The S.F. Recreation and Park Department (RPD) held a community meeting on Sept. 28 at the St. Francis Yacht Club to solicit public input on the proposed permitting of two mobile food vendors on the Marina Green.

In July 2009, RPD issued a “Request for Proposals for the Operation of Specialty Food Pushcarts” with a picture of carts in Golden Gate Park on the cover page.

The notice for the first (and only) outreach meeting regarding vendor locations on the Marina Green was sent to individuals and organizations on Sept. 17 and explained:

The RPD desires to provide quality food and beverage services to park users around the City. In order to accomplish this, the department has begun permitting specialty food pushcarts in a number of parks citywide.

So it may come as a surprise to those who read these announcements that the vendors proposed for the Scott Street entrance of the Marina Green will operate out of two 24-foot-long catering trucks, not the iconically cute pushcarts that had been portrayed during the outreach process.

Only on Page 5 of the 35-page request for proposal is there any mention of equipment allowed other than a pushcart: “The Department will consider proposals for the operation of pushcarts, motorized food trailers and mobile food catering trucks.” All other references refer to the vehicles as carts.

Nicole Avril and Cassandra Costello of RPD’s Partnerships and Resource Development office led the neighborhood meeting, and clearly explained the proposal process and why the vendor program was being proposed: Recreation and Park needs new sources of income to help defray a department-wide budget deficit and to pay for the renovation of the Marina Yacht Harbor.

  “We’re looking for a way to not cut any more, and at the same time do something really fun for people while taking into consideration the needs of the community,” said Avril.

   The two mobile food vendors that have been selected to operate at the Marina Green are Twirl and Dip Soft Serve and Annakoot Indian Food. The minimum base rent for each truck is $12,000 per year, but can be higher based on percentage-of-sales revenues. Leases will be issued for one year only and are revocable with 30 days notice.

Annakoot’s owner, Rao Rohit Singh, has three East Bay restaurants and said, “In this economy, I cannot afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to open a brick and mortar restaurant, but I want to come to San Francisco with my food truck.” Does that put local merchants and purveyors who do have to pay the high prices to set up an establishment in the Marina at a disadvantage?

Costello said that the location selected on the Marina Green is one-quarter mile from any other food concession, and one-half mile from Safeway and Chestnut Street, which would make the vendors noncompetitive with local merchants. Bruce McLellan, who owns the lease on the kiosk at the Little Marina Green (as well as the current lease on the Stow Lake Boathouse) begged to differ, since he was the closest food vendor to the proposed site. He already saw his business drop significantly when the Beach Hut opened in the new Crissy Field Center.

Other concerns raised by attendees were how to control the trash generated by customers and how increased traffic on the Marina Green might bring renewed interest in metered parking. But the most commonly raised question was whether the Marina waterfront really needed any more food options.

“Without entrepreneurial initiatives like this, we are going to continue to lose services down here, and the view will be marred with things like trash, and we won’t be able to maintain our gardening staff,” said Avril.

McLellan asked if the meeting was for public comment on whether to issue the leases, or whether that was a fait accompli. Avril said that the meeting was to explain about the vendors, introduce the individual vendors, and let the community know that her office would be presenting the selection and the placement of the vendors to the Recreation and Park Commission  for final approval in October. The meeting was also held to gather any comments from the community about details that should be incorporated into the presentation to the commission. In other words, fait accompli.

The Partnerships and Resource Develop-ment office wanted to take the vendor selection to the Recreation and Park Commission for approval at their Oct. 7 meeting. However, at the request of the Marina Times, it will not be presented until Oct. 21 (4 p.m. in City Hall room 416) to allow readers more time to comment on the proposed food truck location. If you would like more information or would like to comment on the proposal, contact Cassandra Costello at 415-831-2791 or [email protected].

Specialty food trucks are no strangers to San Francisco or to the Marina – the Friday night “Off the Grid” mobile food vendor roundup at Fort Mason Center is a popular example. But which is more appropriate for our City parks – pushcarts or food trucks? And should either be located on the Marina Green?

With no apparent choice in the matter, RPD appears to have left Marina residents between a truck and a hard place.