - your help in running Corbett Heights Neighbors would be greatly welcomed.
And last, but far from least, it's dues time!
Dues are $15 per year per household. Most of that goes towards improving our parks and the printing of fliers. You will also continue to receive neighborhood updates.
That's it for now -
Gary
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